The TV show, from 1962 to 67.
They didn't show it on reruns when I was a kid. For one, it was in black and white. B&W repeats were doable, but the show had to be more bloved and with a wider appeal. For another, it war programs weren't in fashion so much. Maybe Baa Baa Blacksheep. But that was about pilots. Or M*A*S*H. One summer they reran Rat Patrol during the day.
Note, they clear mines in this ep with a bayonet. Most all the men over 18 to 20 or so would have been drafted or served so a large part of the adult view audience would find this familiar. Fewer folks today would grok that technique, methinks.
So, they are all waiting for the guy to meticulously check for mines, and the squad is all bunched up in a gaggle together, standing, in the open, and inside the blast radius of even smallish mines. So not ALL the lessons from Army training took. Of course you make allowances for Hollywood. It's hard to say your lines in conversation with your fellow actors and be there for easy close ups if you are taking cover, spread out, doing 360 degree security.
Well hey... that show, like the Rat Patrol, was meant for those who never saw war. I loved Sgt. Saunders spraying everything with his Thompson and Kerby never using the sights of his BAR.
ReplyDeleteYou do know the place were they filmed it is by the same lake used in The Andy Griffirh Show.
the lake looked familiar, yes
ReplyDeleteOddly enough, AFRTS Vietnam was showing it in 197072 time span, I watched it in Thailand at a M/S site I was doing some installation work at, in the NCO/EM club during lunch.
ReplyDeleteIIRC, some of the regular actors, and lots of the guest stars, were war vets. Must have felt like a blast from the past for them!
ReplyDeleteWatching as a kid, you don't realize how old the actors are, since adults are old, or very old, so it seems normal. I think they mention that the sgt is an old man of 23, or was it 26? The rest of them should be teens.
Vic Morrow hated guns and only handled them for work (filming). Of course, this being Hollywood, most of the shows involved guns to some extent.
The Lt (Ric Jason) loved shooting guns, and collected them to some extent, and was in the Army Air Corp during the war.