This 2nd episode of Rat Patrol begins remarkably similar to the 1st episode...ambushing a German convoy.
It's no surprise that the result is similar as well. In the previous episode, a team member was killed; in this
episode, Hitch is seriously wounded by shrapnel. Sgt. Troy is no West Pointer, so maybe a superior officer could explain to him that it is insane to use jeeps to attack enemy armor columns. At least the Rats are getting better at it, as this time a German tank is destroyed (likewise, maybe Hpt. Dietrich should explain to his tankers that it is a good idea to button-up when in battle!) before Troy's jeep is burning and Hitch is nailed.
The Rat Patrol limps away from the suicidal engagement, and finds a quiet place to help the ailing Hitch. Troy has Sgt. Moffitt attend to a dying man...of course, since Moffitt is a Doctor of Anthropology, there's not a lot he can do for Hitch, but he humors Troy with an examination anyway. Hitch needs a hospital, but they are too far behind enemy lines to make it in time for Hitch to live.
Luckily, there is a German aid station just a few miles away, and so begins war-movie-stereotypical-plotline #5:
have an enemy doctor save the wounded man's life. This is an especially risky ploy since the Rats have a bounty on their heads, but Troy has a plan!
To sneak into the enemy field hospital, Moffitt commandeers an enemy ambulance and the team suits up in the
enemy medic outfits. I suspect this violates several articles of the Geneva Convention, but I guess no one
has war crime tribunals on their minds at this point of the war. We can't be sure what Moffitt has done to the poor
ambulance driver or his orderlies, but Moffitt has the sense to bring back along the good-looking German nurse.
She's not too happy about the situation, so Troy threatens her into being quiet about what's going on.
Our undercover commandos have no trouble rolling right into the German field station and unloading Hitch into
a tent for surgery. Unluckily, there is a daft SS officer who recognises them immediately as enemy soldiers; luckily,
the daft SS officer seems to think everyone is an enemy soldier, including the German doctor himself (played by Ed
Asner). This SS officer is certainly a long way from his unit, since there were no SS units deployed anywhere in Africa.
Moffitt does all of the talking, and his German is perfect...the German doctor suspects nothing as he prepares Hitch for the life-saving operation. Unfortunately, Hitch seems to done at least one silly thing while drinking with the boys back home...he has a really amaturish tattoo on his arm that says "Fort Benning G.A. 1942" which the doctor sees. Troy's pistol convinces the doctor to continue working, but the nutty SS officer bursts in with a machinegun. The doctor tells the squinty-eyed SS officer to not worry, that the situation is well in-hand and a lethal morphine dose has been injected into the comatose Hitch. All hell breaks loose with that announcement...Tully takes out the SS officer with ether, while Troy punches and starts choking the doctor with his bare hands. Moffitt realizes the Doctor was bluffing and prevents Troy from committing another war crime to be logged in the after-action report.
The doctor does his job and saves Hitch, but the ambulance is gone! Fortunately, there is a casket laden truck nearby, and after stashing Hitch into one of the caskets, making the doctor promise to be quiet, and Troy making brief pillow-talk with the nurse, our team starts their getaway. The SS officer comes to and alerts the guards, so a few scrambling Germans get filled with lead from Troy and Tully as the truck speeds away. The Germans deploy a few halftracks and the chase is on (and here is one of the more artsy film shots...views of the chase through a twisted root poking from the ground...a good example of the sometimes surprising stylish techniques used in the series). Troy does, in this case, plan ahead..so, after unloading Hitch and Tully, Moffitt and Troy head back toward the halftracks, armed with ether-fueled molotov
cocktails. With the accurate arm of Troy, the devices soon have the halftracks burning and the SS officer wishing he had stayed at the Russian Front with his unit.
The team makes it back to friendly lines and groggy Hitch gets loaded into an ambulance, but not before mumbling
about a "meeting the greatest chick" and "Sarge, who was there, you or me?". Troy advises him leave the nurses alone
listen to the doctors, and that he will "be back pushing his luck soon enough!" That's a fact, as long as Troy is in
charge.
The episode ends with one of the longest "driving into the sunset" scenes...sometimes the episodes ran short and were
lengthened with shots like this, with the background music looped to the max.
Not a bad episode, just somewhat predictable. Hauptmann Dietrich doesn't appear in this one, so that is a letdown.
But Albert Paulsen does a good job as the wacky SS Colonel von Helbug, and Ed Asner as well. The guest stars really provide the depth in this one.moreless
AIRED:
Hitchcock is severely wounded in a desert battle. To save his life, even at the risk of being captured, Troy takes him to a nearby German field hospital for treatment.
 Lawrence Casey |
Pvt. Mark Hitchcock |
Christopher George |
Sgt. Sam Troy |
Gary Raymond |
Sgt. Jack Moffitt |
Justin Tarr |
Pvt. Tully Pettigrew |
Albert Paulsen |
Colonel von Helbing |
Guest Star |
Christa Linder |
Ilse |
Guest Star |
Joe Byrne |
American Medical Attendant |
Guest Star |
Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions
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TRIVIA (0)
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QUOTES (4)
ADD QUOTES-
Pvt. Hitchcock (wounded, and on a stretcher): I hope this doesn't lay me up too long, Sarge.
Sgt. Troy: You'll be back pushing your luck soon enough. Just listen to the doctors, and leave the nurses alone.
Pvt. Pettigrew: That'll be the day! -
Col. von Helbing: Battle fatigue has not clouded my ability to recognize American swine!
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Sgt. Troy: Ready, Mark?
Pvt. Hitchcock: It's not worth it, Sarge.
Sgt. Troy: You just keep your mouth shut. And if you have to moan, do it in German! -
Sgt. Troy: Where's the driver?
Sgt. Moffitt: He preferred not to come along. But I brought you a little bonus. She's with the German nursing corps. Her english is good, but she's rather disagreeable.
Sgt. Troy: I'll work on it!
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NOTES (2)
ADD NOTES-
Beginning with this episode, and continuing through episode 17, the series was filmed mostly in Almeria, Spain. By the mid-1960s, Almeria was an choice destination for international film productions that required desert landscapes. Movies such as King of Kings, El Cid, Lawrence of Arabia and Patton were filmed there. A great number of Italian westerns were filmed there as well, including The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.
Beginning with the 18th episode, the production of The Rat Patrol shifted back to utilizing the Mojave desert area in southern California. -
Albert Paulsen would play a German officer again in The Field of Death Raid which aired in Season Two.
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ALLUSIONS (0)
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Wednesday
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Season 2 announced on DVD
06/09/113
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I find my self doing thing this sometimes.
06/09/113
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Did Dietrich Survive the War? (possible spoilers)
06/09/112
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The Rat Patrol outfit
05/17/091
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My Fictional Rat Patrol Episode
09/15/082
Season 1 Episodes
See AllEp 32
The Delilah Raid
Ep 31
The Fire and Brimstone ...
Ep 30
Mask-a-Raid
Ep 29
The Hour Glass Raid
Ep 28
The Double or Nothing Raid
Ep 27
The Take Me to Your Lea...
Ep 26
The Bring 'Em Back Aliv...
Ep 25
The Wild Goose Raid
Ep 24
The Two Against Time Raid
Ep 23
The Holy War Raid
Ep 22
The Exhibit A Raid
Ep 21
The B Negative Raid
Ep 20
The Last Chance Raid
Ep 19
The Two for One Raid
Ep 18
The One That Got Away Raid
Ep 17
The Last Harbor Raid (3)
Ep 16
The Last Harbor Raid (2)
Ep 15
The Last Harbor Raid (1)
Ep 14
The Dare-Devil Rescue Raid
Ep 13
The Lighthouse Raid
Ep 12
The Gun Runner Raid
Ep 11
The Deadly Double Raid
Ep 10
The Moment of Truce Raid
Ep 9
The Blow Sky High Raid
Ep 8
The Fatal Chase Raid
Ep 7
The Blind Man's Bluff Raid
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