I Swear by Apollo
- Episode aired Dec 11, 1962
- 1h
IMDb RATING
8.4/10
119
YOUR RATING
Behind enemy lines, Saunders and his men struggle to keep a critically wounded French partisan alive.Behind enemy lines, Saunders and his men struggle to keep a critically wounded French partisan alive.Behind enemy lines, Saunders and his men struggle to keep a critically wounded French partisan alive.
John A. Neris
- Frenchman
- (as John Neris)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaPrivate Temple, played by John Considine, was introduced in the episode Rear Echelon Commandos (1962). Considine will return as Lennon in the the episode The Losers (1966).
- GoofsThe German doctor wears around his neck the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords, but he wears part of the award upside down. The crossed swords should be next to the Iron Cross and not the wearer's neck.
Featured review
Suspense and morality issues to ponder
Director Robert Altman replaces the action of combat with tension and suspense, as a Frenchman with vital information on the Germans' plans is severely injured behind enemy lines and no doctor can be found to save his life. Both Vic and Rick are struggling with coming up with a plan to save him, which becomes extremely difficult when an army doctor they're escorting to the convent where he's resting dies of a heart attack.
An almost spooky strangeness is added to the show with the convent consisting of nuns whose faces are hidden and have taken a vow of silence, with only the mother superior able to communicate. The life and death nature of the war unfolds without the usual pitched battles, but with moral ambiguity taking center stage.
Key plot twist has only a German doctor, a decorated soldier, found to see to the patient, and Altman tightens the screws, as questions of loyalty and duty clash. The ultimate operation on the man to remove shrapnel is depicted in almost a ritualistic fashion -silence, with candles everywhere and the nuns praying in the background, a masterful piece of suspense tightly edited.
An almost spooky strangeness is added to the show with the convent consisting of nuns whose faces are hidden and have taken a vow of silence, with only the mother superior able to communicate. The life and death nature of the war unfolds without the usual pitched battles, but with moral ambiguity taking center stage.
Key plot twist has only a German doctor, a decorated soldier, found to see to the patient, and Altman tightens the screws, as questions of loyalty and duty clash. The ultimate operation on the man to remove shrapnel is depicted in almost a ritualistic fashion -silence, with candles everywhere and the nuns praying in the background, a masterful piece of suspense tightly edited.
helpful•00
- lor_
- Aug 3, 2023
Details
- Runtime1 hour
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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