Not Rated | 30min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, TV Series | Episode aired 6 October 1959
Aboard a United States ship in Japanese waters during World War II, Captain Fielding is critically injured. A hospital corpsman must perform surgery with only the radio voice of a doctor on another ship to guide him.
Director: John Newland
Writers: Charles Beaumont, Merwin Gerard, Lawrence B. Marcus
Stars: George Grizzard, Tod Andrews, Whit Bissell
Aboard a United States ship in Japanese waters during World War II, Captain Fielding is critically injured. A hospital corpsman must perform surgery with only the radio voice of a doctor on another ship to guide him.
Director: John Newland
Writers: Charles Beaumont, Merwin Gerard, Lawrence B. Marcus
Stars: George Grizzard, Tod Andrews, Whit Bissell
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00Have you ever been certain your telephone would ring in the next 10 seconds?
00:06Or have you ever walked down a strange street and had the feeling that you knew what lay beyond the unturned corner?
00:12Yes?
00:13Then you've had a brief encounter with the world of the unknown.
00:16You are ready for the actual human experience that follows.
00:23Alcoa presents a new and unusual kind of television program that takes you just beyond the world in which you live.
00:33Alcoa presents aluminum from the world's leading producer, Aluminum Company of America,
00:40who creates new and unusual uses of this wondrous metal for the world in which you do live.
00:46And now, John Newland takes you one step beyond.
00:51The sea is calm now.
00:54Guns are silent.
00:57Planes in the sky carry nothing more menacing than tourists.
01:02All things considered, it's a good time in the world.
01:07But it wasn't always so good.
01:10Or quite.
01:13Not so very long ago, the sea was a battleground.
01:18The sky was filled with death.
01:21World War II.
01:23It hardly seems real to some of us now.
01:26Something consigned to history books.
01:30But there were things that happened that never made the history books,
01:35because they were too incredible to be recorded.
01:39That is, except for the memories of the men involved.
01:43They remember, and will certainly never forget.
02:10There's another one coming this way.
02:12One o'clock.
02:24What is it for? What is it for?
02:35That's the way north!
02:36Get out of here! Get out of here!
02:38Get out of here!
02:40Get out of here!
02:41You're all right now, boy.
02:43You're all right.
02:47You're all right.
02:56How many hits did we get?
02:58Two, sir. Nothing serious.
03:00All right. Secure all battle stations.
03:03Secure all battle stations.
03:05Secure all battle stations.
03:07Well, I hope it's the last we see of them for a while.
03:11Sir, all gun crews report secured.
03:14How's the follow-up on number one gun?
03:16Driscoll came unglued, sir.
03:18Well, take him alone. Have Harris tend to him.
03:20I did, sir, but Harris is in no condition to treat a sick dog.
03:23Again?
03:24Yes, sir, again.
03:25The engineering officer reports, sir, the electrical board is out.
03:29It'll be at least six hours before repairs are completed.
03:32All right, boats.
03:33Aye, sir.
03:35Well, this is sure our lucky day.
03:40For six hours we just sit here.
03:43I wonder how long it'll be before one of their reconnaissance planes spots us.
03:47Could be quite an afternoon, sir.
03:50Could be.
03:52What do you suppose may young Driscoll crack up?
03:55He'll be all right.
03:57I'm not worried about him.
04:01Harris?
04:02Harris?
04:04Yes, sir.
04:05I think I understand, Harris.
04:08Well, I don't, sir.
04:33Harris?
04:35If I didn't think you'd poison the Pacific, I'd throw you overboard.
04:38Wouldn't that be against Navy regulations, sir?
04:42Knock it off and stand up.
04:46That's going to be a little bit of a problem.
04:48Knock it off and stand up!
04:55Oh, I've had a belly full of you, Harris.
04:57I've had you run up to there.
04:59I've had you run up to there.
05:03Put this man in the brig.
05:05Aye, aye, sir.
05:07Let's go, Harris.
05:09Aye, gently.
05:10Let's go.
05:11Come on, brother, gently.
05:22Sir?
05:24What about Harris? You see him?
05:26Yes, I saw him.
05:28He was stoned again.
05:29I had to put him in the brig.
05:31That's the third time in two weeks.
05:34May I speak frankly?
05:35Since when do you have to ask?
05:38I sincerely hope you're going to recommend court-martial this time.
05:41Harris' behavior is having a detrimental effect on the rest of the men.
05:44I know, I know.
05:45But you see, Stacey, Harris is trying to...
05:47Will, we all have problems.
05:51Take over the watch, Mr. Stacey.
05:53Aye, sir.
05:55Keep your fingers crossed.
05:57Six hours sitting here like a fat duck.
06:07On your feet, Harris.
06:10On your feet!
06:11All right, all right.
06:13That's all, Boston.
06:14Aye, aye, sir.
06:28Harris.
06:30You're a pretty intelligent fellow.
06:33Do you know what being drunk during a battle means?
06:37Do you know what a court-martial would do to you?
06:40Yeah, up against a wall.
06:43Bang, bang, bang.
06:46Harris, you know, you had me pretty confused.
06:49I mean, at first.
06:51Why would one of the best men in my ship...
06:54suddenly turn into the Navy's number one fowler?
06:59You drink a little, you forget your troubles.
07:01What's wrong with that?
07:03You ought to try it, Captain.
07:05Maybe you could forget how we're stuck out here all by our lonesomes.
07:09Who knows, you might even forget the whole lousy war.
07:20Has the drink helped you forget your brother?
07:23Yeah, I found out about it a couple of days ago.
07:27What loudmouth slob.
07:31That's none of your business.
07:33Everything on this ship is my business, and don't you ever forget it.
07:39How old was he?
07:41We gonna have a nice little heart-to-heart talk?
07:45Nineteen.
07:48A rich, full life, huh, Captain?
07:51I'm sorry.
07:53Who isn't? Everybody's sorry.
07:55The Navy Department, my mother, the girl who was in love with him.
07:59Nobody's as sorry as me.
08:01I talked him into enlisting.
08:08You wanna have a good laugh while we sit out here on the quiet Pacific?
08:12This kid brother of mine decided he wasn't gonna fight.
08:17He and his girl were gonna get married and they were gonna be medical missionaries.
08:21Take penicillin and the word of the Lord to the hot and tots.
08:26After Pearl Harbor, I had a nice long talk with little brother.
08:30Made him see the error of his ways.
08:34You should have heard me, Captain. You would have been real proud.
08:38I used every cliche in the book. I didn't miss a one.
08:41You have to do God's work with a gun before you can do it with a medicine and a hymn book.
08:46I even said that.
08:52Well, isn't that about true?
08:57Captain, you're not gonna tell me my kid brother died for any noble cause.
09:02Come on, he died because a bomb exploded, period.
09:06End of report.
09:09You really think that's the end of it? I mean for him.
09:12What else is there?
09:14You mean like up yonder?
09:18Who knows?
09:19I know. There's nothing.
09:22Nothing except what you can see and hear and touch and you can quote me.
09:28This is real. This lousy ship, this stinking brig.
09:32You and that little gold braid.
09:34That's real.
09:36There isn't anything else. There's nothing else.
09:41That's also real, Harris.
09:43And that's the only reality God helps.
09:47If you have to hate somebody for killing your brother, try hating the enemy.
10:07Get him! Get him! Get him! Get him!
10:26Let's get him to the ward room. Be very, very careful with him.
10:37But sir, you know we're under strict orders not to break radio silence.
10:40Just do as I tell you.
10:41Contact the heavy cruiser Athena and tell them I want to talk to their chief surgeon.
11:06Captain.
11:26This is Captain Madison speaking. Senior medical officer. Can I help you?
11:29This is Lieutenant Commander Stacy.
11:31Commander feeling our skipper is badly hurt.
11:33He's bleeding to death. We don't know what to do.
11:35Feeling? Bill-feeling?
11:37Well, isn't there anybody aboard who...
11:39We've got nobody.
11:40Nobody?
11:41There's a fellow up in the brig who's supposed to be a pharmacist's mate, and that's all.
11:45What's his rating?
11:47Before we busted him, he was a pharmacist's mate, first class.
11:50Send him off to the radio shack. I want to talk to him.
11:52Sir, he's hopeless.
11:53Mr. Stacy, I'm afraid he's the only hope you have.
12:06On your feet, Harris.
12:08Welcome to my home away from home, Mr. Stacy.
12:11On your feet.
12:13You gonna throw me in the ocean like you promised?
12:15Move, Harris.
12:30Come on, Harris.
12:35Check that shrapnel wound in his neck.
12:37You need to know just how serious this is.
12:39Now, wait a minute. I'm no doctor.
12:41You check it, Harris.
12:52Wow.
13:00Harris is with me now. Here he is.
13:02Tell him what you told me.
13:05I examined Commander Fielding.
13:08What did you find, Harris?
13:09He's got a hunk of shrapnel in his neck.
13:12Exactly where?
13:13It's on the left side, a couple of inches above the shoulder.
13:17How bad's the beating?
13:20Well, it's pretty bad.
13:22Mr. Stacy tells me you're a pharmacist's mate, first class.
13:25I was. At the moment, I'm a prisoner of war.
13:28Stop clowning.
13:30What do you want him to do, sir?
13:32How long will it take to rig a loudspeaker in the ward room?
13:34A couple of minutes. Get some men on that.
13:38Good. Now, have Harris break out the instruments and start scrubbing.
13:42Contact me later.
13:43Yes, sir.
13:45What's he talking about? What for?
13:48Get to the ward room on the double.
13:50What for?
13:52Get to the ward room, Harris!
13:54The way I feel, I couldn't take the nail out of a bed post!
14:00What if I say I just won't do it? What are you gonna do, shoot me?
14:02You're going to do it.
14:04Look, can I get this through your head? Even if I was feeling okay, I couldn't do it!
14:07Madison's one of the best surgeons in the fleet.
14:09If he thinks it might work, that's good enough of me.
14:11Yeah, but the skipper's not a bad guy. This is like killing him.
14:14And if we do nothing, what happens then? Here.
14:27We're ready, sir.
14:33Have you installed the plasma?
14:35Yes, sir.
14:36Look, sir, I got the shakes so bad I can't do this.
14:39Is he still unconscious?
14:41Did you hear what I said?
14:42Is he still unconscious?
14:43Yes! Yes!
14:45All right, good. Now, we can't risk using anesthetic in his condition.
14:49Sir, will you please listen to me?
14:51Now, you listen to me.
14:53This is tough. We're stuck. You're going to do it.
14:56You're going to follow my instructions quickly and carefully.
14:59You're going to do exactly what I tell you to do.
15:01Your skipper happens to be a very good friend of mine.
15:10Okay, let's get on with it. Let's get the thing over with.
15:13All right, now.
15:15Get some Kelly hemostats from the tray.
15:18Yes, sir. Open the sterilizer and get those hemostats and put them in the alcohol.
15:23Yes, sir. Open the sterilizer and get those hemostats and put them in the alcohol.
15:41All right, sir.
15:43Now, swab down the wound with antiseptic and drape the area with sterile towels.
16:14Okay, sir. That's done.
16:19Sir? Dr. Madison?
16:23Dr. Madison, are you there?
16:26Yes.
16:28All right, now, Harris.
16:30The first step is to clamp off the small veins.
16:33Tie them with a suture.
16:35The first step is to clamp off the small veins.
16:38Tie them with a suture.
16:40Clamp off the small veins. Tie them with a suture.
16:44You'll see which ones I mean when you begin.
16:46If we're lucky, you'll have no difficulty locating them.
16:54Put another hemostat in there.
17:07Okay, sir.
17:10Now you should be able to locate the fragment of shrapnel by gently probing the area.
17:16Begin.
17:20You'd better find it.
17:31Look, will you wipe my forehead, please?
17:39Have you found the fragment?
17:41Yeah, I found it.
17:44What's the exact position?
17:46It's just left of the jugular vein.
17:48I'm almost touching it.
17:50I was afraid of that.
17:52Now, listen closely, Harris.
17:54That's the critical point.
17:56You mustn't, under any circumstances, allow the jugular to be severed.
18:00Now, the edges of the shrapnel are undoubtedly jagged.
18:04It must be removed with extreme caution.
18:08Okay, okay.
18:10Now, don't get rattled, Harris.
18:15Yeah, that's easy to say.
18:17Just take it easy for a couple of seconds.
18:20Take a couple of deep breaths.
18:22Yeah, take a couple of deep breaths. What's that gonna do, huh?
18:24Harris?
18:26Okay, let's go. Let's get started.
18:28All right.
18:30The veins are tied?
18:32Yes, they're tied.
18:34Very well.
18:36Now, grasp the fragment with the hemostat.
18:39Gently, firmly.
18:42Yeah.
18:46I had it. It slipped away.
18:50Try again, Harris.
18:52Now, try to be just a bit firmer.
18:54Once you have the clamp around the fragment.
18:58It is jagged, isn't it?
19:00It's like a top of a tin can.
19:07Are you all right, Harris?
19:09Yeah, I got it now.
19:11Good.
19:12Now, the removal of the fragment is the most delicate part of the job.
19:19Now, you've got to let me guide you.
19:21One wrong move.
19:24What is it?
19:28What's that?
19:30I don't know. They've broken contact.
19:32Oh, not now!
19:34Oh, come on, not now!
19:36Well, if we don't get that thing fixed, he'll die!
19:38I'll go up to the radio shack and try to get through.
19:40Don't try anything by yourself, you hear me?
19:42Hurry, sir!
19:44Hurry!
19:53Oh.
19:55Oh, come on.
20:01Come on, please.
20:04What happened?
20:05I don't know, sir. The Athena just quit sending.
20:07Why? My God, why?
20:09It sounded like she was under attack. Maybe they knocked the antenna out.
20:12I haven't been able to raise the thing.
20:13Contact one of the other ships.
20:14Anyone, anyone!
20:15Find out what happened.
20:16I'll try, sir.
20:187-2. Break.
20:24Oh.
20:27Dr. Madison, for God's sake!
20:30Come on, please!
20:33Harris? Harris!
20:36Yes, sir.
20:37What happened? We lost contact.
20:39Is Fielding still all right?
20:41Yeah, he's still breathing.
20:43Well, let's get on with it.
20:45Oh, the clamp slipped.
20:47Look, I'll have to reach the fragment again.
20:54Okay, I got it.
20:56All right.
20:58Now begin to withdraw the shrapnel.
21:00Very slowly.
21:02Straight toward you.
21:04That's it.
21:09No, straight toward you.
21:12Carefully.
21:14Stop.
21:16Oh.
21:18I mean, I think he's gaining consciousness.
21:20That did not happen, Harris.
21:22Don't lacerate the jugular.
21:24Now hold the fragment exactly as it is.
21:26Do you understand?
21:28Be very calm.
21:32It's okay. We're in luck.
21:35He's passed out again.
21:37Slowly.
21:39Firmly. Pull slightly upward on the fragment.
21:42Slow.
21:43Good.
21:45Now never take your eyes off the jugular.
21:47Up. Now.
21:49Straight again.
21:52That's it.
21:55I got it.
21:58You're not finished yet, Harris.
22:00Now.
22:01You must tie off the deep bleeders as you did the outer ones.
22:05Use the hemostats to clamp them off.
22:22Okay.
22:24Yes, sir.
22:26What next?
22:28Dr. Madison, what kind of bandage do I put on?
22:31Harris.
22:32What next?
22:33I told you not to go on without Madison.
22:35I didn't.
22:36What do you mean you didn't?
22:38He guided me every step of the way. I couldn't have done it without him.
22:41We contacted the Dayton.
22:42The Athena received two direct hits.
22:44One bomb caught the radio room.
22:46Killed everybody instantly.
22:48One bomb caught the radio room.
22:50Killed everybody instantly. Everybody.
22:52What?
22:56It's impossible.
23:00I couldn't have done this without him.
23:02He guided me every step of the way.
23:04Harris, are you out of your mind?
23:06There couldn't have been a sound out of that loudspeaker.
23:09Dr. Madison was killed ten minutes ago.
23:13Lieutenant Commander Stacy was right about one thing.
23:17The heavy cruiser USS Athena did take two direct bomb hits from enemy aircraft
23:23at 1040 hours, March 22, 1944.
23:29One of the bombs knocked out the communications system of the ship,
23:33at the same time killing Radioman First Class Tom McCrory
23:38and Captain Clyde Madison, Senior Medical Officer aboard the USS Athena.
23:44I suppose, too, that we reasonable people must agree with Lieutenant Commander Stacy
23:50on another count.
23:52After Madison was killed, the further transmission of his voice
23:57was absolutely impossible.
24:00But it was also absolutely impossible for Pharmacist Mate Harris
24:05absolutely impossible for Pharmacist Mate Harris, an untrained man,
24:10to complete this final and most complicated stage of the operation without his voice.
24:16To really explain what happened in that hot, steamy wardroom,
24:22we cannot look simply to logic or reason, can we?
24:28I can only tell you that there is now, living in Southern California,
24:33a retired naval officer who has a word for it.
24:37His word is miracle.
24:40His name is Will Fielding.
24:42In a moment, something about next week.
24:49This kill, can it kill nine times in nine consecutive generations?
24:55Seems incredible, doesn't it?
24:57Well, next week, we will bring you one of England's most celebrated outbreaks of witchcraft.
25:03We hope you'll be in the audience.
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