| Currahee | |
|---|---|
 Easy Company as they storm up Currahee. | |
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Episode: |
1 |
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Followed by: |
|
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Focus: |
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Subject: |
Training for the invasion of Europe |
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Aired: |
September 9, 2001 |
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Directed By: |
Phil Alden Robinson |
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Written By: |
•Stephen E. Ambrose (based on the book) |
Captain Herbert Sobel: "What does Currahee mean?"
Easy Company: "'We stand alone!'"-Captain Herbert Sobel talking to Easy Company men while running up Currahee
Currahee is the first episode of Band of Brothers. It follows the men from basic training at Camp Toccoa under the strict command of Herbert Sobel, to the preparation in England for the invasion of Normandy during Operation Overlord.
The episode focuses on the conflict between Herbert Sobel, a harsh yet proficient commanding officer of Easy Company and his subordinate Richard Winters, another skillful officer which gained the trust of his men.
Contents
Plot[edit | edit source]
In Toccoa, Ga., 1942, a disparate group of young men begins voluntary training to become members of one of America's newest military regiments - the paratroopers. Under the harsh leadership of Lt. Sobel (David Schwimmer), members of the newly formed Easy Co. go from green civilians to some of the Army's most elite soldiers. As training progresses, a rivalry flares between Sobel, whom the men despise, and Lt. Winters (Damian Lewis), a junior officer who's earned the respect and admiration of the company.
Synopsis[edit | edit source]
The opening scene starts at Upottery Airfield on June 5, 1944, with large masses of paratroopers from Easy Company making final preparations before their long-awaited jump at Normandy, France. Their commanding officer, 1st Lieutenant Thomas Meehan III, announces that their jump would be delayed due to unfavorable weather, much to the men's dismay.
Later, while awaiting further announcements, 2nd Lieutenant Lewis Nixon and 1st Lieutenant Richard Winters chat and reminisce about their time together with Easy Company and their former commanding officer, Captain Herbert Sobel. The story flashes back two years earlier.
Gallery[edit | edit source]
Add a photo to this gallery
Cast[edit | edit source]
| in alphabetical order | |
|---|---|
| Robert (Popeye) E. Wynn | Nicholas Aaron |
| Joseph D. Toye | Kirk Avecedo |
|
Doug Allen | |
| David Kenyon Webster | Eion Bailey |
| Allington | Dominic Cooper |
|
Michael Cudlitz | |
| Joseph P. Domingus | Marcos D' Cruze |
| Col. Robert F. Sink | Dale Dye |
| Burton B. (Pat) Christenson | Michael Fassbender |
| John W. Martin | Dexter Fletcher |
| George Luz | Rick Gomez |
| Wayne A. (Skinny) Sisk | Philip Barrantini |
| Myron Mike Ranney | Stephen Graham |
| James H. (Mo) Alley Jr. | George Calil |
| Walter S. (Smokey) Gordon Jr. | Ben Caplan |
| Terence C. (Salty) Harris | Luke Griffin |
| Donald G. Malarkey | Scott Grimes |
| Leadman Training | Michael Edmiston |
| William J. Guarnere | Frank John Hughes |
|
Pvt. White |
Tom George |
|
Ezra Godden | |
| Richard D. Winters | Damian Lewis |
| Old Man on Bicycle | James Greene |
| Lewis Nixon | Ron Livingston |
| Roy W. Cobb | Craig Heaney |
| Frank J. Perconte | James Madio |
| Charles E. (Chuck) Grant | Nolan Hemmings |
| Cleveland O. Petty | Adam James |
| William H. Dukeman Jr. | Mark Lawrence |
| Joesph D. Liebgott | Ross McCall |
| Floyd M. (Tab) Talbert | Matthew Leitch |
| Lynn D. (Buck) Compton | Neal McDonough |
| F Company Trooper | Laird Macintosh |
| Alex M. Penkala Jr. | Tim Matthews |
| Joseph Ramirez | Rene L. Moreno |
| Donald B. Hoobler | Peter McCabe |
| Thomas Meehan | Jason O'Mara |
| Maj. Robert L. Strayer | Phil McKee |
| Allen E. Vest | Kieran O'Brien |
| William S. Evans | Simon Pegg |
| Fake German | Harry Peacock |
| Herbert Sobel | David Schwimmer |
| Rudolph R. Dittrich | Dave Power |
| Warren H. (Skip) Muck | Richard Speight Jr. |
| Edward J. Tipper | Bart Ruspoli |
| Eugene G. Roe | Shane Taylor |
| C. Carwood Lipton | Donnie Wahlberg |
| Referee Training | Ben Walden |
| Harry F. Welsh | Rick Warden |
| Albert Blithe | Marc Warren |
| Darrell C. (Shifty) Powers | Peter Youngblood Hills |
End Quote[edit | edit source]
"Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force:
You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven for many months.
The eyes of the world upon you."
"Good luck!
And let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking."
General Dwight D. Eisenhower
Supreme Allied Commander
Trivia[edit | edit source]
- David Schwimmer, who played Captain Herbert Sobel was isolated from most of the other cast members during boot camp, to help generate a feeling of resentment among the men. Schwimmer joked that his only friend on set was Simon Pegg - who played Sobel's right hand man 1st Sergeant William Evans.[1]
- Aired two days before the 9/11 attacks.[2]
- This is the first American screen credit for Michael Fassbender, who played Private Burton Christenson.[3]
- Private Joseph Liebgott is shown shaving another soldier's head in the beginning scene. The real Joe Liebgott was a barber by trade, and he actually did reportedly help shave the men's hair into mohawks for the jump.[3]
- The film playing during the cinema scene was Mr. Lucky (1943) directed by H.C. Potter and stars Cary Grant and Laraine Day.
- During one of the Currahee runs, Private Warren Muck injures his leg and Captain Herbert Sobel orders the others not to help him. In the boot camp preparation for this, David Schwimmer, Sobel's actor, injured his own knee – and had to do the scene with the injury.[1]
- Private Frank Perconte complains about the quality of army spaghetti. Perconte's actor, James Madio played a big spaghetti lover in the sitcom USA High.[1]
- The part where 1st Lieutenant Richard Winters is reprimanding 2nd Lieutenant Lynn Compton for gambling with the men. Captain Herbert Sobel's actor, David Schwimmer had taken the time one night to play poker with the actors when he was supposed to be segregating himself from them.[3]
Errors[edit | edit source]
Anachronisms[edit | edit source]
- 1st Lieutenant Herbert Sobel examines the "rusty bayonet" of Private Joseph Liebgott. This was 1942, the bayonet was a Model M1. This bayonet was not manufactured until after March 1943. It had a ten-inch blade. The bayonets that should have been used in 1942, were the Model 1905 or the 1905/42 both of which had 16-inch blades. After March of 1943, all the long Garand bayonets were ordered to be cut down to ten inches and became the 1905E-1 and new 10 inch bayonets (the M1 bayonet) were manufactured for the rest of the war.[4]
- In the mess hall scene, when Easy Company men are eating the "...army noodles with ketchup." You can see a vintage Coca-Cola machine in the background between the tables. The coke machine is unmistakably a Vendo 39, stand up, coin-operated vending machine, which was not manufactured until 1949.[4]
- The scene where Easy Company is receiving a lecture, there are various German weapons on the wall. One of them is an StG 44, not used in combat until 1944. Thus, it is impossible that the Americans had captured one in 1942-43.[4]
- In the scene at the end of the episode where the aircraft are taking off on June 5, 1944, as the camera pulls out to show the many aircraft rolling down the tarmac, the first aircraft shows the pilot wearing a pale green headset remarkably similar to a David Clark headset. However, the Clark company didn't start producing headsets until after the war.[5]
Continuity mistake[edit | edit source]
- The two times 1st Lieutenant Thomas Meehan III is telling Easy Company that the invasion has been postponed, his tone of voice and hand movements are different both times when they are supposed to be the same moment.[4]
- Private Burton Christenson's machine gun switches from left to right shoulders when 1st Lieutenant Herbert Sobel confronts him about disobeying orders on a night march.[4]
- In the breakfast scene following the night march where 2nd Lieutenant Richard Winters has to pick six men and list their infractions, his mug moves about on his tray from shot to shot.[5]
- When Easy Company is eating their spaghetti lunch, we can see that outside it is raining. In the next scene while running up Currahee, the ground is dry, showing no sign of the previous rain storm.[4]
- When Captain Herbert Sobel is explaining to Major Robert Strayer why he cut the fence; Strayer is a Colonel, however, when Winters is briefing his men before going to assault the 105 he refers to him as a Major.[5]
- The door keeps changing positions in the scene where Captain Herbert Sobel is punishing 1st Lieutenant Richard Winters for failing to inspect the latrine.[5]
Crew or equipment visible[edit | edit source]
- When Private George Luz is imitating Major Oliver Horton to fool Captain Herbert Sobel, a boom mike is reflected in the wet helmets.[4]
Factual error[edit | edit source]
- Private David Webster is shown running Currahee and undergoing jump training with E Company. But Webster, while an original Toccoa man and member of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment was originally with Headquarters Company, and it was with HQ that he underwent training and jumped into Normandy; it was after the D-Day invasion (and thus not within the timeline of the episode) that he transferred to Easy, where he remained until the end of the war.[4]
- 1st Lieutenant Herbert Sobel demands that Easy Company runs up Currahee mountain in 15 minutes. They describe it as "3 miles up, 3 miles back". The company could not make it up a mountain one way in 15 minutes, they would have to average 5:00 per mile.[4]
- In the credits, Ross McCall's character's name is misspelled as "Joesph" D. Liebgott.[5]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1245384/trivia
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/39axiq/til_that_hbos_iconic_band_of_brothers_premiered/
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Trivia/BandOfBrothersS1E1Currahee
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1245384/goofs/?tab=gf&ref_=tt_trv_gf
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 https://www.moviemistakes.com/tv3009/episode1406
