The Gallant Men



The Gallant Men is a 1962–1963 ABC television series which depicted an infantry company of American soldiers fighting their way through Italy in World War II.

Description
The company commander was Capt. Jim Benedict, played by William Reynolds, who later appeared in the long-running series, The F.B.I. Their exploits were narrated by a newspaper correspondent &mdash; Conley Wright, played by Robert McQueeney &mdash; who accompanied them on their missions. The show lasted only one season. It succumbed to tough competition from the other networks and so-so responses from critics and audiences. The show also faced unfavorable comparisons with ABC's other World War II series launched the same year, Combat!.

The Gallant Men tended to be formulaic in plotting and characterization, with such well-worn stereotypes as ladies' man PFC Pete D'Angelo (played by Eddie Fontaine), hard-as-nails Sgt. John McKenna (Richard X. Slattery), and inseparable buddies Pvt. Ernie Lucavich (Roland La Starza) and Pvt. Sam Hanson (Robert Gothie). The show also betrayed more than an occasional touch of Stormtrooper effect, an ironic term for a World War II series (the regular cast easily and frequently dispatched large numbers of German troops while experiencing minimal or no injuries themselves). This was particularly unrealistic for the Italian campaign, where the Allies suffered heavy casualties from determined German resistance that lasted until the end of World War II in Europe.

The series not only featured stock footage from Warner Bros war films such as Force of Arms and Darby's Rangers but also used scenes from A Walk in the Sun.

DVD release
On July 24, 2012, Warner Bros. released The Gallant Men: The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1 via their Warner Archive Collection. This is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available exclusively in the US and only through Warner's online store.

Tie ins

 * The Louis Marx and Company released a 1963 military playset with character figures from the show joining the usual American and German toy soldiers.
 * Dell Publishing produced one issue of an American comic book based on the show.