Medic Steven Gould

Medic Steven Gould is one of the main protagonists in Saints and Soldiers. He is portrayed by Alexander Polinsky.

Early Life
Steven Gould lived in Brooklyn Heights. Through out the movie, he is quite withdrawn from the rest of the gang, so little is learned about him. He may have liked jazz, as he knew where the best jazz clubs where. Steven Gould was never married and single before the war. After high school, he went to med school, the skills he learned there would influence is choice to become a medic.

WW2
Gould was drafted into the army. However he got cold feet and ran away. His father came and found him and forced him to go back and join the military. With his background in the field of medicine, he became a medic.

He was deployed to Europe shortly thereafter. On his first day, he tried to save the life of a soldier, but failed. This event made Gould cold and distant, as he watched the life leave the guys eyes.

Malmedy
Gould would eventually end up in Belgium. Where he was captured by Germans. He, along with everyone else he was with, where brought into a field. A wounded soldier was in pain, and so he attempted to help him. The germans had only taken the soldier's guns, and had not searched anyone, which they were doing at that moment. Gould attempts to help the man by giving him Morphine, but he is assaulted by the SS Soldier, for having a sharp object. So Gould is forced to dispose of the needle, and the soldier goes without morphine.

Then the shooting starts, and the Americans try to run. Gould grabs his patient, but the man is shot dead by the SS Soldier. Gould runs into the woods and hides behind a log with another soldier. The SS Soldier had followed Gould, and yelled for them to surrender. The other American is shot dead, and the German attempts to cock his bolt. Then Cpl. Nathan "Deacon" Greer runs in and disarms the SS Soldier, but doesn't shoot him. Gould becomes angry, and begins to yell at Deacon, who looks frazzled. The arguement is stopped by SSgt Gordon Gunderson.

The group runs away, and are later joined by Pvt. Shirley "Shirl" Kendrick, who has been grazed, Gould helps him. They find an ambulance that has been attacked by the Germans. Gould begins looking for anything of use from the dead Americans in the ambulance. He takes a watch, and glares at Deacon, who looks blankly at Gould. Kendrick asks Gould if he will take anything off of him if he dies. Gould says he will probably take Kendrick's flashlight. Gunderson sends Deacon to scout around, and Kendrick voices his concerns about Deacon. Gould tells Gunderson that he thinks Deacon is shellshocked, but Gunderson is quick to denounce this, saying that Deacon is fine. Gould tries to argue, saying he doesn't trust Deacon with the only gun they have. But Gunderson reminds Gould that Deacon was able to get a gun from a German and survive Malmedy. Gould's fear is not assuaged.

Deacon eventually returns after a while, and the are lead to a small shack. They decide to sit behind enemy lines until the Germans are pushed back. Deacon takes first watch, and Gould notices that the floor boards are loose, below, there is a hole that the gang can hang out in if someone comes. Like Germans.

Kendrick shows Gould a cheap card trick. Gould asks Gunderson what is up with him and Deacon. The soldiers reveal where they are from, and Gunderson says where Deacon is from. They talk about going to clubs, and for a moment, they are lost in a world where they are home and are dancing. Then Deacon runs in and warns of the immediate threat of Germans. Gould opens the floor boards, and they all hide in it. The Germans enter, and make their selves at home. A plane crashes, and the Germans leave, heading toward the crash site. The Americans climb out of the hole, and decide to go to the crash site.

They find a British pilot as they head there. It is Flt. Sgt. Oberon Winley. They cut him down, but Winley holds Kendrick hostage. Winley asks a series of questions, some of which are answered by Gould. When Gould answers incorrectly, Winley pulls back the hammer on his gun. Gould yells at him, frusterated, saying that Winley should answer. Winley says he has no clue what the answer to the question is.

They bring Winley back to the shack, where he explains he has vital intelligence, and that they must get to Allied lines soon. And so they set off, ignoring their original plan to stay put.

Walking Across Belgium
The Gang heads across Belgium. Gould's distrust for Deacon grows as he observes Deacon's odd behavior. He is certain Deacon is hallucinating, and will soon be unfit to lead the squad. After a hallucination, Gould confronts Gunderson, asking how long it has been since Deacon has slept. Gould is displeased with Gunderson's answer, and tells Gunderson to have Deacon sleep.

They find a place to rest, and Gunderson takes watch. Gould, Deacon, Kendrick, and Winley fall asleep. However, Deacon wakes up from nightmares. Gould watches this, but he himself falls asleep, assumeing that Deacon will sleep. Deacon does not. And the next day, Deacon is back on point.

When Winley asks the group about their secrets some time later, Gould says he has no secrets. Gould makes it a point to keep himself seperated from the rest of the group, not sharing anything for fear that they will die.

Deacon's hallucinations climax, and Deacon becomes very angry. When Deacon is yelling and begging for mercy, Gould yells at him, telling him to be quiet, or else the Germans would find them. Gould then grabs Gunderson and forces him to explain why Deacon is a mess.

Gunderson tells Gould that Deacon accidently killed a Belgian family. Gunderson makes Gould promise not to confront Deacon on the subject. Gould doesn't make any promises. Gunderson scouts around, and Winley and Kendrick talk. Deacon reads his bible, and Gould approaches him. Deacon asks Gould if he believes in a life after the one they live in. Gould says no, and tells Deacon about the soldier whose life he had failed to save on his first day. Deacon calls the story funny, offending Gould, whose principles are based around that event. Deacon tells Gould about a kid who had been killed during D-Day, Gould isn't sympathetic about it.

Hatred
The group continues toward Allied lines, they are slowly falling apart. Gunderson is trying to keep the rivalry that has developed between Kendrick and Winley controlled. He also is trying to help his friend, Deacon recover, but his condition is deteriorating. And worst of all, Gould's snobby attitude is imposing negative feelings among them all.

The temperature is dropping fast. In order to keep Deacon from hallucinating again, Gould attempts to talk to him. He asks Deacon where he was from and what he does for fun. Deacon tells Gould he likes to hunt, Gould taunts Deacon, telling him that his love for killing is because he likes to hunt. Eventually, they begin to talk about the Germans, Deacon tells Gould that he was in Germany on a mission trip. Gould taunts him, calling him a German lover. Deacon says the Germans are the same as them, just different uniforms. Gould doesn't understand, citing the Germans in Malmedy as an example of how different the two groups are.

Kendrick, who is on point, falls through a basement which has been covered by snow. Deacon pulls him out, and they begin looking for shelter. They find a house, and enter in the first floor, which looks deserted. Looks can be deceiving, they hear music above. Gunderson takes Winley's gun and goes upstairs. He returns with two Belgian women. A mother and her daughter. They give the gang food, and tell them they can ask for whatever they want.

Night falls, and Winley becomes restless. He wants to leave and get to Allied lines, afraid that the Germans will make it there first. Winley talks with Gunderson, who tells Winley he can leave, but will die out there. Winley leaves. Gould has actually been listening the entire time, and becomes panicked about this new developement. Gunderson assure Gould. Later, Catherine (the Belgian woman) returns with bread. A German Halftrack pulls up outside, and two Germans get out. Catherine panics, and tries to get the Germans to leave. One German, who has sick thought on his mind. Deacon runs out, yells in German to surrender. One German does, the other attempts to shoot Deacon. Deacon kills the German, the other runs. Gunderson and Deacon run after the German. Gould searches the dead German and pulls a knife off of him. Deacon and Gunderson return, Deacon failed to kill the German. Gould is furious about Deacon. Believing he let him go on purpose. Moments later, Winley bursts in with the German. They debate what they want to do with him. Gould makes it very clear that he wants to kill the German. Deacon recognizes the German as being Rudolph "Rudi" Gertz.

Gould watches in disgust as Deacon and Rudi talk through the night. Gould has watch that night, but falls asleep. Gould awakes to see Deacon studying maps. Gould asks where Rudi is. Gould realizes what has happened and attacks Deacon. Deacon easily knocks Gould back, and Gould is angry. Gunderson breaks up the fight, defending Deacon, who admits he let Rudi go. Gunderson scolds Deacon, but Deacon explains to him that he traded information for freedom. The gang now knows ho to get past the German column heading toward the Allied lines. Throughout this, Gould watches in disgust.

Loss
The soldiers take the German Halftrack, they also find captured Allied guns in the back. The Halftrack runs out of gas, and they must walk the rest of the way. Gould and Deacon argue over religion, Gould taunts Deacon about his murders again. Deacon loses it and tells Gould just to take his bible. When Deacon hands it to Gould, Gould notices Deacon taking the picture of his wife out of it. Gould tells Deacon he doesn't want the book.

They find the German's who have stopped to repair some vehicles. They debate what to do next when Gunderson is shot. Deacon sees the shot and runs the sniper down, killing him. Gould attempts to save Gunderson's life, but he has a neck wound, and bleeds out soon after. Deacon wasn't with him. Deacon begins to cry, and Gould has to motivate him to move. Germans move over the hill, shooting. Winley is hit in the leg, and Kendrick kills two Germans. They run to a nearby stream that has turned to ice, where Gould examines Winley.

The squad has no leader now, and when Gould tells Kendrick to make sure they are not being followed, Kendrick angrily declines. Deacon runs off as Gould yells for him not to go. Soon after, Deacon returns and tells them about a nearby village. They bring Winley there, where they take the bullet out of his leg.

A German tries to urinate on them... the German doesn't know they are on the other side of the bush. The German sees the blood, yells for help, and is shot dead by Kendrick. They run down a street, shooting everything that moves. The jump behind a wall, where they are quickly pinned down. Gould tells Kendrick to take Winley and run. Kendrick follows the order right away. Soon, Gould and Deacon get flushed out, and attempt to find Winley and Kendrick. They kill some Germans trying to follow them, and leave the town, heading back into the forest.

They find Winley alone, hobbling on one leg. Kendrick is nowhere in sight. As the duo attempts to reach Winley, Winley falls into the river below. They find him at the foot of the hill, alive. They pull him out of the water, and Winley tells his darkest secret: he cannot swim. He also reveals that Kendrick is dead. They start to pull Winley's clothes off when they hear someone coming. It is Rudi, who, along with some other Germans, is out looking for the gang. Rudi tells Deacon how to leave, wishes them luck, and leaves. Gould realizes that the Germans are the same, just lik Deacon said. Gould and Deacon take the uniforms off of the three dead Germans, the ones who died at the beginning of the battle. They get into the jeep, load Winley into the back, telling him to look sick.

Before they leave, Gould tells Deacon his secret: he tried to dodge the draft, but his dad found him. Gould and Deacon finally make peace.

Back in Friendly Territory
Deacon drives the jeep through a German camp, where they recognize the SS officer, the man who started the Malmedy Massacre, and also the SS Soldier. The are stopped by him and Deacon explains that they are just going to the hospital, because Winley is sick. The Officer points out that the hospital is away from the frontlines. The Officer asks Gould a question, one in which he cannot answer as he doesn't know German.

Deacon distract the Officer, telling him that the car needs to be pushed. As soon as they get going, they turn and head for the front lines. The Germans realize what is going on, and try to attack them. They fail, and resort to dropping mortars on them. They do manage to knock over the jeep, but not before Gould tore the Swastika off of the jeep and began waving a white flag. This signalled the Americans in the treeline.

With the jeep flipped, Winley is stuck, Deacon and Gould help him down, and Deacon grabs a rifle. He fires the rest of the clip into a group of Germans that had persued them to that point. Gould grabs his gun and also fires into the group. Gould quickly runs out of ammo and Deacon is on his last clip. Deacon tells Gould to take Winley and run. Gould refuses, saying he won't abandon him. Deacon assure Gould, saying he will be right behind him.

Gould doesn't seem to buy it, but goes with Winley anyway. Deacon covers them for a while, until the Germans blow up the jeep that Deacon was using as cover. Gould watches as Deacon grabs Gould's rifle (the one he had in the village, not the one he had when he was surpressing the Germans). He sees Deacon get shot by the Sniper.

Gould gets Winley into Allied lines, where they are surrounded by Americans who help them. Winley is able to relay his intel, and is brought to a hospital. Gould looks disturbed as he attempts to get out of his German uniform.

A Medic's Job
Soon after, maybe a day or so, Gould is walking along a column of American vehicles. Gould stops at a body bag and opens it. It is Deacon. Gould takes the bible out of Deacon's pocket and takes the picture of Deacon's wife out. He puts the picture in Deacon's dead hands and pockets the bible.

He tells Deacon to rest in peace, and leaves. He passes Rudi, who was recently captured. They nod politely at each other. Deacon approaches a group of German prisoners. Among them, the SS Soldier, who had been wounded by Deacon and who had killed Gould's patient at Malmedy. The Soldier knows who Gould is, and knows he is at Gould's mercy. Gould throws his helmet to the ground and begins tending to the Soldier.

Something Deacon would have done.

Relationships'

 * 1) Gunderson- Gould, like the rest of The Gang, look to Gunderson for guidance. Gould's smart alec remarks gets Gunderson annoyed, and he more often then no will snap at Gould.
 * 2) Winley- Gould cares for Winley's safety, however, this is probably only because he has the vital intel. He didn't seem to care that Winley knew his darkest secret.
 * 3) Kendrick- Gould and Kendrick's relationship is clear, but not very strong like that of Deacon and Gunderson's.
 * 4) Deacon- Gould despises Deacon until the end of the movie. They still cared for eachother alot. He doesn't fully understand Deacon's morales and thinks Deacon is a monster for killing the family.
 * 5) The Thearys- Gould shows no interest in the safety of the Belgian family, but it is unlikley he doesn't care.
 * 6) Rudi- Gould considers Rudi to be just another German soldier, and hates him for it. This changes at the end of the film.

Trivia

 * Is portrayed by Alexander Polinsky.
 * Alexander Polinsky is credited as Alexander Niven
 * Gould is the only survivor of the Malmedy Massacre survivors
 * He is on the cover of Saints and Soldiers
 * Medics don't normally carry guns, but Gould does at the end.
 * Was drafted
 * Was in Med School
 * It is likely he knows a kid named Billy.
 * Most of his patients die (Gunderson, the soldier he tried to save on first day, soldier at Malmedy)
 * Gould probably lead MPs to the site of the Malmedy Massacre.
 * Likely knew Kendrick from before, as he introduces him.