"Fly Away Home" is a story about a man and his birds. White Rook must escort Sergeant Keeley (well played by Neville Brand) deep into German territory along with his pigeons for a special recon mission. A small camera is attached to a pigeon which then flies in circles over German territory taking pictures at regular intervals. The miniature camera is wind operated. All the pigeon has to do is fly at a reasonable rate of speed to automatically operate the shutter at regular intervals.
In real life Mr. Brand had quite a book collection and it would be interesting to know about his knowledge of birds and how he wound up doing this episode. Brand was also cast in "Birdman of Alcatraz" in 1962. He is extremely convincing in his role of pigeon expert and his devotion to his birds is undeniable. In addition, Neville spent 10 years in the Army and was a decorated WW II veteran. Pigeons were actually used to great advantage in WW II. (G.I. Joe (March 24, 1943 in Algiers - June 3, 1961 in Detroit (see Wikipedia)) was a pigeon noted for his service in the United States Army Pigeon Service.)
Conflict between Saunders and Keeley is excellent. And when the Sarge see's he's dealing with a compulsive bird man, he must temper his approach to work with him. Kirby plays the tough but excellent role as the ignorant one of the squad. Leave Kirby & Keeley alone and inevitably you'd have a fist fight on your hands.
Kay Lenard & Jess Carneol wrote a very realistic screenplay and I give them credit for addressing the topic. Carrier Pigeons have been used to great advantage in numerous wars and some of them were recognized for their outstanding service as G.I. Joe mentioned above. Bernard McEveety did an excellent job directing and as usual the action scenes are very believable.
It's interesting to note according to Lieutenant Hanley, using pigeons to carry a mini-camera and take pictures was an idea the Americans borrowed from the Germans.
In real life Mr. Brand had quite a book collection and it would be interesting to know about his knowledge of birds and how he wound up doing this episode. Brand was also cast in "Birdman of Alcatraz" in 1962. He is extremely convincing in his role of pigeon expert and his devotion to his birds is undeniable. In addition, Neville spent 10 years in the Army and was a decorated WW II veteran. Pigeons were actually used to great advantage in WW II. (G.I. Joe (March 24, 1943 in Algiers - June 3, 1961 in Detroit (see Wikipedia)) was a pigeon noted for his service in the United States Army Pigeon Service.)
Conflict between Saunders and Keeley is excellent. And when the Sarge see's he's dealing with a compulsive bird man, he must temper his approach to work with him. Kirby plays the tough but excellent role as the ignorant one of the squad. Leave Kirby & Keeley alone and inevitably you'd have a fist fight on your hands.
Kay Lenard & Jess Carneol wrote a very realistic screenplay and I give them credit for addressing the topic. Carrier Pigeons have been used to great advantage in numerous wars and some of them were recognized for their outstanding service as G.I. Joe mentioned above. Bernard McEveety did an excellent job directing and as usual the action scenes are very believable.
It's interesting to note according to Lieutenant Hanley, using pigeons to carry a mini-camera and take pictures was an idea the Americans borrowed from the Germans.
