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.

Series supporting players Joe Flynn and Tim Conway are the leads for this sequel to the first movie made in 1964, also named McHale’s Navy. Most of the film is based on their two characters, particularly Ensign Parker.

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.

Outline

Binghamton (Joe Flynn) is sent to a staff meeting in Brisbane, Australia and is forced to use the PT-73 to get there after Fuji (Yoshio Yoda) sabotages Lieutenant Carpenter’s (Bob Hastings) PT-116. While in Brisbane, Binghamton orders the PT-73 crew to remain on board, but they switch uniforms with Russian crewmen on the adjoining docked ship so they can leave the ship without being noticed. In a mix-up Parker (Tim Conway) switches uniforms with Lieutenant Harkness (Ted Bessell), who then is mistakenly arrested by the Russian NKGB and put on the Russian ship, but he later escapes and spends the remainder of the movie trying to get back to his post. Parker impersonates Lieutenant Harkness, with Binghamton helping him, until Harkness comes back. Because of Harkness’ reputation as a lady killer, women are drawn to the very shy Parker. Parker also has to avoid Lieutenant Harkness’ father, General Harkness (Tom Tully), for fear of being found out. In the meantime, Harkness (or rather Parker) is promoted three times to Lieutenant Colonel by unwittingly scoring three military victories. Even after being found out, Parker is by then too big a hero and the military brass decide to cover up the whole mix-up of Parker pretending to be someone else. At the end of the film Parker performs an impressive impersonation of then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt, much to the consternation of his PT-73 crewmates.

Cast

• Joe Flynn as Captain Wally Binghamton.
• Tim Conway as Ensign Charles Parker.
• Bob Hastings as Lieutenant Elroy Carpenter.
• Gary Vinson as George Christopher.
• Billy Sands as Motor Machinist Mate Harrison Bell.
• Edson Stroll as Virgil Edwards.
• Bobby Wright as Willy Moss.
• Yoshio Yoda as Takeo “Fuji” Fujiwara.
• Gavin MacLeod as Seaman Joseph Haines.
• Tom Tully as General Harkness.
• Susan Silo as Corporal “Smitty” Smith.
• Henry Beckman as Colonel Platt.
• Ted Bessell as Lieutenant Wilbur Harkness.
• Jean Hale as Sergeant Madge Collins.
• Cliff Norton as Major Bill Grady.
• Jacques Aubuchon as Dimitri.

Production

Series star Ernest Borgnine was unavailable due to a scheduling conflict while he appeared in the 1965 film The Flight of the Phoenix. However, in a Cinema Retro interview, Borgnine said the producer Edward Montagne wanted to make the film cheaply, without him and would not show him the script. Carl Ballantine also does not appear in the movie and the PT-73 crew is not seen in large portions of the film. The movie, which also features Ted Bessell, was directed by series producer Edward Montagne. Except for Quinton McHale (Ernest Borgnine) and Lester Gruber (Carl Ballantine), the film features all the main characters from the television series.

The film is titled “McHale’s Navy Joins the Air Force” and similar designations on the television show are U.S.A.F. (United States Air Force). Since the film is situated “Somewhere in the South Pacific, 1943”, this would be historically inaccurate. Until 1947 the Air Force was part of the United States Army and from 1941 was known as the United States Army Air Forces (U.S.A.A.F). However, the opposite could be said about the title, as many servicemen colloquially referred to the U.S.A.A.F. as the “Air Force” for short during the time period in which the movie is set.

Release

The film was released in theatres on 09 July 1965 and later to VHS on 31 March 1998.

McHale’s Navy Series

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

Production & Filming Details

• Director(s):
  • Edward Montagne.
• Producer(s):
  • Edward Montagne … producer.
  • Si Rose … associate producer.
• Writer(s):
  • William J. Lederer.
  • John Fenton Murray.
• Music:
  • Jerry Fielding.
• Cinematography:
  • Lionel Lindon.
• Editor(s):
  • Sam E. Waxman.
• Production:
  • Universal Pictures.
• Distributor(s):
  • Universal Pictures (1965) (USA) (theatrical).
  • Empire Universal Films (1965) (Canada) (theatrical).
  • Rank Film Distributors (1965) (UK) (theatrical).
  • Universal Film (1965) (Norway) (theatrical).
  • National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1968) (USA) (TV).
  • Shout! Factory (2016) (USA) (DVD).
  • Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (UPHE) (USA) (VHS).
• Release Date: 09 July 1965.
• Rating: U.
• Running Time: 93 minutes.
• Country: US.
• Language: English.

Video Link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yFQfvrlcQo