Route 66 (TV Series) A Gift for a Warrior (1963) User Reviews

The Gaping Hole

[rwzimdpa · 9/10 · 9 April 2022]

The death of Ralph Vincent (Whitmore) at the conclusion of "A Gift for a Warrior" leaves more that just a few loose ends. It leaves a gaping hole as to its impact on his young widow Norma and his surprise-son Eric, who was fathered in Germany during WWII.

Given his active farming business and his land holdings, Ralph may well have had considerable wealth at the time of his very recent wedding to Norma. It would not be a surprise that he died without making a will or having a trust. There is nothing to suggest that there were any post-nuptial property transfers or community property, and there is no indication that Ralph had any other children. Therefore, under the law of California Intestate Succession, Norma would be entitled to one-half of the net estate and Eric the other half. Rather than manage his half interest in an American farm at age 18Y, Eric would likely settle up, cash out, and return to Deutschland.

1/18/63 "A Gift for a Warrior"

[schappe1 · 7 October 2015]

And suddenly Buz is back! All is well! Or is it? Most accounts say that this is an episode recorded earlier, before they went back to the Midwest that was still unseen when the hepatitis returned. I'm still unsure about this, considering that the previous episodes in Missouri and Tennessee maintained the connection of Buz with the series, that this episode began a series of episodes that take place from California to Texas and that Robert Duval plays a Buz-like character in the next episode.

The boys are headed to Tijuana for a good time when they encounter a German sailor who has jumped ship, (there's quarantine due to a possible epidemic which somehow disappears from the plot). He's searching for his father who, as a GI, impregnated his mother in post-war Germany and then went home. The father now owns a ranch on the boarder and employs migrant workers, a combination of Asians and Mexicans and now a German is added to the mix- along with Todd and Buz, who are concerned about the young man, especially when they find a gun in his knapsack, and decide to tag along.

The German is played by Lars Passgård, a Swedish actors whose career was almost entirely in that country's cinema. In fact, he's just been in Ingmar Bergman's film "Through a Glass Darkly. His only other encounter with Hollywood seems to have been a role in the film "The Prize", about the competition for the Nobel Prizes, which came out this same year. I guess he stayed in town to do this one role and then went home. He is suitably intense here, as you can see from the picture that heads this page.

The father, (James Whitmore), has finally decided to marry: a young wife who reminds the sailor of a picture of his mother. It turns out that's why he's marrying her. The ending is perhaps more melodramatic than it needs to be. It might actually contain the last images of George Maharis as Buz Murdock, making it even more poignant. They were certainly the last images the audience saw, at last until reruns and DVDs.

Unrequited Hate

[AudioFileZ · 28 March 2012]

In the 17th episode of season three Buz (Maharris) returns. However, one gets the feeling it was actually filmed earlier in the season due to the model of the Corvette being older than the model used in the previous episodes where Maharris was absent. Not a matter though as is is great to have Buz back.

This is a mediocre episode for several reasons, the most of which being the story just isn't compelling as it seems to reach for. A young German man-boy, played by Swedish actor Lars Pasgard, illegally jumps a cargo ship in a California harbor in order to track down and kill the father he never knew from a quick tryst his mother had after the war. He blames his father for never coming back as well as his mother's heartbroken death. Tod and Buz come across him and they all end up as migrant workers on a large ranch. Buz suspects the young man is a liar who is up to no good. Tod has pity at first, but soon they just want to either turn him away from the ranch as his father is the wealthy owner who is due to return from his wedding. Altercations follow and soon the young man fools them into believing he has left. Of course he returns and there's a very melodramatic scene where the son shames the father using his bride in lieu of the gun. The father, played by Jame Whitmore, flees by running. Tod follows, but it's too late as his age catches up with him and Tod finds him dead of a heart attack.

As stated it isn't a standout episode. James Whitmore, though a fine actor, just isn't given much to work with here. There's not the usual location flair either which usually gives such episodes color. All in all, though enjoyable this is one that is not a must see. Seldom seen in American productions, Lars Pasgard has good screen presence however.

Weak Pivotal Performance

[dougdoepke · 29 December 2017]

The plot never really gels, mainly because central actor Passgard (Eric) can't seem to work up the fire needed for his vengeful character. Seems German born Eric jumps ship into the US in order to kill his American father whom he blames for the death of his mother. His dad Ralph (Whitmore) was a GI in Germany after the war and fathered Eric soon after which the teen-age mother died tragically. Now Ralph owns a prosperous vegetable farm where Eric is headed after being befriended by Buz and Tod. So how will the vengeful mission play out.

Much of narrative focuses on Eric, but his rather bland close-ups fail to inject the type emotion that will light a fire under the plot. In short, conflict fails to move from script to performance. Then too, Kearney's quick embrace of Eric and away from new husband Ralph doesn't make much sense except as plot contrivance. Still, the series' trademark location filming comes through with wide-open fields and run-down bunkhouses. I wish the story dwelt more on life among the pickers and seedy conditions. Anyway, I'm not surprised that Passgard's role here appears to be his only American appearance (IMDB), after which he filled out a career in Europe. Perhaps it was a language difficulty here, but whatever the reason, the episode fails to gel.