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
The town is in the midst of the it’s 500th anniversary celebration. There is a “King of the Festival” contest between Binghamton and McHale, with McHale crowned the winner. This infuriates Binghamton and he tries to arrange to have Lieutenant Pratt (Don Knotts), a visiting psychiatrist, declare the 73 crew unfit for duty. Lieutenant Pratt finds nothing wrong with the crew. But with the crew set to perform a ‘Red Riding Hood’ play at the festival in town, Binghamton again calls Pratt to view the crew in their costumes. Not knowing anything about the festival, Pratt declares that the men have battle fatigue and is sending them to the hospital ship that sails in a few hours. This forces McHale to come up with a plan to keep his crew together and turn the tables on the Captain. Nelson Olmsted appears as Colonel Wilcox.
McHale’s Navy Series
You can find a full index and overview of McHale’s Navy here.
Production & Filming Details
- Release Date: 08 March 1966.
- Rating: TV-PG/TV-G.
- Running Time: 60 minutes.
- Country: US.
- Language: English.
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