REAR ECHELON COMMANDOS

After returning from a long an tiresome mission; Sgt.Saunders gets the word that Kirby has been sent to pick up 3 new replacement soldiers that have just arrived from London. (They've never been on the front line so they are considered from the rear echelon)

"They're sending us replacements"?


 



Kirby Introduces the 3 new squad members. The portly Pvt. Joe Gainsborough a former cook, Pvt. Wayne Temple a former fitness instructor and Pvt. Jerome Crown a radio announcer with an attitude.

 



*EDITOR'S NOTE This review has more than the average stills as I noted a lot of great bloopers and anomalies.    In this shot, Jack Hogan in the foreground is trying to hold back his laughter while Vic Morrow is in his classic Sgt.Saunders "Thumbs in his pants" pose.

 

"What's this"?........."Gun ?"

Classic Saunders "OMG"

 

 

"I was a fitness instructor. Before the war I was a Ballet Student" Everybody laughs. The Sarge asks Temple if he knows what goes in the M-1 rifle and responds: "Bullets" when asked how many to a magazine he guesses 6. "Wrong" Saunders replies.  He looks at Crown: "Do you know"? Temple replies "8" then goes on to display his cocky attitude.

 

 

Saunders can tell this one will be trouble as Crown goes on to explain how his orders were a mistake and he'll be back in London in 2 weeks.

 

 

Hanley tells Saunders he has been assigned a recon mission.  Saunders complains about the 3 new replacements and how none of them have any combat experience.  He also mentions that none of his squad have the strength to stand let alone go on another mission of soon. Saunders is told to take the 3 replacements.  "Lieutenant these guys will get us all killed. These guys don't know a  patrol from a picnic".  Hanley replies: "Teach them the difference".

 

Saunders is giving the new guys grenade training when it comes to Crown who gives Saunders a dose of attitude saying: "He got it all the first time".  When Saunders gives Crown the order to pull the pin and throw it, the grenade slips out of Crown's hand and falls in the trench.  Instead of picking it up and throwing it, Crown heads for the Hills while Saunders dives for the grenade and throws it.

 

 

I always thought this scene looked unconvincing. In slow motion it looks like an elastic band or fishing line was attached to it and pulled it out of Crown's hand.

 

Crown panics.

 

 

In the midst of a typical Saunders Ass chewing; Caje advises Saunders that Hanley wants them to deploy NOW.  Saunders looks at Crown and says: "OK Sonny, School's out"!

 

 

Following a quick briefing, Caje looks at Temple and tries to comfort him and says: "Hey Soldier, try not to worry about dieing".  Temple abruptly responds and says: "I'm not.  I worried about killing".  Caje tells Saunders of Temple's odd reaction.

 

 

 

*EDITOR'S NOTE - Doesn't the actor Constantine who plays Temple look like he could be related to Peter Laurie? This is a shot of Peter Laurie as "Ugati" in the Smash hit "Casablanca".

 

In preparation for the mission, Saunders passes out grenades.  When he comes to Temple he mentions his talk with Caje.  Temple discloses that he's not afraid of dieing; rather killing.  He explains to Saunders how he comes from a Police background in that everyone in his family was a policeman except him.   Saunders tells him how fortunate he is to have been around death and how it gave him an advantage over the other 2.

 

 

 

The Recon mission proceeds to the town of Anneal.  I just love this shot as we've seen this view in so many episodes.  Not only do we see the Archway but we get to see "Die Brücke" (The bridge) and we get to see the Iconic steeple.

 

 

 

 

 

Crown is given orders to look for Germans along the opposite side of the river, across from Saunders.  The above still represents Crown's search.  He freezes like an otter pop.

 

 

When asked by Saunders if did a thorough check along his corridor, Crown lies and says "Of course. That's what you told me to do"

 

 

 

The scene ends with this object of omission.

 
The following 3 stills expose the short comings of the 3 new replacements. 

 

Pvt.Wayne Temple grew up in a family of "Cops". Everyone but him was a cop.  He said he grew up around violence all of his life.  All he heard was either a crook being killed or a cop being killed.  This is why he wanted to become a dancer; to get away from the killing.  In this scene we see Temple's reaction to seeing his first dead German.  He freezes and it bothers him so much that Kirby has to take him back to the dress shop that they set up as an HQ.

 

 

This is Pvt. Joe Gainsborough getting his foot caught in a piece of the railing on a stairway.  He drops his rifle as well as his body.  Caje scalds him and takes him back to the dress shop.

 

 

 

Here, Saunders catches Crown disobeying orders and says: "If you tell me you checked this building I'll shoot you where you stand".  Crown was afraid to check the building after Saunders told him to be careful as it may be booby trapped.  So once again Crown just stands at the front steps and doesn't go in.  However, this time Saunders watches him.

 

 

Meanwhile back at the ranch; Saunders sends Caje to guard the bridge. 

 

 He tells Kirby that the two of them will have to clear the town alone. He orders the 3 newbies to stay put.

 

 

Once again, Idle minds lead to troubled hands.  Crown decides to build a fire to heat up his K rations.

 

 

Where there is SMOKE there are "AMERICANA"

 

 

They never showed much blood in the TV Series Combat, but I'll bet blood is shooting out of Saunder's eyes.

 

 

Schnell, Americana, American.

 

 

And of course where there's smoke, the Germans will FIRE.

 

 

After putting out the fire, Saunders sends Kirby out to see if they were noticed.  Kirby gets noticed in the shoulder by a German machine gun round.

 

 

Why do German machine guns always jam right after hitting an American giving the enemy time to recover the wounded?

 

Now look closely.  The guy with his back to the cameral is suppose to be Crown , as this is the scene where Crown and Saunders rush the machine gun nest.  Crown goes first but chickens out, then turns around and runs into Saunders only it's plain to see in this shot that the less than attractive stuntman playing Saunders is EARL PARKER.

 

In this shot, I believe it's Vic Morrow picking up Crown as you can see the "SQUIBS" or Blanks are going off on the other side of the wall.

 

 

Of course this German Machine gun just doesn't feel like working today.

 

 

OH NO ! Saunders got hit in his leg.  HOW UNUSUAL !

 

 

I've heard the saying that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.  Gainsborough hears the MG quit firing and senses that Saunders and Crown need help.  He tells Temple to stay with Kirby as the ex fry cook decides to disobey Saunders' direct orders and play Rambo.

 

 

Run Joe Run ! Life termination in T-Minus 3, 2, 1,

 

 

 

Ah Joe, say it isn't so........

 

 

*EDITOR'S NOTE - This is a real stunt man floating in the cement pond.

 

 

Here comes Wayne. (At least he comes from a good blood line of cops)  Yet he takes it on his own authority to disobey a direct order from the Sarge.

 

 

 

 Saunders: "What are you doing here? I told you to stay with Kirby"

Temple: "Kirby's fine.  Gainsborough is dead"

Saunders: "Ya I know"

Temple: "What can I do"?

Saunders: "LOL, Nothing unless you can take out that machine gun.

Temple: "OK"

Saunders:"You'll get yourself killed"

GREATEST LINE OF THE EPISODE

Temple: "No I won't. I'm a dancer"

 

 

 

 

 Temple grabs Saunder's grenade.

 

 

 

 

 *EDITOR'S NOTE - Notice the body in the water is now a manikin.

Also at this point; Temple dives into the cement pond to commandeer a rope and hook.

 

 

Our ballet dancer uses his awesome balance and skills to leap from roof top to roof top.

 

 

Nice acting job with that look of concern.

 

 

With as many 88 rounds as this steeple has endured over the years, you just knew this was going to happen sooner or later.

 

 

Crown seems to have found his testicles as he sees a German soldier come out in the open to take a shot at our ballet dancer. 

 

 

 

Hold still Tinker Bell.

 

 

Crown becomes a WARRIOR.

 

 

This is a nice shot of Temple tossing a grenade into the German MG position.  We see the dead German that Crown took out, and it looks like the geese are feasting on Gainsborough.

 

 

OH YA.  Score one for the man in Capezios.

 

 

 

I'm a DANCER DAMN IT !!!!!

 

Yes you are.

 

 

Hanley: "Saunders you're getting 5 new replacements, but with that leg you'll need someone like Caje to train them.

Saunders: "Naw, Temple or Crown will do..... or Gainsborough if he were alive"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love this episode.  I will spare all of you the "Wizard of Oz" comparison". OK? 

 

This episode is about Man's back up behavior.  It's also about duty and willingness to disobey direct orders.  Both Gainsborough and Temple could have disrupted a plan by disobeying orders.  In the beginning we see Crown willfully disobeying orders out of fear.  In the end we see the other two disobeying orders out of compassion and humanity.  Is it ever OK to break a direct order?  Perhaps if you have reasonable cause.  But that is what the law profession refers to as a slippery slope.  Had Crown obeyed orders, he would have drawn the machine gun fire at the beginning of the mission and it would have been 5 vs. 3. However because Crown disobeyed orders, several times, it turned out to be 2 versus 3. 

 

We forget in this episode that Caje was given the order to retreat to camp if he heard gun fire. Since Crown and Saunders were "Pinned down in a safe position" the squad would have been in a better situation had they waited for back up.  No lives would have been lost except for those 3 poor Germans who were feeding wine to the kittens. (or were they puppies)? 

 

In this episode, we saw how people react in a crisis situation.  For Chip, Caje and Kirby, this was business as usual.  But for the Cook, Ballet Dancer and D.J. it was a crisis situation.  I spent 30 years of my life in stressful life or death situations.  What can appear to be routine surgery one minute can be a fountain of blood with one stroke of a knife blade or scissor blade or sometimes just pulling on a piece of cancerous tissue.  Even trained people go into a zone.  It's called "back up behavior".  It gets it's name from the way we would behave if we were "backed" up into a corner. 

 

In disasters, we often see quiet individuals taking charge and acting like traffic cops.  Sometimes we see those we esteem as "cool and calm leaders" fall to pieces.  This episode was about that sort of behavior and how often the story ends with an unlikely hero.  In our story the Hero is the Ballet Dancer.  In the 60's, male Ballet Dancers were considered homosexual which explains the laughter and ridicule after Temple admits his previous position.  With this mental 60's paradigm, it makes this episode even more 'sensational" and in my mind; more enjoyable.  Especially with Temple JR.  (Note he's named after his Cop father) coming from a long line of policemen.