Summary

One in this series of dramas presented by Hallmark. Based on a true story, this tale is set during World War II. Eric Newby is part of an Allied reconnaissance mission into Italy in the spring of 1943. He and his boat mates are captured at once by Italian soldiers and taken to a makeshift prison in a mountain village. When a temporary armistice is declared, the Britishers' Italian captors tell them to leave; they are free, but the Germans will soon arrive in town to enforce much more stringent prison conditions. While keeping watch for the Germans, young Eric injures his leg, and when his compatriots have to hurry away he volunteers to stay behind. The local doctor helps him, enlisting the aid of a young woman, Wanda, to translate the Englishman's needs. Wanda begins to teach Eric Italian as the nuns nurse his leg, and the two fall in love. Soon, the German and Italian soldiers learn that the doctor has been harboring a fugitive, and Eric is taken prisoner once more. With the aid of Wanda, her father, and the doctor, he escapes -- and moves to a series of hiding places, keeping in touch with Wanda when he can. As he meets more of the Italian villagers, Eric learns more of their language and becomes aware of the kindness and bravery of the people around him. When it becomes too dangerous to hide him in their homes, the resistance workers build Eric a hut in the hills. Someone reveals his hiding place to the Germans, however, and Wanda rushes to warn her lover of his danger, with the Germans in close pursuit. Includes commercials and promos. Also includes a message marking the fiftieth anniversary of the "Hallmark Hall of Fame" with Hallmark chairman Donald Hall.

("Hallmark Hall of Fame" aired on NBC from 1952 to 1978; network affiliation varies after 1978.)

(Beginning with the live telecast of the opera "Amahl and the Night Visitors" on December 24, 1951, Hallmark has sponsored a series of dramatic specials which since 1952 have been titled "Hallmark Hall of Fame." From 1952 to 1955 Hallmark also presented "Hallmark Hall of Fame," a weekly half-hour dramatic anthology series hosted by Sarah Churchill. The first program, "Dr. Serocold," was televised in January 1952 under the title "Hallmark Television Theatre." This series also ran under the title "Hallmark Summer Theatre" in July and August 1952.)