User Reviews

For some reason unknown to man, Vic Morrow did not get a chance at directing a Combat episode until this particular installment. I'm so glad this ended up happening, because Morrow demonstrates that not only was he a great actor, but a top class director as well. In terms of emotional weight, this is arguably the most riveting entry of the entire show. In it, we see Hanley in a difficult moral dilemma, where making one choice basically guarantees the death of somebody else. His leadership and fighting skills as an officer are put to the ultimate test, and 90 percent of it is done within just one setting. The Pillbox begins with Saunders, Hanley and the others retreating for a fierce artillery bombardment. Hanley tells everyone to retreat, but notices a badly wounded American soldier who is bleeding heavily from his left rib area. Unable to stand up, Hanley takes the soldier, named Stark, to a nearby pillbox, which is a colloquial name for a bunker or similarly small concrete fortification. Stark is losing blood fast and both he and Hanley know that unless he gets to an aid station soon, he's going to die. Right as Hanley says he's going to carry Stark to safety now that the artillery is gone, Hanley hears German troops outside. It begins to rain, and the mud bogs down one of the enemy vehicles, getting it stuck. Because of this, the germans are not going anywhere anytime soon. 3 german soldiers enter the bunker and are taken as prisoners by Hanley. After taking away their guns, one of the german soldiers named Dorfmann tries to tell Stark that Hanley is a fool for choosing to keep him in this bunker while he slowly bleeds to death. If both of them surrender, Stark will be taken care of by a german field hospital about a third of a mile down the road. Hanley dismisses Dorfmann's claim, saying that this field hospital probably doesn't even exist. Later on, Stark's condition starts to get worse, so Hanley tells Dorfmann to tell one of the other german soldiers to bandage his wound and put a soft object behind Stark's head. As the german digs around looking for something to use, he comes across a hand grenade. Not wanting to alert Hanley to his plan, the german stuffs it into his sleeve, knowing it will be useful later. The german eventually tries to kill Hanley with the grenade, but falls outside the door of the bunker and blows himself up. The explosion knocks the Colt 45 out of Hanley's grip and Stark is able to take it from him. Holding everyone at gunpoint, Stark tries to talk some sense into Hanley and says how he wants to be given to the germans, but he can't bring himself to kill him. Dorfmann and the remaining german then try to rush Hanley. One of them is killed by shrapnel from outside, while Dorfmann grapples with Hanley for his pistol. Hanley shoots him in the stomach. After the skirmish is over, friendly artillery drives out the germans from the area, and finally, Hanley attempts to carry Stark to safety, as he always should have done. Almost like a cruel joke, Stark finally bleeds to death right after exiting the pillbox. Enraged, Hanley goes back into the bunker and tells a dying Dorfmann (who wants to be carried to safety) that he deserves to die there, now that Hanley understands babysitting 3 germans and letting his friend die was the wrong thing to do. Hanley then has a change of heart, perhaps realizing that he has to at least try to save one person today, and carries Dorfmann to safety. Wow. In a similar vein to No Trumpets, No Drums from the end of the first season, this episode is one of very few Combat episodes that I believe is worthy of a perfect score. I wasn't expecting it to be that good because the previous one was pretty much garbage, but Morrow is definitely exquisite director material. I really enjoyed seeing Hanley shine in this episode. He doesn't get the spotlight enough in my view, and here, he shows the darker side of himself no one wants to see. He even threatens to shoot Stark at one point after he yells and threatens to give their position away. In previous installments, we've seen Saunders having to make difficult decisions to save a person, but ironically, Hanley doesn't make a decision in this episode. He chooses to wait instead. This tragically leads to the death of Stark, and it's made even more sad by the fact that Hanley was about to save him earlier. They were about to leave the bunker until the germans showed up. It's also worth mentioning how Dorfmann is played by Albert Paulsen, who portrayed another german prisoner early in the show's history. Overall, I really was blown away by this episode and Morrow's talent as a director. All I can say is I hope they got him to do more in the future, since he clearly knew what he was doing.