"The Strike" was an American

television play A television play is a television programming genre which is a drama performance broadcast from a multi-camera television studio, usually live in the early days of television but later recorded to tape. This is in contrast to a television movi ...

broadcast on June 7, 1954, as part of the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

television series ''

Westinghouse Studio One ''Studio One'' is an American anthology drama television series that was adapted from a radio series. It was created in 1947 by Canadian director Fletcher Markle, who came to CBS from the CBC. It premiered on November 7, 1948, and ended on Se ...

''. Written by

Rod Serling Rodman Edward Serling (December 25, 1924 – June 28, 1975) was an American screenwriter and television producer best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his Anthology series, anthology television series ''The Twilight Zone (1 ...

and directed by

Franklin J. Schaffner Franklin James Schaffner (May 30, 1920July 2, 1989) was an American film, television, and stage director. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for '' Patton'' (1970), and is known for the films ''Planet of the Apes'' (1968), '' Nicholas and ...

, the drama is set during the darkest period of the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, focusing on the stress of command in sacrificing troops in combat. The running time was 59:21, including breaks hosted by

Betty Furness Elizabeth Mary Furness (January 3, 1916 – April 2, 1994) was an American actress, consumer advocate, and current affairs commentator. Early years Furness was born in Manhattan, the daughter of wealthy business executive George Choate Furness ...

, promoting Westinghouse refrigerators, stoves, room air conditioners, and dehumidifiers.

Plot

The play is set in North Korea in January 1951, after China intervened in the

and forced the United Nations forces into retreat.

Part One

Major Gaylord (played by James Daly), a professional soldier who also served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, commands the 29th Regiment, a 500-soldier infantry unit that is pinned down on a river bank after sustaining heavy casualties. They lack transportation to evacuate their wounded and have gaps in their perimeter and only three remaining machine guns. The regiment receives an order to retreat in three hours. The previous day, Gaylord had deployed a platoon of 20 soldiers on a patrol to assess the enemy's strength and location. The patrol has failed to return. The lieutenant in charge of the missing patrol presses for a rescue mission. Gaylord declines to put more men at risk by crossing the river in pursuit of the missing patrol.

Part Two

A radio communication is received from the missing patrol, conveying their location and planned route of escape. However, the patrol's radio is not fully operational, and they cannot receive incoming communications. Gaylord receives word that the Air Force will conduct an air strike with bombs and napalm on the enemy's artillery on the other side of the river to protect the regiment from attack during the retreat. The proposed strike creates a dilemma as the lost patrol last reported its position in the same location as the proposed air strike. The air strike puts the lost patrol at risk, but failure to take out the enemy artillery puts all 500 men at risk.

Part Three

The time for the strike approaches, and Gaylord must decide whether to proceed. One of the other officers advises Gaylord to sacrifice the 20 to save the 500: "We're gonna have to cross them off ... 20 for 500 .. that's not a bad price." Gaylord refuses to accept the cold logic and arithmetic of sacrificing 20 to save 500. Gaylord wants to strip off his conscience and "inject something into my immortal soul to make me numb so that I'll quit feeling, so that I'll be a commanding officer instead of my brother's keeper." A soldier from the lost patrol is spotted swimming across the river. He is shot and killed by enemy fire as he reaches the shore. As the time for the strike gets closer, Gaylord breaks down, unable to give a command that will kill 20 men. Gaylord's subordinate officers urge him to take command. Helicopters arrive to evacuate the injured, and the time for the strike has arrived. Gaylord decides to give the order: "These gold leaves give me the power of god. To give, take, and trade lives. Tonight, I'm trading ... lives ... 20 boys across the river for all of ours. That's a pretty fair numerical exchange ... Inside my gut I'm gonna ache from this second on. .... These are the responsibilities of command you don't read in the West Point manual." The regiment moves out, and the strike proceeds as Gaylord and chaplain watch the bombs drop. Gaylord offers a final thought: "God rest their souls and God, forgive me." The chaplain assures Gaylord that God will do both.

Cast

* James Daly as Major Gaylord *

Roy Roberts Roy Roberts (born Roy Barnes Jones; March 19, 1906 – May 28, 1975) was an American character actor. Over his more than 40-year career, he appeared in more than nine hundred productions on stage and screen. Life and career Born in Tamp ...

as Chaplain Walker * Bert Freed as Chick *

Frank Marth Frank Marth (July 29, 1922 – January 12, 2014) was an American film and television actor. He may be best known as a cast-member of '' Cavalcade of Stars'' (1949; 1950–1957), especially segments of ''The Honeymooners'', which later beca ...

as Franks * William Leicester * Douglas Taylor * William Andrews * Wyatt Cooper * William Whitman

Production

The play was produced by Felix Jackson, directed by

, and written for television by

. It was broadcast on June 7, 1954, as part of the

television series, ''

''. The teleplay was staged at least three other times. In December 1955, it was produced for ''

Lux Radio Theatre ''Lux Radio Theatre'', sometimes spelled ''Lux Radio Theater'', a old-time radio, classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the Blue Network, NBC Blue Network (1934–35) (owned by the National Broadcasting Company, later predecessor of A ...

'' in Australia. In February 1960, it was produced as part of Great Britain's ''

Armchair Theatre ''Armchair Theatre'' is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by ABC Weekend TV. Its successor Thames Television took over from mid-1968. The Ca ...

'' under the title "Come In, Razor Red". In May 1964, it was produced for ''

Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre ''Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre'' is an American anthology series, sponsored by Chrysler, which ran on NBC from 1963 through 1967. The show was hosted by Bob Hope, but it had a variety of formats, including musical, dramatic, and comed ...

'' under the title, "The Command". Serling was pleased with the work and wrote a feature-length screenplay under the title ''The Cold Day in Hell''. In July 1956, he wrote: "Quite immodestly I'll state that I think it's a power house and should make a corker of a movie." However, it was not produced.Chrysler Medallion Theatre, Motorola Television Hour, Studio One, pp. 77–79.

Critical reception

Producer Felix Jackson rated the script as the best Serling had written to that point.

Gore Vidal Eugene Luther Gore Vidal ( ; born Eugene Louis Vidal, October 3, 1925 – July 31, 2012) was an American writer and public intellectual known for his acerbic epigrammatic wit. His novels and essays interrogated the Social norm, social and sexual ...

included the script in his 1956 published collection, ''Best Television Plays''. It was the first Serling teleplay to be published.Chrysler Medallion Theatre, Motorola Television Hour, Studio One, p. 78.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Strike 1954 American television episodes Studio One (American TV series) 1954 television plays