Combat! (TV Series) The Ringer (1966) User Reviews

The Mysterious Outsider

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 18 May 2019]

The outsider G.I. Arthur Adams meets Kirby in battle and joins Saunders´ squad. They are assigned for a mission and Adams endangers the squad, raising suspicious of who he might be.

"The Ringer" is a great episode with good action and tension created by the behavior of the mysterious Arthur Adams. Is he a coward or a German spy infiltrated in the squad is the question certainly raised by the viewers. The final explanation is satisfactory and the episode is well-resolved. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "O Impostor" ("The Impostor")

Under Pressure

[jmarchese · 9/10 · 30 October 2014]

"The Ringer" is a story about a young G.I. Private Arthur Adams (well played by Mart Hulswit) who is desperate to make good in combat action.

Gene Coon & Del Carnes put together a fine story and Coon adapted it for television. There's plenty of combat and the beginning sequence reruns some excellent heavy artillery fire. Adams makes a couple of major mistakes along the way and The Sarge begins to smell something fishy. It's somewhat amusing in that the viewing audience who are familiar with Sergeant Chip Saunders will probably look forward to the chewing out to follow. Ultimately the truth comes out and one can see the logical and illogical side of the same scenario.

Michael Caffey directed a fine episode; the ending combat scene was extremely well done. Hats off to the stunt men playing the Germans; you could not have an excellent episode without their consistently great efforts.

The ending sequence is priceless and features the right outcome for all of the wrong reasons. Reminded me of Anthony Perkins in the 1956 movie Fear Strikes Out when he cannot stand the noise next door. Mart Hulswit is fun to watch in this memorable ending. I've always been sympathetic to those put into pressure situations by their families.

Anticipation...Hero or not??

[chicagopunkie · 9/10 · 17 August 2013]

To begin with, I must say that Mart Hulswit as The Ringer/Pvt. Arthur Adams, did an excellent job of acting in this "Combat!" episode! He plays a young straggler. If he looks familiar, he played Pvt. Ryan in Combat!'s episode 3.17, "The Cassock".

For the 1st half of the episode, I was getting frustrated trying to figure out who or what the heck he was! I knew it would eventually be revealed, but I couldn't wait to find out. This is what made this episode stand out from others that had a "Who is he really?" theme. This one was not obvious at all. Is he an American GI coward? An infiltrator? Is he underage and hiding that? His actions are contradicting. Why is that?? How in the world can this be explained?

The culprit? The kid's father. I was so wrapped up in this story that I could not help yelling at the TV and asking, what was his father, back home in Indiana, thinking by lying?

I love this kind of episode where not only the Squad, but the viewer, has so many questions and possibilities running through their minds. Who would've guessed? Not exactly shocking, but one feels (even Saunders, I'm sure) so much empathy, and perhaps astonishment and anger, when the truth does come out.

Hero Or Zero?

[sambase-38773 · 10/10 · 20 July 2023]

This episode is all about the concept of "hero" in war. Who's a hero, what's a hero, are you a hero, am I a hero, maybe we're all heroes, or maybe we're all just a bunch of zeroes, just dumb meat for the giant meat-grinder of war that has no mercy.

So this episode explores that concept. From that standpoint it reminded me a little bit of The Red Badge of Courage, the great classic war novel by the young genius Stephen Crane.

This episode really kept me guessing. That's what makes it so interesting from moment to moment. First you think this, then you think that, then you wonder what the hell is going on. Sgt. Saunders and his squad are wondering what the hell is going on, too. It's hard enough just to fight the Germans without a crazy mystery among your own men to unravel along the way.

It's also about family pressure, specifically father pressure, to serve in war and become a hero.

I thought this episode was as good as I've seen from Combat! That's why I gave it a "10".

Shaggy-dog story with fine finish

[lor_ · 27 September 2023]

Something of a shaggy-dog story: Vic and the squad have to deal with a straggler they pick up (played by Mart Hulswit, whose career peak came in TV soap operas) who is a phoney, lying to them about his identity and constantly disobeying orders.

There is plenty of action and battles, but precious little story beyond that simple fact of an imposter in their midst. It's finally explained what's going on, quite an anticlimax, followed by the corny switch of the kid proving himself in battle before fadeout. Ending does make up for the endless wait for something worthwhile to happen -I just didn't like being jerked around getting there.