Tommy

Tommy is the twenty-sixth and final episode of The Gallant Men. It was written by James O'Hanlon and George O'Hanlon, and was directed by Charles R. Rondeau. It aired on March 30, 1963.

Plot summary
Given a break from the front, the men of Able Company head to Naples, “a haven of brief rest and play to soldiers on combat recess,” Conley Wright notes. The men check into a fine hotel and notice a placard promoting a USO show headed by starlet Joyce Adams. British medical officer Maj. John Brighton offers to take Wright and Capt. Benedict to Adams’ USO show.

Adams is delayed by a late flight and a broken jeep axle, but she and her pianist, Harry Cooper, blow away the soldiers with an energetic set. Brighton, keen to meet Adams, ropes Benedict into accompanying him under the pretense of inviting Joyce to visit the military hospital in Naples. Adams reacts excitedly at seeing “Jim,” revealing the two have a history.

At dinner that evening, Adams ignores Brighton and presses Benedict about why he broke contact with her. She agrees to visit the hospital the following day, but she and Benedict tersely dismiss the major when he tries to make conversation. Benedict and Adams get moony-eyed over each other and Adams voices guilt over not being able to help soldiers beyond giving them an hour of entertainment.

The next morning, Adams and Cooper put on an informal set for the wounded at the hospital. One of the patients gets irritated when she gets too close to him and asks to be removed from the room. She continues singing, but is clearly distracted by his reaction. After her performance concludes, Adams goes to the man’s room to talk with him. The standoffish soldier, a Brit named Tom Collier, rebuffs her attempts to make a connection. Though hurt, Adams says she understands and she leaves with Benedict.

Brighton enters and points out Collier hasn’t read or replied to any of his girlfriend’s letters. Collier, who is paralyzed from the neck down, angrily argues that he has nothing to say and that his girlfriend has nothing to love about a handicapped man. Brighton says the paralysis is psychosomatic and that Collier has a duty to at least read the letters.

In her hotel room, Adams tells Cooper she’s too tired to go on to her next stop in London. Benedict shows up and offers to take her to dinner. She initially agrees, but suddenly breaks the date, leaving a confused Benedict behind as she heads back to the hospital.

She comes into Collier’s room and again tries to engage him in conversation. Collier angrily shouts for the nurse, but an air raid interrupts him. Collier has a flashback to the bombing attack that caused his injury, as Adams attempts to comfort him. Meanwhile, Benedict leaves the hotel and heads to the hospital to find Adams.

Harry Cooper, D’Angelo, Lucavich and others are playing craps, and the pianist is cleaning the squad out. The air raid ends and Collier emerges from his flashback emotionally wrecked. Benedict enters the room to find Adams promising to take care of Collier. The captain silently departs.

The next morning, Adams seems to be cheering Collier. He laughs at her jokes and is much more comfortable around her. He asks her to stay around longer, and she assents. He tells her of Dr. Brighton’s psychosomatic diagnosis, and Adams says whether his paralysis is physical or not makes no difference. She kisses him.

A dejected Benedict visits a local bar. McKenna is having some success wooing a local woman. A French soldier, Pierre, enters the bar and starts harassing the woman. He and McKenna get into a fight and the slightly-built Frenchman initially bests McKenna. When the bigger sergeant hurts Pierre, however, the woman runs to his aid and chastises McKenna. The whole incident amuses Benedict.

At the hotel, Harry and D’Angelo jam on their respective instruments for the entertainment of the guys. Harry charms them with his wisecracks. Benedict comes in and calls Harry aside for a conversation. Cooper tells Benedict that Adams has a fixation on injured men. At nearly every tour stop, she falls for a wounded man, a habit that concerns Harry. When he asks Benedict if he’s in love with Adams, the captain replies, “What else is new, Harry?”

The next day, Benedict testily informs Brighton of the situation, claiming to be worried about Collier’s feelings and Adams’ obsession. The jealous captain is surprised to learn Collier’s paralysis is likely mental. Brighton says the joy and optimism Adams brings could help Collier recover and walk again. An angry Benedict storms out of Brighton’s office, intent on “curing” Collier by enraging him. He insults and berates Collier and Adams. Presumably through the emotional shock, Collier regains the ability to control his arms and Adams quietly leaves his room. She gives Benedict the cold shoulder on her way out.

Harry and Joyce banter as they pack for their trip to London. Benedict, now in combat uniform and on his way back to the front, stops by to tell her he’s breaking their lunch date. She kisses him and looks forlorn as she watches him climb into a jeep and leave.

G-2 Report

 * The stock footage shown under the title card for this episode also ran under the title card for “Retreat to Concord.” The footage of Able Company pushing ahead in the rain appears to have been taken from the pilot episode. The same footage shows the men wearing 36th Division uniform patches instead of the Fifth Army patches they wear elsewhere in the episode.
 * Boy, Benedict does not come off well in this episode. The character can be a real monster, and for no real gain other than satisfying his own petty jealousy. And yet, at the end of the episode Joyce Adams still craves him. Another example of the weak portrayal of women on The Gallant Men. And another example of Benedict suffering few or no consequences for his self-centered, ghastly behavior toward other people.
 * This is the second episode in which D’Angelo makes a crack about Gibson being gay. The first was in “Some Tears Fall Dry.” Gibson initially laughs along with D’Angelo and McKenna, but is peeved immediately afterward. He does get a small victory later, when Adams gives him her autograph and D’Angelo gets nothing.
 * Episode co-writer George O’Hanlon plays pianist Harry Cooper. The script hints Harry carries a torch for Joyce, and she is aware of it but politely rebuffs him. The viewer is left to wonder whether Cooper’s feelings influence his “concerns” about Adams’ fixation on wounded servicemen.
 * What was the point of the bar fight scene between McKenna and the French soldier? And the craps game during the air raid? Both felt like efforts to pad the script out to fill the hour.
 * The episode title is a double reference to Tom Collier and the sobriquet “Tommy,” a nickname for British soldiers as early as the 19th century, but commonly associated with the First and Second World Wars.
 * This was the final first-run episode of The Gallant Men. It doesn’t feel like a finale because Warner Bros. hoped it wouldn’t be a finale. The studio hoped ABC would order additional first-season episodes or give the green light to a second season. ABC chose a third option – summary cancellation. So the run of The Gallant Men ends with Conley Wright narrating that the men are leaving Naples behind and looking ahead to Rome, an on-screen triumph that would never come.