Alcoa Theater 3.04

Operation Spark

starring David Wayne, John Larch, John Hoyt

directed by Walter Grauman

A plot to kill Adolf Hitler, in the midst of the Second World War, led by German Army Major General von Tresckow (David Wayne) goes according to plan up to a point. Major von Tresckow manages to convince Field Marshall von Kluge (John Hoyt) to look the other way but other things interfere with their plan. Colonel Brandt (John Larch), who is loyal to Hitler discovers something is up before the plotters are able to succeed.

Thoughts

I wasn't terribly moved by this episode. They didn't really have enough time to tell the story in a half hour program so the plot moved along at a rapid fire pace. The other problem with this episode is that the outcome was already known: Hitler wasn't killed by the plotters. 

Notes

This is the only episode of this show in which David Wayne appeared. I saw him most recently in an episode of The Twilight Zone, 1.06 Escape Clause.

This is the only episode of the is show in which John Larch appeared. He appeared in three episodes of The Twilight Zone (1959), the first of which was 1.09 Perchance to Dream. He appeared in one episode of The Invaders, 1.05 Genesis. He also appeared in episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Six Million Dollar Man.

This is the first of two episodes of this show in which John Hoyt appeared. He also appeared in episodes of Four Star Playhouse, Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955), The Twilight Zone (1959), The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Kraft Suspense Theatre, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, and The Six Million Dollar Man. I have seen him in a number of movies in recent years including X: The Man with X-Ray Eyes (1963).

Gavin MacLeod had a small role in this episode as a German officer. This is the only episode of this show in which he appeared. He best known to me for playing the part of Captain Stubing for 10 years on The Love Boat. 

This is one of eight episodes of this show that Walter Grauman directed. He also directed episodes of The Twilight Zone (1959) and Kraft Suspense Theatre.