User Reviews

This Cimarron Strip episode features Steve Forrest as a sergeant in the cavalry who is rather bored with peace time garrison duty and has let discipline go to ruin. Forrest has some interesting side ventures as well.

A new sergeant-major arrives at the post in the person of Gerald O'Loughlin who's a spit and polish veteran sent to bring a little discipline. When Forrest breaks too many regulations to ignore he's kicked out of the army and plans his revenge.

The episode is a contrast in the characters of O'Loughlin and Forrest. For both the army is their whole life though both see it in a different light. Getting kicked out of the army is like a death sentence for Forrest because it is all he knows.

Good acting duel from the two guest stars.

"The Sound of a Drum" happens to have two exceptional guest stars.... Steve Forrest (sporting an unusual accent) and Gerald O'Laughlin. This was a big plus for the episode.

Master Sergeant Chambers (O'Laughlin) is new to the nearby fort. Soon you see that he has his hands full with Sergeant Tyce (Forrest), as Tyce has a very casual attitude about his duties. If Tyce doesn't think something in necessary, he pretty much ignores it...and this means he's insubordinate to Chambers. But the problem ends up getting much worse. It seems that instead of going on patrol, he's been leaving midway through his shift and hanging out at the bar in Cimarron instead! One day, Chambers notices Tyce's horse in town and when he investigates, Tyce refuses to return to duty and he smashes a bottle over Chambers' head!!

Not surprisingly, this results in Tyce getting arrested and taken up on charges. During the trial, Tyce is all swagger and he never takes the proceedings seriously. Not surprisingly, the court seems to have little choice but to toss Tyce out of the army. Tyce swears revenge on Chambers...refusing to acknowledge that he caused his problems, not Chambers. What's next? See the show.

The plot isn't bad. But once again, I found myself frustrated with Dulcey. Too often, her character seems to be all emotion and completely illogical...and her reaction to Tyce seems baffling and confusing. It also makes her character seem weak and not exactly a model of feminism...a frequent problem in this series. Here she defends Tyce even though he clearly was in the wrong....and committed some very, very serious crimes...being AWOL, refusing a direct order and assaulting his superior. I think without Dulcey, the episode would have been a lot better. Overall, a decent episode but hindered not only by Dulcey but the ending...which seemed a bit tough to believe.