S1.E9

Appointment at Liege

Episode aired Nov 20, 1964
1h

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

A pilot major assigned elsewhere when his crew was killed in combat, suffers a guilt complex and becomes reckless with his missions and the lives of his subordinates.A pilot major assigned elsewhere when his crew was killed in combat, suffers a guilt complex and becomes reckless with his missions and the lives of his subordinates.A pilot major assigned elsewhere when his crew was killed in combat, suffers a guilt complex and becomes reckless with his missions and the lives of his subordinates.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.8/10

YOUR RATING

2User reviews

See production info at IMDbPro

Trivia
Denver explains to Harvey how he got his name. He was found when he was 2 hours old in back of a rooming house. He was taken to hospital and named for the month and city of his birth, August Denver.

Quotes
Maj. Gus Denver: [Desperately offering excuse for loss of three crew, killed on his plane during that day's mission] General, I had an inexperienced co-pilot.
Brig. Gen. Frank Savage: 'HAD' is the correct word. Don't worry -- it won't happen again. You're grounded until further notice.
Maj. Gus Denver: General, that's not fair.
[pleading; desperate]
Brig. Gen. Frank Savage: Next time you try to kill yourself, Denver, you find a bridge someplace and you jump off it alone. Those nine men you tried to take with you today might have had other plans.

User reviews2

Review

Featured review

9/10

Deathwish.

"Appointment at Liege" is a very good episode of "12 O'Clock High" because it talks about something we seldom like to talk about...the psychological effects of war. Most films and TV shows have a very detached and antiseptic view of war...and this one shows two men who are driven over the edge by it.

Major Gus Denver was away and his crew went on a bombing mission without him. The plane was shot down and all the men were lost....and Gus' reaction to this is strange. Instead of grieving or acting scared or angry, Gus is gung ho about returning to action. What his commander doesn't know at first is that Gus is determined to get himself (and his new crew) killed to somehow try to make amends for losing his previous crew.

I appreciated how Gus SEEMED healthy and was praised by General Savage's superiors, Savage could tell the man just wasn't in his right mind. I also appreciated how one of Gus' crew members literally lost it and had to be restrained because he lost him mind.... BOTH of which are possible reactions to the hellish conditions in war. Overall, a very realistic and appreciated episode due to excellent writing and acting.

By the way, this is NOT a major complaint, but like too many movies and TV shows, some of the characters sport hair that isn't even close to realistic for the era. Nancy Kovack's hairdo is strictly 1960s...and not even close to regulation hair as well.