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Combat!: Gulliver (1966)
One of the top Combat! episodes
This episode has some complex nuances that are entirely lacking in modern television, and is one of the top 10 in the series. Any episode featuring Littlejohn (Dick Peabody) is a good one in my book, but this one pulls at you. Vic Morrow's directing may have a lot to do with that, but so does the script and the acting.
The children are an orphaned family. They are pathetic, reduced to robbing from dead soldiers and trying to sell wounded ones. Henri is the hard-core leader, and the youngest, Marcel, wants to be like Henri. John just goes along. Christina (Vicki Malkin), though, is a standout. She is the glue that holds them together, and their conscience. Her acting is amazing.
Christina, while following Henri's order to watch Littlejohn, tries to give him water and food and bandage his wound. Marcel rats her out to Henri when Henri returns.
When Henri tries to sell Littlejohn to the Germans, claiming he is an officer, the Germans find that he has robbed dead Germans and force him to take him to the American officer. Henri arranges to have two of them step on the mined porch, killing them. When the German Sergeant (Paul Busch) comes out of the building carrying Marcel, Christina regretfully shoots him.
The ending is the most poignant scene, with Marcel robbing the body of the German who was just shot carrying him, while Christina insists on returning Littlejohn to the American lines and getting to an orphanage. Henri refuses to believe there is such a thing and does not join them, remaining to pick over the dead Germans.
Combat!: The Enemy (1965)
Well written, but . . .
"The Enemy" is well written, with an interesting plot and good dialogue. Unfortunately, Robert Duvall as the German Lieutenant ruined it for me. He is a decent actor, but his German accent is terrible. It doesn't sound like a German accent at all; it's like a child's conception of a quasi-European accent. I couldn't get past it to enjoy the show. Every time he would open his mouth I would cringe.
I wish they had gotten a native German speaker for this episode, or at least someone good with accents. A good example is Mayor Paul Lejeune (Jay Novello) from "The Town that Went Away" (S03E14). I was amazed to find after watching the episode that Novello was not French. But he was a master of accents, as well as a great actor.