Introduction

McHale’s Navy is an American sitcom starring Ernest Borgnine that aired 138 half-hour episodes over four seasons, from 11 October 1962 to 12 April 1966 on the ABC television network.

The series was filmed in black and white and originated from a one-hour drama titled “Seven Against the Sea”, broadcast on 03 April 1962. The ABC series spawned three feature films: McHale’s Navy (1964); a sequel, McHale’s Navy Joins the Air Force (1965); and a 1997 sequel-remake of the original series. A documentary, McHale’s Navy: The Crew Remembers, was aired in 2007.

Producer Edward Montagne set up a female version of McHale’s Navy entitled Broadside, which ran for 32 episodes in the 1964-1965 ABC season.

Background

Five-time Oscar-winning director John Burton (Robert F. Simon) comes to Taratupa to shoot a documentary on PT boats and their crews. Binghamton does all he can to make sure that he is the lead in the production. But, McHale and the crew successfully scheme to become the stars of the film. The crew of the 73 are excited about being in the picture but when Burton turns out to be a hard driven man the crew is all of the sudden not as happy as they thought they would be. When they find out that Fuji has sneaked into the production, they must re-shoot the movie themselves, with surprising results.

McHale’s Navy Series

You can find a full index and overview of McHale’s Navy here.

Production & Filming Details

• Release Date: 10 March 1964.
• Rating: TV-PG/TV-G.
• Running Time: 60 minutes.
• Country: US.
• Language: English.

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