User Reviews

When Lt. Hanley and Sgt. Saunders' squad runs out ammunition, the survivors are forced to surrender to the German soldiers. Hanley, Saunders, Caje, Littlejohn, Billy and Kelly are taken prisoners and tied up in a barn, hungry and tired. Out of the blue, the artillery fires at the place and Hanley and his men escape but leave Saunders tied behind without noticing. When Saunders finally escapes from the barn, his hands are completely burned and his squad is ahead believing he has died. Hanley and his squad and Saunders behind try to return to the Allied lines, and the helpless Saunders becomes delusional with his wounds. Will they be rescued?

"Survival" is one episode that touches the heart of the viewer and stays in his or her mind. I was a boy when I saw this episode and now seeing it again on DVD, I still recalls Sgt. Saunders' dramatic situation, looking at the apple or carrying a German dead body. The underrated Vic Morrow has a mesmerizing and one of his best performances in the role of the unforgettable Sgt. Saunders. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Sobrevivência" ("Survival")

I was a kid when Combat! was on first run. Liked most 10 or 12 year-old boys, I liked war movies. Explosions and some machine gun fire did not bother me a bit. Consequently, I generally watched Combat! every week. All the episodes run together in my mind nowadays except for this one. I distinctly remember this episode. I remember Sergeant Saunders with his blackened burned hands trying to get back to Allied lines. If I remember correctly (and I might not), I thought the episode was a little bit exciting, and a little bit silly. I do recall that the next week Sergeant Saunders' hands were healed and unmarked, which I thought was pretty incredible. Then again, he was Sergeant Saunders.

I always have thought that Vic Morrow was an underrated actor of that era. I've had a similar opinion of David Janssen. On the other hand, maybe I just liked their respective TV series.

Altman was an excellent television director, and this episode shows why he soon went on to feature films. By an equal measure it shows what a fine actor Vic Morrow was, and why Morrow is favored in the Altman-directed episodes. Those who are interested in seeing what fine dramatic television can be should check this out, even by today's expanded standards of what is allowed on television it's memorable and very well directed and acted. What a shame only three people have actually commented on it. If nothing else, watch it to get at least a vague inkling of what war does to people, and of the kind of bravery it takes to survive one. I'd also recommend any of the other episodes of Combat directed by Altman as well, particularly "I Swear by Apollo" and "The Prisoner."

In "Survival" we see White Rook toughing it out after fate sets them free. It's time to acquire food & water while avoiding the Germans en route to their lines.

In a bombed out French town, White Rook is slugging it out with the Germans when they run out of ammunition and are taken prisoner. Marched at high rate to a farm house, they are tied up in the barn when Americans begin shelling the area. Barn on fire, Germans running for dear life, the squad is mercifully set free by the Germans. Sergeant Saunders loses the use of his hands in the chaos and is forced to fend for himself while in a state of shock. Lieutenant Hanley and the rest of the squad head toward their lines in search of food.

The apple tree scenes are very touching & memorable, and contrast the able bodied with poor Saunders.

Private Kelly (played by Joby Baker) is cast in his last Combat episode and proves out Darwin's Natural Selection Theory.

Vic Morrow does a superb job portraying an incapacitated GI in shock, the ending sequence a terrific piece of acting on his part.

Considering a somewhat below average script, Morrow and White Rook carried the episode well.

I am in my 60's now. I was a boy when this show was on, and it was one of my favorites, if not my very favorite show. I also liked Perry Mason and Gunsmoke. This episode stands out in my memory more than all the others. I guess I loved Sergeant Saunders and this one really hurt to watch. It must have been very well done.

The squad is captured by a German tank unit and taken to a POW camp where they're mistreated. Heavy shelling of the camp permits Rick & his men to escape, but Vic is left behind, his hands badly burned in a fire.

Altman moves back and forth between two stories, Vic's grim, difficult to watch struggle to survive on his own, while Rick and his men steal supplies from the Germans and try to evade capture,

It's an existential saga, especially during Vic's highly physical and Brando-influenced emotional solo turn, but too relentlessly negative to be entertaining -it's merely a relief when it's over. Just as the current overpraised German remake of "All Quiet on the Western Front" issued by Netflix was relentlessly downbeat and negative, this is a tough slog and does not measure up to the impact of "Combat!"s strongest suit: men battling against each other in a war of wills rather than battling against the forces of nature.

When finally rescued, the delirious Vic is met by Michael Murphy (billed in end credits as "Mike Murphy"), one of Altman's all-time favorite actors.