The Gun (13 Sep. 1966)

To knock out a German bunker, the squad must drag a cannon over a mile of rough, enemy-infested terrain.

Director:

Michael Caffey

Writers:

Esther Mitchell, Bob Mitchell

Stars:

Vic Morrow, Rick Jason, Warren Stevens

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Vic Morrow	...	Sgt. Saunders
Rick Jason	...	Lt. Hanley (credit only)
Warren Stevens	...	Sgt. Hagen
Jack Hogan	...	Kirby
Dick Peabody	...	Littlejohn
Pierre Jalbert	...	Caje
Wayne Rogers	...	Reiser
Tim Felix	...	Weed

Storyline

The squad is sent to attack a German bunker that is perfectly positioned to halt their advance. They are to attack the bunker with the aide of a Tank which is to provide firepower to support them as they advance. As they move along the route to the bunker, they are ambushed by a German squad backed by a small howitzer that destroys the tank before they can counter attack. After killing the Germans the squad decide to haul the howitzer with them to attack the German bunker. As the squad hauls the gun towards the bunker they are tracked by a German patrol who had gone to check on the gun crew which were not responding to radio calls. Sgt Saunders gets a report from a runner that the Germans are in pursuit and manages to ambush and wipe them out. The squad then manages to position the gun and wipe out the bunker.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | War

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 September 1966 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Korbel Winery - 13250 River Road, Guerneville, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Selmur Productions, ABC Television Network

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was the first color episode.

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Goofs

Saunders calls Wayne Rogers character by his real name "Rogers" not by the character name of Reiser.

User Reviews

This episode was shot in color

Season 5, Episode 1: The Gun Original Air Date: 13 September 1966 To knock out a German bunker, the squad must drag a cannon over a mile of rough, enemy-infested terrain.

I was 9 when the series started and watched it in real time. I don't recall seeing any episodes in color, and it is a qualitatively different experience in color. The characters' faces are more interesting, the action holds attention better and the backgrounds are more distinctive.

Combat purists might favor the black-and-white which engenders a grittier noir quality due to so many episodes showing stories set during the night.

I don't know if the whole last season was shot in color, but the Amercian Life Channel showed this episode on 20 July 2007, and they are running episodes in rough order.