Yellow story
In 1918, during World War I, General Kalthrob's son, the cowardly Lieutenant Martin Kalthrob requests a discharge from the army. Martin's father mentions that while he can't discharge his son, he agrees to transfer him away from the front if he completes a specific mission. Unfortunately, Martin's cowardice prevents him from warning the men under his command that German troops are approaching, and he leaves them all to die while he runs for his life. After the dying Sergeant Ripper exposes Martin's actions and labels him "yellow", Martin is arrested, court-martialed, and sentenced to death by firing squad. The night before Martin's execution, General Kalthrob tells his son that he has swapped the bullets with blanks, so that Martin can survive the planned execution and escape to a new life, provided that he faces death with dignity. Note: This is the only episode of the entire series to run longer than 30 minutes. It is also the first episode featured that was produced as part of the failed Two-Fisted Tales spinoff. Director Robert Zemekis used this episode to pay homage to Stanley Kubrick's 1957 film Paths of Glory, which also starred Kirk Douglas and featured some similar themes. Father-and-son actors Kirk and Eric Douglas portray father and son on screen. Directed by: Robert Zemeckis. Story by: Jim Thomas and John Thomas & Gilbert Adler and A. L. Katz.
15 total · 3 choice · 8 major · 4 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| courage | choice | General Kalthrob sorely wanted his son, Lieutenant Martin Kalthrob, to be a courageous model of a soldier. The general was devastated when his son proved to be a yellow-bellied coward. He summarily condemned his son to be shot by a firing squad and tricked him into facing it with heroic dignity. |
| cowardice | choice | The story turns on the "yellow" Lieutenant Martin Kalthrob being condemned to death by his father, General Kalthrob, for cowardice on the battlefield. |
| fatherly disappointment in a son | choice | Central to the story is General Kalthrob dealing with his son, Martin, being a disgrace to the uniform. |
| courage in the face of death | major | Convinced that the firing squad would have only blanks in their chambers, Martin conducted himself with poise and dignity as a man in uniform ought to at his moment of death. Little did he know that this was just what his father had intended and that the rounds presently to be fired at Martin were very much live and lethal. |
| facing one's own execution | major | Condemned to death for cowardice by his own father, Martin faced the firing squad with a brave face only because the dad assured him that he secretly loaded the rifles blanks. It was only at the last moment when Martin realized he father lied to him in order that he might die with dignity. |
| fight vs. flee | major | It seems Martin was eternally wrestling with this dilemma and coming up with "flee" despite the betrayals it necessitated, and the social stigma it entailed. |
| group morale | major | General Kalthrob recognized that his son's yellow-bellied antics was a cancer in his army unit, and dealt with him accordingly. |
| the horrors of war | major | The viewer is shown gruesome aspects of trench warfare in the World War I era. |
| the importance of reputation | major | When trying to send his son on a mission to repair the telegraph line, the General Kalthrob was taken aback to learn that his son was a yellow-bellied coward. The viewer is made to ponder if General Kalthrob ordered his own cowardly son to be shot by a firing squad to show his men that he was not playing favorites. |
| what it is like in a combat zone | major | The viewer is shown American soldiers trying their best to survive in the trenches of the Western Front. |