BAND OF BROTHERS: CURRAHEE {EPISODE 1} (TV)
Summary
The premiere in this ten-part miniseries based on the experiences of Easy Company, the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, United States Army 101st Airborne Division, during World War II, and featuring commentary from Easy Company veterans preceding each episode. Part one begins on June 4, 1944 in Upottery, England, as Easy Company is told that inclement weather has caused a twenty-four hour standby until they will make a jump. As the rest of the troop members are distracted by watching Cary Grant and Myrna Loy in "Wings in the Dark," buddies Lt. Lewis Nixon and Lt. Richard Winters discuss what is going on in America. The narrative flashes back two years earlier to Camp Toccoa, Georgia, as the martinet Captain Herbert Sobel inspects his underlings' weapons, revoking their weekend pass privileges due to minor infractions. Afterward, Nixon, Winters and all the others are sentenced to a physical training session, angering them. Ignoring questions from C. Carwood Lipton, Private White refuses to leave the barrack for PT. Sobel gives his men fifteen minutes to get to the top of the daunting Currahee mountain. Later, Denver "Bull" Randleman wonders why Easy Company is the only company that has to march twelve miles on Friday nights. After the march, the men are forced to show that they did not drink any water from their canteen. When Private Burton "Pat" Christenson is found to have had some water, an angered Sobel instructs Winters to punish six of his men. Afterward, Winters reveals to Nixon who he chose to punish. The next day, the Easy Company undergoes more intense obstacle course training. Meanwhile, Sobel takes Walter "Smokey" Gordon to task, then tells him to make it to the top and back of Currahee in fifty minutes. Three privates subsequently join him. Despite his autocratic behavior, Sobel is soon commended for his men's performance during training by Col. Robert F. Sink. Later, Sobel goes through the men's bunk searching for "contraband" and punishes them for the likes of "non-regulation clothing." Afterward, Sobel reveals to Winters that he has been promoted. He then tells him that he will be tested on his organizational skills as "mess officer" for the next fourteen days. Later, Sobel bursts into the mess hall in the middle of a spaghetti lunch and forces his men to go on another six-mile run up and down Currahee. Not surprisingly, the men vomit up the cheap spaghetti during their run, but then begin singing a march song, much to Sobel's dismay. Next, the Easy Company does some "exit" work from a C-47 aircraft in order to become certified paratroopers. Afterward, the men celebrate their triumphs with some beers at a party. There, Sink tells them about the "brand new concept" of parachute infantry. Next, the program shifts to June 23, 1943 at Camp Macall, North Carolina, as Sobel and his men practice further ground drills in a forest. The Easy Company struggles with many men "dying" or becoming "wounded" during the training after Sobel miscalculates the location of "the enemy." Later, Lt. Harry Welsh visits with Nixon and Winters, revealing that he has heard many negative "rumblings" about Sobel getting "jumpy in the field." Soon enough, the Easy Company's men are beginning to doubt how Sobel will perform in the heat of war. Later, the Easy Company takes a secretive train ride to New York City, where they are due to head to England. The program picks up on September 6, 1943 in the Brooklyn Naval Shipyard as the Easy Company loads onto a ship headed for Europe. On the voyage, the men worry about where they are headed and talk about the trust they will have to have with each other when the "bullets start flying." Tensions rise when Sobel is insulted for being a Jew by William "Wild Bill" Guarnere as fellow Jew Joseph Liebgott takes offense. Next, on September 18, 1943 in Aldbourne, England, the Easy Company continues its training on European soil, working on hand-to-hand combat skills. Again, Sobel struggles in the drills, arriving late for one such mission. He particularly takes issue upon finding a fence in his company's way. His men believe that Sobel has gotten them lost yet again and play a prank on him by acting as if Major Horton is in his presence and angered. "Horton" instructs Sobel to cut the fence that's in his way. Then, while Sobel is wasting his time tearing apart the fence, the rest of the Easy Company take a detour through an adjacent village, getting ahead of Sobel. Later, Sobel is chastised for having cut down the fence and causing a farmer's cows to escape. Sobel is surprised to learn that Horton is on leave in London and couldn't have given the order. Later, William S. Evans tracks down Winters and hands him a court martial, courtesy of Sobel. Sobel continues abusing Winters for not performing tasks to his liking. With Winters out of the picture due to his court martial, some of the Easy Company men decide to implement a potentially traitorous plan to get Sobel out of their hair. They compose and sign a letter noting that all of them no longer wish to serve under Sobel's rule. Sink is angry, stating that the men have committed "an act of mutiny," and giving out punishments. Nevertheless, Sobel is called in to speak with Sink, who questions him on why his men would not wish to serve with him. Sink calls his command of Easy Company "exemplary." Nevertheless, Sobel is reassigned to a jump training school for non-infantry, losing his command of Easy Company. Sobel can't disguise being hurt by his demotion. Then, on May 31, 1944 in Upottery, England, Easy Company sets up shop, with Winters informing Lynn "Buck" Compton how much the men like him, even though he has only been with them for six days. Then, Winters goes to meet with Sobel's replacement, Thomas Meehan, to discuss the upcoming landing in Normandy near the beaches code-named Utah and Omaha. Nixon briefs his men on their assignment. Later, the men pack up and prepare for their mission, set to leave in a couple hours. Then, the invasion is postponed, returning the narrative to where the episode began. That night, the men struggle to sleep, especially Guarnere, who learns that his brother has just died in the war in Italy. The next morning, Easy Company again prepares to jump. Finally, the planes take off and head toward Normandy, where the nervous men are to make their leaps and begin "the Great Crusade."
This selection from the Alan Gerry Cable Collection has been made available by the Gerry Foundation, Inc.
Details
- NETWORK: HBO
- DATE: September 9, 2001 Sunday 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:13:11
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:67750
- GENRE: Drama, historical
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, historical; World War II; United States Army
- SERIES RUN: HBO - TV series, 2001
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Steven Spielberg … Executive Producer
- Tom Hanks … Executive Producer, Writer
- Gary Goetzman … Co-Executive Producer
- Tony To … Co-Executive Producer
- Stephen E. Ambrose … Co-Executive Producer, Based on the book by
- Erik Bork … Supervising Producer
- Erik Jendresen … Supervising Producer, Writer
- Mary Richards … Producer
- Gene Kelly … Co-Producer
- Billy Fox … Co-Producer
- Ivan Schwarz … Co-Producer
- Bruce Everett … Co-Producer
- Terri DePaolo … Associate Producer
- Claire McGrane … Digital Lab Producer
- James Brett … Music Co-Producer
- Michael Price … Music Co-Producer
- Tim Field … VFX Producer
- Cindy Jones … VFX Producer
- Emma Norton … VFX Producer
- Phil Alden Robinson … Director
- Michael Kamen … Music by
- Nicholas Aaron … Cast, Robert E. (Popeye) Wynn
- Kirk Acevedo … Cast, Joseph D. Toye
- Doug Allen … Cast, Alton M. More
- Eion Bailey … Cast, David Kenyon Webster
- Philip Barrantini … Cast, Wayne A. (Skinny) Sisk
- George Calil … Cast, James H. (Mo) Alley, Jr.
- Ben Caplan … Cast, Walter S. (Smokey) Gordon, Jr.
- Dominic Cooper … Cast, Allington
- Michael Cudlitz … Cast, Denver (Bull) Randleman
- Marcus D'Cruze … Cast, Joseph P. Domingus
- Dale Dye … Cast, Colonel Robert F. Sink
- Michael Edmiston … Cast, Leadman Training
- Michael Fassbender … Cast, Burton P. (Pat) Christenson
- Dexter Fletcher … Cast, John W. Martin
- Tom George … Cast, Pvt. White
- Ezra Godden … Cast, Robert van Klinken
- Rick Gomez … Cast, George Luz
- Stephen Graham … Cast, Myron Mike Ranney
- James Greene … Cast, Old Man On Bicycle
- Luke Griffin … Cast, Terence C. (Salty) Harris
- Scott Grimes … Cast, Donald G. Malarkey
- Craig Heaney … Cast, Roy W. Cobb
- Nolan Hemmings … Cast, Charles E. (Chuck) Grant
- Frank John Hughes … Cast, William J. Guarnere
- Adam James … Cast, Cleveland O. Petty
- Mark Lawrence … Cast, William H. Dukeman, Jr.
- Matthew Leitch … Cast, Floyd M. (Tab) Talbert
- Damian Lewis … Cast, Richard D. Winters
- Ron Livingston … Cast, Lewis Nixon
- Laird Macintosh … Cast, F Company Trooper
- James Madio … Cast, Frank J. Perconte
- Tim Matthews … Cast, Alex M. Penkala, Jr.
- Peter McCabe … Cast, Donald B. Hoobler
- Ross McCall … Cast, Joseph D. Liebgott
- Neal McDonough … Cast, Lynn D. (Buck) Compton
- Phil McKee … Cast, Major Robert L. Strayer
- Rene L. Moreno … Cast, Joseph Ramirez
- Kieran O'Brien … Cast, Allen E. Vest
- Jason O'Mara … Cast, Thomas Meehan
- Harry Peacock … Cast, Fake German
- Simon Pegg … Cast, William S. Evans
- Dave Power … Cast, Rudolph R. Dittrich
- Bart Ruspoli … Cast, Edward J. Tipper
- David Schwimmer … Cast, Herbert M. Sobel
- Richard Speight … Cast, Warren H. (Skip) Muck
- Shane Taylor … Cast, Eugene G. Roe
- Donnie Wahlberg … Cast, C. Carwood Lipton
- Ben Walden … Cast, Referee Training
- Rick Warden … Cast, Harry F. Welsh
- Marc Warren … Cast, Albert Blithe
- Youngblood Hills, Peter … Cast, Darrell C. (Shifty) Powers
- Cary Grant
- Myrna Loy