The misson: to retrieve the pilot and the movie film from a US reconnaissance plane. The Americans assign Saunders and his squad to carry out this mission, while at the same time the Germans dispatch a patrol led by Sgt. Beckman (played by a decidedly pre-Godfather James Caan) for the same purpose. As Saunders and his enemy counterpart Beckman simultaneously converge upon the plane's wreckage, the audience is permitted to digest the story's development and outcome from two distinctly different and unique viewpoints. Originally telecast November 26, 1963, this episode has since taken on historical significance as the first "entertainment" program shown in ABC's Prime Time schedule after the network's four-day coverage of the JFK assassination.
by Hal Erickson
synopsis
