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The Gallant Men

{{Short description|Television series}}

{{Redirect|Gallant Men|the spoken word album|Everett Dirksen}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}

{{Infobox television

| image = The Gallant Men.JPG

| caption = William Reynolds and Robert McQueeney in The Gallant Men

| runtime = 60 minutes

| creator = Richard Bluel

| executive_producer=William T. Orr

| starring = {{Plainlist|

}}

| country = United States

| network = ABC

| first_aired = {{Start date|1962|10|05}}

| last_aired = {{End date|1963|03|30}}

| num_episodes = 26

| num_seasons = 1

}}

The Gallant Men is a 1962–1963 ABC Warner Bros. Television series which depicted an infantry company of American soldiers fighting their way through Italy in World War II.

Description

The Gallant Men dramatized the experiences of the fictional Able Company within the 36th Infantry Division, Fifth Army, beginning with the division's amphibious landing at Salerno, Italy, on September 9, 1943.{{Cite episode |title=The Gallant Men (pilot) |series=The Gallant Men |first=Halsted |last=Welles |network=ABC |date=October 5, 1962 |season=1 |number=1}} The pilot episode was directed by Robert Altman.{{cite web |url=http://www.jodavidsmeyer.com/combat/personnel/Altman.html |title=Robert Altman |last=Davidsmeyer |first=Jo |date=2011 |website=CombatFan.com |access-date=January 18, 2020 }}

The company's commander was Capt. Jim Benedict, played by William Reynolds, who later appeared in the series, The F.B.I. Their exploits were narrated by a newspaper correspondent — Conley Wright, played by Robert McQueeney — who accompanied them on their missions. The show lasted only one season. It succumbed to tough competition from the other networks and tepid responses from critics and audiences. The show also faced unfavorable comparisons with ABC's other World War II series launched the same year, Combat!.

The Gallant Men tended to be formulaic in plotting and characterization, with such stereotypes as ladies' man PFC Pete D'Angelo (played by Eddie Fontaine), hard-as-nails Sgt. John McKenna (Richard X. Slattery), and inseparable buddies Pvt. Ernie Lucavich (Roland La Starza) and Pvt. Sam Hanson (Robert Gothie). The regular cast would unrealistically dispatch large numbers of German troops while experiencing minimal or no injuries themselves in the Italian campaign, where historically the Allies suffered heavy casualties from determined German resistance that lasted until the end of World War II in Europe. Although promotional materials for the series promised a dramatization of the Italian campaign from Salerno to Rome,{{cite magazine |author=No byline |title=How Many Americans Will Relive This Story on October 5, 1962? |magazine=Broadcasting |publisher=Broadcasting Publications, Inc. |date=May 7, 1962 }} the series played out nearly in real time. Its 26 episodes take place between September 1943 and early spring 1944.{{Cite episode |title=The Crucible |series=The Gallant Men |first=Don |last=Tait |network=ABC |date=March 23, 1963 |season=1 |number=25}}

The series blended original footage with shots from wartime newsreels and stock footage from Warner Bros. war films such as Force of Arms, Darby's Rangers and A Walk in the Sun.

Regular cast

Episodes

{{Episode table |background= |overall= |title= |director= |writer= |airdate= |episodes=

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 1

| Title = Battle Zone

| DirectedBy = Robert Altman

| WrittenBy = {{StoryTeleplay|t=Halsted Welles|s=James Merriam Moore}}

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1962|10|05}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor =

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 2

| Title = Retreat to Concord

| DirectedBy = Richard C. Sarafian

| WrittenBy = {{StoryTeleplay|t=William Bruckner|s=Leonard Brown}}

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1962|10|12}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor =

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 3

| Title = And Cain Cried Out

| DirectedBy = Charles R. Rondeau

| WrittenBy = Ken Pettus

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1962|10|19}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor =

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 4

| Title = The Ninety-Eight Cent Man

| DirectedBy = Richard C. Sarafian

| WrittenBy = Richard L. Adams

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1962|10|26}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor =

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 5

| Title = One Moderately Peaceful Sunday

| DirectedBy = Richard C. Sarafian

| WrittenBy = Montgomery Pittman

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1962|11|02}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 500050

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 6

| Title = Lesson for a Lover

| DirectedBy = Charles R. Rondeau

| WrittenBy = {{StoryTeleplay|t=Richard Landau & Jerry Davis|s=Richard M. Bluel}}

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1962|11|09}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 500050

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 7

| Title = And the End of Evil Things

| DirectedBy = Richard C. Sarafian

| WrittenBy = David Lang

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1962|11|16}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 500050

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 8

| Title = Some Tears Fall Dry

| DirectedBy = Charles R. Rondeau

| WrittenBy = Don Tait

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1962|11|23}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 500050

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 9

| Title = Fury in a Quiet Village

| DirectedBy = Richard C. Sarafian

| WrittenBy = Stephen Lord

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1962|11|30}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 500050

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 10

| Title = Signals for an End Run

| DirectedBy = Richard C. Sarafian

| WrittenBy = {{StoryTeleplay|t=David Giler & Berne Giler|s=Arthur Fitz-Richard & William D'Angelo}}

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1962|12|07}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor =

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 11

| Title = Robertino

| DirectedBy = Charles R. Rondeau

| WrittenBy = Herman Groves

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1962|12|14}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 500050

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 12

| Title = A Place to Die

| DirectedBy =

| WrittenBy =

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1962|12|21}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 500050

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 13

| Title = Advance and Be Recognized

| DirectedBy =

| WrittenBy =

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1962|12|29}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 500050

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 14

| Title = To Hold Up a Mirror

| DirectedBy =

| WrittenBy =

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1963|01|05}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 500050

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 15

| Title = Boast Not of Tomorrow

| DirectedBy =

| WrittenBy =

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1963|01|12}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 500050

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 16

| Title = The Dogs of War

| DirectedBy =

| WrittenBy =

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1963|01|19}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 500050

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 17

| Title = The Bridge

| DirectedBy =

| WrittenBy =

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1963|01|26}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 500050

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 18

| Title = The Leathernecks

| DirectedBy =

| WrittenBy =

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1963|02|02}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 500050

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 19

| Title = Next of Kin

| DirectedBy =

| WrittenBy = Ken Pettus

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1963|02|09}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 500050

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 20

| Title = Operation Secret

| DirectedBy =

| WrittenBy =

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1963|02|16}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 500050

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 21

| Title = The Warriors

| DirectedBy =

| WrittenBy =

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1963|02|23}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 500050

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 22

| Title = One Puka Puka

| DirectedBy = Leslie H. Martinson

| WrittenBy = David Lang

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1963|03|02}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 500050

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 23

| Title = Ol' Buddy

| DirectedBy = Richard L. Bare

| WrittenBy = William Koenig

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1963|03|09}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 500050

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 24

| Title = A Taste of Peace

| DirectedBy =

| WrittenBy =

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1963|03|16}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 500050

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 25

| Title = The Crucible

| DirectedBy = Charles R. Rondeau

| WrittenBy = {{StoryTeleplay|t=Don Tait|s=William L. Stuart}}

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1963|03|23}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 500050

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 26

| Title = Tommy

| DirectedBy = Charles R. Rondeau

| WrittenBy =

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1963|03|30}}

| ShortSummary =

| LineColor = 500050

}}

}}

Development

Warner Bros. television producer William T. Orr tried as early as 1960 to generate interest in a weekly dramatic series set in World War II. The early concept was called Battle Zone. The reception he found from the three major TV networks was lukewarm at best. "It wasn't that the networks were hostile to the idea," Orr told The New York Times in 1962. "They seemed to be in a kind of morass of indecision about it."{{cite news |first=Murray |last=Schumach |title=2 TV FILM GROUPS PLAN WAR SERIES: Warner Brothers and A.B.C See Future in Subject |work=The New York Times |page=14 |date=24 August 1962 }} Orr also predicted that, if Gallant Men were successful, networks would warm to more series set during the war. Looking for more original programming in its 1962-63 TV season, ABC gave the green light to Battle Zone, which was re-titled The Gallant Men.

The pilot episode was budgeted at $170,000 ($1.46 million in 2020 dollars).{{cite web |url=https://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl |title=CPI Inflation Calculator |publisher=Bureau of Labor Statistics |access-date=24 February 2020 }} In preparation for shooting, director Robert Altman and story editor Richard Bluel screened John Huston's 1945 documentary The Battle of San Pietro. Eight days were spent on production, broken down into one day each for tests and post-production, and six shooting days. Primary filming took place in December 1961 and January 1962.{{cite book |last=McGilligan |first=Patrick |date=1989 |title=Robert Altman: Jumping Off the Cliff |publisher=St. Martin's Press |page=184 }} Warner Bros. offered Altman a contract to continue directing the series, but the director found himself dissatisfied with Warner's production style and accepted an offer from Combat! executive producer Selig J. Seligman instead.

Members of the principal cast received basic military training on the Warner backlot over the spring of 1962, led by two veterans of the Italian campaign, Maj. Richard Lauer and SFC Robert McClintic.{{cite news |author=No byline |title='Gallant Men' Actors Undergo GI Training |publisher=Hartford Courant |page=5G |date=1 July 1962 }} The cast familiarized themselves with action sequences using trenches and bomb craters dug by studio special effects personnel.{{cite magazine |author=No byline |title=In Hollywood, This Means War |magazine=TV Guide |date=6 October 1962 }}

In May 1962,{{cite news |author=No byline |title=Battle Veteran to Aid Gallant Men Fighting |work=Los Angeles Times |page=B2 |date=26 May 1962 }} Army Lt. Col. David Sisco was tapped to be the series' military adviser. By coincidence, Sisco was friends with. Maj. Homer Jones, the technical adviser for Combat!{{cite news |first=Hal |last=Humphrey |title=War in Hollywood Is Hell for Adviser |newspaper=The Washington Post |page=14 |date=21 December 1962 }} Sisco served in the 36th Infantry Division in Italy, the group depicted in The Gallant Men. His job wasn't just limited to teaching the actors how to properly shoot; at times, Sisco and his Army superiors nixed or altered storylines so as not to cast soldiers or the Army itself in a negative light. At least one television critic said such changes weakened the show.{{cite news |author=No byline |title=TV Scout: Palmer Sports Has New Flare |publisher=Nashville Tennessean |page=16 |date=12 January 1963 }}

Cancellation and syndication

In December 1962 ABC cancelled The Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Show, opening an hour-long gap (7:30 - 8:30 p.m. ET) in the network's Saturday primetime schedule. Gallant Men was moved into that timeslot.{{cite news |first=Val |last=Adams |title=A.B.C. TO CANCEL ROY ROGERS SHOW: Program Realignment Will Affect 4 TV Programs |work=The New York Times |page=59 |date=26 November 1962 }} By February 1963, doubtful reports began to circulate about The Gallant Men's future.{{cite magazine |author=No byline |title=Next Season? More of the Same for TV |magazine=Broadcasting |publisher=Broadcasting Publications, Inc. |date=February 18, 1963 }} Late that month, ABC announced it would not order a second season, and the same week William T. Orr was removed as head of Warner's television division.{{cite news |first=Murray |last=Schumach |title=TV OFFICIAL GIVES AUTONOMY PLEDGE: Warner's Cites Inducements to Creative Talent |work=The New York Times |date=14 March 1963 }}{{cite web |url=https://classictvhistory.wordpress.com/2013/04/02/the-gallant-men/ |title=The Gallant Men |last=Bowie |first=Stephen |date=2 April 2013 |website=The Classic History TV Blog |access-date=19 February 2020 }} Warner Bros. then tried to sell commissioned but unproduced episode scripts to Combat!{{cite magazine |author=No byline |title=Sudden Death for W.B.'s Gallant Men |magazine=Variety |date=20 February 1963 }} That effort may have borne fruit, as three episodes from the second season of Combat! are credited to Gallant Men writers.

Before the year was out, Warner Bros. was selling the series' 26 episodes to local stations across the country as part of its syndicated program offerings. A magazine ad in February 1964 claimed Gallant Men reruns beat first-run network programming in the New York City television market, and that the series was running in 20 markets across the United States.{{cite magazine |author=No byline |title=The Gallant Men Beats Network Competition in New York |magazine=Broadcasting |publisher=Broadcasting Publications, Inc. |date=February 17, 1964 }} The series remained part of Warner Bros.' television syndication package until at least 1968.{{cite magazine |author=No byline |title=Off-Network Series From Warner Bros.-Seven Arts |magazine=Broadcasting |publisher=Broadcasting Publications, Inc. |date=January 22, 1968 }}

Home media

On July 24, 2012, Warner Bros. released The Gallant Men: The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1 via their Warner Archive Collection.[http://www.wbshop.com/product/code/1000333853.do Gallant Men, The: Complete Collection]

This is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available exclusively in the US and only through Warner's online store.

Tie-ins

  • Eddie Fontaine sang lyrics to Sy Miller's end title song "My Heart Belongs to You" on one episode with Warner Bros. Records releasing the song on 45rpm
  • The Louis Marx and Company released a 1963 military playset with character figures from the show joining the usual American toy soldiers.Playset Magazine, Issue 68, March/April 2013, "The Gallant Men Play Sets."
  • In 1966, Senator Everett McKinley Dirksen recorded the song "Gallant Men." It became a hit in the U.S., reaching #29 on the Billboard Hot 100 during the winter of 1967.Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - {{ISBN|0-89820-089-X}} It also reached #100 in Canada.{{cite web|url=https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.10031&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.10031.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.10031|title=Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada |website=Collectionscanada.gc.ca |date=1967-01-02 |access-date=2019-02-17}}
  • In 1963, Dell Publishing produced one issue of a comic book based on the show. The comic book contained two original standalone stories not drawn from the broadcast episodes.

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20060103151927/http://aa.1asphost.com/CTVA/US/Military/GallantMen.htm Classic TV Archive page for The Gallant Men]
  • {{IMDb title|55675}}
  • {{epguides|GallantMen}}
  • {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20060212152220/http://www.americanlifetv.com/programs.php?programid=GM AmericanLife TV Network page for The Gallant Men]}}
  • {{YouTube|fAt1VJfEq2k|Senator Everett McKinley Dirksen - "Gallant Men"}}

{{William T. Orr shows}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gallant Men, The}}

Category:American Broadcasting Company television dramas

Category:1962 American television series debuts

Category:1963 American television series endings

Category:World War II television drama series

Category:Television series based on actual events

Category:Television series set in 1943

Category:Television series set in 1944

Category:Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios

Category:American English-language television shows

Category:Black-and-white American television shows

Category:Television shows set in Italy

Category:Television series about the United States Army