| McHale's Navy | |
|---|---|
 Front to back: McHale, Binghamton, Parker, Fuji, Carpenter, Tinker, Virgil, Christy, Willy, Gruber | |
| Created by | Edward Montagne |
| Starring | Ernest Borgnine Tim Conway Joe Flynn Bob Hastings |
| Theme music composer | Axel Stordahl |
| Composers | Axel Stordahl Cyril Mockridge Frank Comstock Jack Elliott |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 138(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producers | Edward Montagne Si Rose (1964–1966) |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production companies | Sto-Rev-Co Productions Revue Studios (season 1) Universal Television (seasons 2-4) |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | October 11, 1962 (1962-10-11) – April 12, 1966 (1966-04-12) |
McHale's Navy is an Americansitcom starringErnest Borgnine that aired 138 half-hour episodes over four seasons, from October 11, 1962, to April 12, 1966, on theABC television network. The series was filmed inblack and white and originated from a one-hour drama titled "Seven Against the Sea", broadcast on April 3, 1962, as part of theAlcoa Premiere anthology series. The ABC series spawned threefeature films:McHale's Navy (1964); asequel,McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force (1965); and a 1997sequel-remake of the original series.
Academy Award–winning dramatic actorErnest Borgnine first appeared as Quinton McHale in an hour-longPT boat drama called "Seven Against the Sea",[1] which aired as an episode ofAlcoa Premiere in 1962, an ABC dramatic anthology also known asFred Astaire's Premiere Theatre and hosted byFred Astaire, who introduced television audiences to the Quinton McHale character.[2] It is considered the pilot show for the series[3] although it is an hour-long drama instead of a half-hoursituation comedy and is starkly different in tone.
During World War II,Lieutenant Commander Quinton McHale (Borgnine) is the commanding officer of the U.S. NavyPT boatPT-73, stationed at the fictional Pacific island base of Taratupa. In the late spring of 1942, the Japanese heavily bomb the island, destroying the base. Only 18 of 150naval aviators andMarines on the base survive. With Japanese patrols in the region too heavy for a Navy rescue mission, McHale and his men survive by hiding on the island. Assisted by the native tribes whom they befriend, the sailors live a pleasant island existence. After months of leisurely life, strait-laced, by-the-bookAnnapolis graduate Lieutenant Durham (Ron Foster) parachutes onto the island. His job is to assume duties as McHale'sexecutive officer and help him get the base on Taratupa back into action.
Durham faces an uphill battle: the men havegone native. One man has started a native laundry service, and McHale operates astill, makingmoonshine for the men and the natives. In addition, McHale is friendly with the native chief; the two even bathe in the same room, attended to by one of the chief's wives. When Durham informs McHale of his orders, McHale refuses to follow them. It is clear that while McHale is as loyal as any American, following the devastation caused by the Japanese on the island, he is reluctant to risk losing more men. His concern now is for their survival until they can be rescued, which creates friction between Durham and McHale.
When they get word that a Marine battalion is pinned on a beach and an enemycruiser is planning to attack the beachhead in the morning, McHale's attitude changes. McHale is ordered to use all his boats to protect the beachhead and the Marines, but he has no boats, since the Japanese sank them all. However, McHale and his men manage to capture a Japanese PT boat that arrives at the island. Surprising the men and Durham, McHale does not plan to use the boat to evacuate his men or the Marine battalion. Instead, he will attack and destroy the Japanese cruiser. He estimates that since they are on a Japanese boat, flying a Japanese flag, they can move in and torpedo the cruiser twice and send it to the bottom.
With just two torpedoes, McHale, Durham, and a crew set out in darkness aboard the acquired PT boat to find and engage the cruiser. By patrolling the only water deep enough for the cruiser to reach the beach, they spot it about two hours before dawn. McHale pilots the PT boat at maximum speed directly towards the cruiser, allowing the crew to fire both torpedoes, the second of which impacts the bow of the cruiser and causes a very large explosion, implying its destruction. The PT boat is last seen, apparently returning to Taratupa, now flying an American flag.
The cast of "Seven Against the Sea" was:[4]
This episode of an early dramatic anthology series received respectable ratings andABC ordered a series. The series requested by the network was significantly different in tone from the pilot. In an interview inCinema Retro magazine, Borgnine said the show was meant as a vehicle forRon Foster, who was to be contracted toUniversal Pictures, but that did not work out. ProducerJennings Lang recalled the 1953 filmDestination Gobi inspiring a half-hour comedy with the Borgnine character's PT boat.[5] The lead character inDestination Gobi, played byRichard Widmark, was named McHale.
"Seven Against the Sea" is available for public viewing at thePaley Center for Media (formerly the Museum of Television and Radio) in New York City and Los Angeles. As of 2024[update], it can also be found onYouTube.
This military service comedy series was set in thePacific theatre ofWorld War II—for the last season, the setting changed to theEuropean theater in Italy—and focused on antics of the misfit crew ofPT-73 led by Lieutenant Commander Quinton McHale, played by Borgnine. The producer,Edward Montagne, had enjoyed success withThe Phil Silvers Show—often referred to asSergeant Bilko, after the series' protagonist—a military comedy that ran from 1955 to 1959 about an opportunisticnon-commissioned officer and his loyal platoon putting loony things over on the camp commander. While the pilot had been dramatic, with overtones ofHenry Fonda's introspectiveMister Roberts, Montagne turned the "McHale" project into "Bilko in the Navy" and recruitedSergeant Bilko actors and writers.
However, unlikeSergeant Bilko, which was set in peacetime,McHale's Navy was set during World War II, although much of what takes place is, in some ways, as if it were peacetime with the crew permanently stationed in one location and concerned about peacetime duties rather than fighting a war. At the time of the series, then-PresidentJohn F. Kennedy was known as the decorated wartime commander ofPT-109. A popular book,PT-109: John F. Kennedy in World War II byRobert J. Donovan, came out the previous year, and a feature film based on the book,PT 109, a year after the series’ debut.PT-109[clarify] was referenced in the episode "Send Us A Hero".
The basic plot is that McHale's crew schemes to make money, attract women and enjoy themselves, and the efforts of Captain Binghamton (McHale's superior) to rid himself of thePT-73 crew for good, either by transfer orcourt-martial. Although they often get into trouble, they typically manage to get out of it. Despite their scheming, conniving, and often lazy and unmilitary ways, McHale's crew is always successful in combat in the end. This bears close resemblance to the British radio programmeThe Navy Lark, broadcast around the same period.
The first episode, titled "An Ensign for McHale", sets the tone for the entire series. It involves Ensign Parker's assignment to McHale's crew after they already had gone through several ensigns who could not put up with their unmilitary, slovenly, and insubordinate ways. One of them even suffered anervous breakdown. Parker is given one week by Binghamton to reform the crew or be given the worst reassignment possible. At first, the crew treats Parker as badly as they treated the other ensigns, but after McHale sees Parker has integrity, he decides to help Parker out by having his crew be much more like regular Navy.
Sometimes, the crewmen wear disguises to carry out elaborate schemes, such as when McHale needs to stage a phony Japanese attack and several of the crew dress up in Japanese uniforms. At other times, the crew dresses up to look like "native savages". When a situation calls for a disguise as a woman, one of the crew dresses indrag. When they are in Italy, several of the crewmen disguise themselves in German uniforms.
The entire show is based in only two locations: in theSouth Pacific at a fictional base called Taratupa, and later in an equally fictional town in Italy called Voltafiore.
The first few episodes merely indicate that Taratupa is "somewhere in the South Pacific 1943." The implied location (per the first episode) is islands north of New Zealand. While in the South Pacific, McHale's crew lives on "McHale's Island", across the bay from Taratupa. It keeps them away from the main base, where they are free to carry out their antics and even fight the war.
The final season has a total change of scenery as Binghamton, Carpenter and the entirePT-73 crew, along with Fuji (who hid in the boat as it was being transported), move to theliberated Italian theater in "late 1944" to the coastal town of Voltafiore in "Southern Italy", where Binghamton becomes the military governor and they become members of PT Boat Squadron 19. Moneymaking schemes of the wacky and somewhat crooked Mayor Mario Lugatto (Jay Novello) and the looney antics of the citizens introduce many moreplot twists and gags. For instance, when McHale and his crew first arrive in Voltafiore, they are greeted by the newly liberated citizens with cries ofSieg Heil! While Binghamton and Carpenter live nicely in the city hall, McHale and his men are forced by Binghamton tobivouac in tents near the beach. However, they stumble on an abandoned wine cellar, which becomes their secret underground hideout where they hide Fuji (and of course Binghamton nearly discovers it several times). They later add a submarine-styleperiscope and fancy furnishings.
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | |||
| 1 | 36 | October 11, 1962 (1962-10-11) | June 27, 1963 (1963-06-27) | |
| 2 | 36 | September 17, 1963 (1963-09-17) | May 19, 1964 (1964-05-19) | |
| 3 | 36 | September 15, 1964 (1964-09-15) | June 1, 1965 (1965-06-01) | |
| 4 | 30 | September 14, 1965 (1965-09-14) | April 12, 1966 (1966-04-12) | |
McHale's Navy came to an end in 1966,[6] due to low ratings and repetitive storylines.[citation needed]
Lieutenant Commander Quinton McHale (Ernest Borgnine) – A principal character of the series, he is also a former captain of atramp steamer who is familiar with the South Pacific and is especially knowledgeable about the islands and natives around Taratupa, which often helps him in combat situations and makes him a favorite with the admirals. Like his crew, he is unmilitary in many ways,[a] but always a strong and competent leader who is very protective of his crew. Also like his crew, McHale likes to wear Hawaiian-style clothing when off duty and to use thePT-73 to go deep-sea fishing and water skiing. As Gruber says in the 1964 film, "That's no officer, that's our skipper".
Gruff but lovable, he often calls his crew "schlockmeisters" and goofballs. He is called "Skip" by his crew. Although he very often bellows at them and tries to put his foot down, he loves his crew too much to be all that hard on them. McHale'scatchphrases are "Knock it off, you eight-balls" and when trying to come up with an excuse, a rapid "Well-a, well-a, well-a." He speaks Japanese, Italian and local island dialects. In the 1964 film, he briefly speaks fluent French. When the crew is in Italy, McHale's knowledge of Italian serves him quite well and his mother is Italian (both of Borgnine's parents were from Italy). In a dual role, Borgnine played his lookalike Italian cousin, Giuseppe, who does not speak English in "Giuseppe McHale" and "The Return of Giuseppe."
Ensign Charles Beaumont Parker (Tim Conway) – McHale's likable, but goofy second-in-command, he is referred to by McHale as "Chuck" and by the crew as "Mister Parker" (in theUnited States Navy, officers ranking fromwarrant officer to lieutenant commander who are not in command are often referred to as "Mister"). Conway's bashful, unassertive, naïve, mildly gung-ho bungler often succeeds in spite of clownish ineptitude (a theme that was career-defining). Like Conway, Ensign Parker is fromChagrin Falls, Ohio. Parker was born between about 1916 and 1920[b] and worked for theChagrin Falls Gazette.
Although he tries to be military, he is too dimwitted to command too much respect and many of the episodes involve Parker getting into trouble because of his bumbling and ineptitude such as accidentally firingdepth charges or shooting downAllied aircraft. Even before becoming a member of McHale's crew, Ensign Parker's personnel file is a laundry list of major foul-ups, including crashing adestroyer escort into a dock, doing something unspecified in heavy fog to theheavy cruiserUSSMinneapolis and calling in a naval airstrike on aMarine gasoline dump.[7]
Because of his considerable bumbling, the crew tries to protect Parker, who they feel will not survive as an officer without their help. Also, he is very slow to catch on and does not know when to keep his mouth closed. McHale usually gives Parker a discreet kick or stomp on the foot to get him to shut up. For instance, when Binghamton says "the cat is out of the bag," Parker says, "I'm sure it's around here somewhere, Sir. Here, kitty, kitty." Parker's catchphrase is "Gee, I love that kind of talk" and he loves to cite naval regulations which he knows by heart, but somehow can never remember hisserial number correctly.
In the episode titled "The Great Impersonation", Ensign Parker impersonates British General Smythe-Pelly (Conway in a dual role) inNouméa, New Caledonia, where he dodges assassins while the actual general leads an invasion against Japanese forces. In another Conway dual role, Parker impersonates Admiral Chester "Rockpile" Beaty in "The Seven Faces of Ensign Parker." In "H.M.S. 73", Parker poses as a phony British rear admiral, Sir Reggie Grother-Smyth and impersonates British Admiral Clivedon Sommers in "The British Also Have Ensigns." From time to time, Parker is called upon to fool Captain Binghamton with a voice impersonation of PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt (Parker also does an impersonation of Roosevelt inMcHale's Navy Joins the Air Force).
Captain Wallace "Wally" Burton BinghamtonUSNR (Joe Flynn) – McHale's perpetually frustrated commanding officer, referred to as "Old Leadbottom" (usually behind his back—a nickname he received from a bullet wound to the posterior). He is a married naval reservist and his job before the war was as thecommodore of ayacht club onLong Island and the editor of a yachting magazine.[7] Cantankerous and cross, Binghamton often dreams of a promotion to admiral or occasionally military glory, but is much too inept, cowardly and a bit of a goof himself (early in the series, Binghamton is a rather serious officer, but becomes goofier as the series progresses).
Binghamton comes close to a promotion to Admiral Rogers' staff in "The Balloon Goes Up", but because Binghamton took too long in getting things squared away (because of McHale's crew), someone else gets the promotion. The one time Binghamton leads thePT-73 into battle, he only succeeds in "sinking" an enemy truck on land with a torpedo (a gag that was used in theCary Grant filmOperation Petticoat), based on an actual attack conducted by theUSS Bowfin.[c]
Binghamton is constantly trying to "get the goods" on "McHale and his pirates" to send them to prison or get them transferred and he comes close just about all the time, only to have McHale's crew get out of trouble, usually by having some kind of military success, through some form of blackmail (such as telling the admiral what really happened) or because Binghamton wants some kind of a favor from McHale. When he is not complaining about McHale and his crew to his superiors, Binghamton constantly tries to impress superior officers, VIPs or people with connections for personal gain—which usually backfires, making him look foolish.
As arunning gag, Binghamton is forever being knocked down (usually by Parker or Carpenter) or covered with something messy (also usually because of Parker). Blind without his glasses, Binghamton also has his glasses knocked or taken off (to keep him from seeing something) a number of times. Occasionally, he is seen throwing darts at a picture of McHale. His catchphrases are: "What in the name of the Blue Pacific" or "What in the name ofNimitz (orHalsey)?" (as when he sees gambling or native dancing girls on McHale's Island) and "What is it, wha', wha', wha', what?!" (usually in response to McHale's "Well-a, well-a, well-a").
A running gag has a frustrated Binghamton looking up and saying, "Why me? Why is it always me?" (also used by Tinker in one episode) or "Somebody up there hates me!" His favorite catchphrase is "I could just scream!" which was once used by McHale, Carpenter and even Fuji. The only time Binghamton ever gets even with thePT-73 crew is inMcHale's Navy Joins the Air Force when he orders the crew under the command of Ensign Parker to jump off a dock into the water. In the pilot episode, "An Ensign for McHale", the sign outside Binghamton's office reads "Capt. R.F. Binghamton, U.S.N.R." even though his name is later established to be Wallace Burton Binghamton.
In "McHale the Desk Commando", McHale learns what a tough job Binghamton has when he replaces Binghamton as base commander of Taratupa. This is done so Binghamton does not have to face tough-as-nails Admiral "Iron Pants" Rafferty (Philip Ober), who is inspecting naval installations (an episode with a youngRaquel Welch as Lt. Wilson).
Sometimes, Binghamton tries to use legitimate means to get rid of McHale and/or his crew, although usually in an underhanded way. In "All Chiefs and No Indians", Binghamton tries to get the whole crew promoted tochief petty officers so they will be split up and reassigned. When they deliberately fail the exams after they find out what Binghamton is up to, he gives them all passing grades anyway. Another example is in the episode entitled "Little Red Riding Doctor", in whichDon Knotts is Army psychiatrist Lt. Pratt, whom Binghamton tries to con into believing McHale's crew is suffering a terrible case ofcombat fatigue and should be sent back to the States.
Lieutenant Elroy Carpenter (Bob Hastings, a veteran ofSergeant Bilko) – Binghamton's sycophantic bumbler aide who tries to be military, but is too inept to be taken seriously. He is slow to catch on and does not know when to keep his mouth shut. Like Parker, he often knocks down Binghamton, or causes Binghamton to be knocked down, because of his clumsiness and dimwittedness. However, again like Parker, Carpenter is also subjected to Binghamton's tirades. Early in the first season, Lt. Carpenter commandsPT-116, but soon drifts into less responsibility. InMcHale's Navy (1964), Carpenter says he is fromCleveland. In the spin-off movieMcHale's Navy Joins the Air Force, Carpenter is in charge ofPT-116, which is promptly sunk in the first few minutes of the movie.
Quartermaster George "Christy" Christopher (Gary Vinson, who also appeared in the dramatic pilot "Seven Against the Sea") – Whenever McHale is not personally steering thePT-73, it will be Christy at the helm. Besides Binghamton, he is the only married man and the only one with any children. Christy marries Lt. Gloria Winters (Cindy Robbins) early in the series in "Operation Wedding Party" and she moves to San Diego. They have a daughter not long afterwards in "The Big Raffle" episode. Because his crew helped them get married, their daughter is named Quintina Charlene Leslie Wilhelmina Harriet Virginia Hetty Fujiana after the crew (for Quinton, Charles, Lester, Willy, Harrison, Virgil, Happy and Fuji).
Radioman Willy Moss (John Wright, who also appeared in "Seven Against the Sea") – A good-natured Southerner from Tennessee who operates the crew's still and is in charge of radio and telephone communication for the crew. He also serves as thePT-73's sonar operator. In "The British Also Have Ensigns", he is revealed to have nine brothers and sisters.
Torpedoman's Mate Lester Gruber (Carl Ballantine) – A hustler and hack magician[d] whose get-rich-quick schemes (such as promoting gambling and selling moonshine and war souvenirs) often get the crew in trouble (when the crew is not stealing supplies or equipment). Gruber hails fromBrooklyn, worked in a used car sales lot, and frequently references theBrooklyn Dodgers andEbbets Field.
MotorMachinist's Mate Harrison James "Tinker" Bell (Billy Sands, who played Pvt. Paparelli onSergeant Bilko) – A top-notch mechanic who is in charge of keeping thePT-73 running.
Gunner's Mate Virgil Edwards (Edson Stroll) – A handsome and well-built lover boy who is a crack shot with a .50-caliber machine gun. According to the episode "The Truth Hurts", Virgil has been in the service at least six years.
Seaman Joseph "Happy" Haines (Gavin MacLeod, later ofThe Mary Tyler Moore Show andThe Love Boat) – MacLeod left the series before the third season to appear in the movieThe Sand Pebbles. He had also appeared in the 1959 filmOperation Petticoat, which has a few similarities toMcHale's Navy.
Note: In the first season, the crew members are on an equal social footing, but in later seasons, a "pecking order" is established with Gruber at the head, apparently the chief of the boat although three of the crewmen outrank him. Based on the "crows" (insignia of rank) on their dress white uniforms, Christy, Virgil, and Tinker are allpetty officers, 1st class, Willy and Gruber arepetty officers, 2nd class and Happy is a seaman (he does not wear a patch).
Seaman 3rd Class Fujiwara Takeo Kobiaji, nicknamed "Fuji" (Yoshio Yoda) – Perhaps the most unusual character in the series, the lovable, boyish, Japaneseprisoner of war and deserter from theImperial Japanese Navy whom thePT-73 crew takes on as ade facto comrade and keeps hidden from Binghamton and almost everyone outside of McHale's gang. In the episode titled "A Letter for Fuji", his name is given as Fujiwara Takeo; in "The August Teahouse of Quint McHale" and the filmMcHale's Navy Joins the Air Force, it is given as Takeo Fujiwara. In aJapanese name, the family name precedes the given name.
Although Fuji is a member of the Japanese military and has a girlfriend in Japan (Mioshi, whom he finds out is married), his only loyalty is to thePT-73 crew and not the Japanese war effort. In the episodes "The Truth Hurts" and "The Vampire of Taratupa", Fuji is revealed to be fromYokohama. In the tag of one of the fourth season episodes set in Italy, he is revealed to have a second cousin who is a lieutenant in the442nd Regimental Combat Team. In exchange for being given asafe house instead of imprisonment in aprisoner-of-war camp, Fuji gladly "serves time" as the crew's houseboy and cook at their camp on "McHale's Island."
Keeping Fuji's presence and identity a secret from Captain Binghamton and others is a running gag, with wacky consequences throughout the series. For instance, in the premiere episode ("An Ensign For McHale"), to avoid detection during an inspection by Binghamton, Fuji disguises himself and poses as aPolynesian chief, which Binghamton accepts despite initially questioning his Japanese appearance and Japanese accent. In the first episode set in Europe ("War, Italian Style"), he is passed off as a member of the442nd Japanese-American Regiment, where he finds a second cousin through his mother's family of Kobayashi. In "The Mothers ofPT-73" and "Orange Blossoms for McHale", he is presented as aFilipino houseboy. In "Fuji's Big Romance", he is a part-Hawaiian sailor.
Fuji is involved in a frequent scenario on the show. Whenever Binghamton is seen approaching the island unannounced, the crew converges on McHale for instructions. Naturally, the primary concern is to get Fuji out of sight before he is spotted. Invariably, the first order out of McHale's mouth is, "Fuji, head for the hills!" whereupon he takes off for the other side of the island. This scenario is played out so often, in one episode in the later seasons, McHale begins, "Fuji…" and Fuji finishes, "I know. Head for hills." Fuji's seemingly fluent yet awkward command of the English language serves as acomic device; particularly humorous is the unexpected and arbitrary use of Americancolloquialisms andethnicphrases, all spoken with a thick Japanese accent—personal catchphrases include theYiddish lamentOy vey and theItalian exclamationMamma mia!. He fondly calls Commander McHale "Skippa-san" and Ensign Parker "Parka-san", incorporating theJapanese honorificsan.
Many of the episodes in the South Pacific involve interactions with native islanders. The most colorful is Polynesian chief and witchdoctor, Pali Urulu (Jacques Aubuchon), who is as shifty and scheming as McHale and his men. When McHale and the crew are in Urulu's village, the chief displays a portrait of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. When the Japanese troops arrive, Urulu turns it over to reveal a portrait of Japanese EmperorHirohito. In another episode he does the same thing with the Japanese and American flags.
Though "primitive", Urulu is like Gruber, from whom he learns a lot, usually to Gruber's regret—a hustler who is always looking for ways to make money or swindle money from the Navy. In the episode titled "We Do the Voodoo", after Binghamton refuses to pay Urulu for damage to his coconut grove, Urulu uses his powers to put a curse on Binghamton, who then has a streak of bad luck. In "The Balloon Goes Up", Urulu displays the sign "Gone Headhunting" when he leaves his hut and is called acannibal by Binghamton and McHale (no indication that it is meant to be taken literally). Aubuchon also played the Russian sailor Dimitri inMcHale's Navy Joins the Air Force.
Another shifty character is Big Frenchy, played byGeorge Kennedy in episodes titled "French Leave For McHale" and "The Return of Big Frenchy." He is a thieving French smuggler, captain of a small boat, and an old friend of McHale's who knows better than to turn his back to him. In "The Return of Big Frenchy", he convinces Binghamton and Parker that he is a member of theFrench Underground so he can steal supplies. Kennedy also played businessman Henri Le Clerc of New Caledonia in the 1964 movie. Kennedy began his career in showbiz as a technical adviser on theSergeant Bilko show.
The show has its share of admirals. Admiral Rogers is played byRoy Roberts in 22 episodes. In some episodes, his first name is John, while in others, it is Bruce.Herbert Lytton played Admiral Roscoe G. Reynolds in 11 episodes.Bill Quinn played Benson, Slocum and Admiral Bruce Elliott in six episodes.Willis Bouchey played Admiral Hawkins in three episodes. Admiral Rafferty was played byPhilip Ober in "McHale, the Desk Commando" and "McHale's Floating Laudromat".
Ted Knight played Admiral "Go-Go" Granger in "The Fountain of Youth" and "One of Our Engines is Missing", In "Uncle Admiral",Harry Von Zell played Ensign Parker's uncle, Vice Admiral Tim "Bull Dog" Parker.Simon Scott played General Bronson nine times when the show is in Italy.Henry Beckman as U.S. Army Colonel Harrigan was also a regular presence in the Italian episodes as Binghamton's superior and also a thorn in Binghamton's side—as a schemer, Harrigan is sometimes on McHale's side, sometimes on Binghamton's side, or plays one against the other as best suits his purposes. Beckman also played Air Corps Colonel Pratt inMcHale's Navy Joins the Air Force.
Peggy Mondo played several roles in the series. She played the heavyset daughter of a Polynesian chief, Little Flower, who is always looking for a husband such as Ensign Parker or even Binghamton. Mondo also played Fifi in "French Leave for McHale" and a few episodes as Mama Giovanni and Rosa Giovanni when the crew is in Italy.Stanley Adams played a native chief, the Shah of Durani, and political boss Frank Templeton in the last episode "Wally for Congress." Richard Jury played Lt. Plowright in "Parents Anonymous" and a goofy dentist in "The Novocain Mutiny." Both Syl Lamont, who playedYeoman Tate andClay Tanner, who played a Marine guard, appeared in the series a number of times.
Tony Franke appeared in the series several times and as Sgt. Frank Tresh in the movieMcHale's Navy Joins the Air Force.Dick Wilson played Voltafiori citizen and partner of the mayor, Dino Baroni.Walter Brooke andNelson Olmstead each played several different naval officers. Among the actors who repeatedly played Japanese soldiers and sailors are Dale Kino (who also played aNisei sergeant),[8] John Fujioka, andMako (who starred in the movieThe Sand Pebbles, for which MacLeod left the series).
In "The Missing Link",Marlo Thomas played Binghamton's niece, Cynthia Prentice, who takes an interest in Ensign Parker, although it turns out entirely for anthropological reasons. In "Camera, Action, Panic",Arte Johnson played the bumbling Cameraman Sweeney who is making a movie of thePT-73 crew in action. In "Is There a Doctor in the Hut",Bernie Kopell (who starred with MacLeod onThe Love Boat) played Colonel Pryer, who is the obnoxious manager of movie star Rita Howard, played byLisa Seagram. In "Hello McHale? Colonna!" McHale finagles to have comicJerry Colonna do an unscheduledSpecial Services show.Pat Harrington Jr. played the thieving Guido Panzini in "McHale's Country Club Caper".
Steve Franken played the snooty Lt. Jason Whitworth III in "Birth of a Salesman", whom Binghamton hopes will give him a job selling insurance after the war.George Furth played the self-centered Roger Whitfield III, who tries to take advantage of Binghamton's hopes to get his old job back at the yacht club owned by Whitfield's father in "Dart Gun Wedding".Marvin Kaplan played theMIT electronics genius Ensign Eugene J. Kwazniak in "All Ahead, Empty", in which thePT-73 is wired for remote control.Bernard Fox played the clumsy Sub-Lieutenant Cedric Clivedon in "The British Also Have Ensigns."Susan Silo played Virgil's stowaway girlfriend Babette in "Babette, Go Home".Jesse Pearson played singing idol Harley Hatfield in "The Rage of Taratupa".
In "Make Room for Orvie",Michael Burns played 18-year-old Seaman Orvie Tuttle, who is the newest member of thePT-73 crew, but who does not go with the crew when they move to Italy in the next episode.Ann McCrea was cast as Carol Kimberly in "Beauty and the Beast" (1963). In "The Comrades of 73", in which thePT-73 is slated to be sent to theSoviet Union as part ofLend Lease,Sue Ane Langdon played Russian commander Krasni andCliff Norton played Russian admiral Gurevitch (Norton also played an Australiansergeant major in the 1964 movie and Major Bill Grady inMcHale's Navy Joins the Air Force).
McHale's always hopeful love interest while the show is in the South Pacific is Navy Nurse Molly Turner (Jane Dulo fromSergeant Bilko), a New Jersey gal who is always trying to corner the ever romantically elusive McHale. Another love interest of the reluctant McHale is an old friend and a bit of a wildcat Kate O'Hara (Joyce Jameson). At first, his crew tries to get McHale interested in her, then Kate tries to blackmail McHale into marrying her and then Binghamton tries to blackmail her into marrying McHale when she tries to back out herself. Yet another love interest of the always reluctant McHale is Maggie Monohan (Jean Willes) in "The Return of Maggie", the owner of a gambling joint in New Caledonia and an old flame of McHale's who wants him back, but he does not want her back. Willes played a very similar role as Margot Monet in the 1964 movie. Willes also played Congresswoman Clara Carter Clarke in "Send Us a Hero."
Though painfully shy around women, Ensign Parker's love interest in the South Pacific is Yvette Gerard, a lovely French girl from a nearby island played byClaudine Longet (who also played an almost identical character, Andrea Bouchard of New Caledonia, in the 1964 movie). In "A Medal for Parker", his girlfriend back home in Chagrin Falls is Mary (Kathleen Gately), who is more interested in dating a war hero than Parker.
While the very bashful Parker is shy around women, women are not always shy around Parker, such as in "The Happy Sleepwalker" when Lt. Nancy Culpepper (Sheila James) finds Parker irresistible. In "The Vampire of Taratupa", Parker dates Lt. Melba Benson (Ann Elder), who is as big a klutz as he is. In the episode entitled "36-24-73", situated in Italy, hints are given of a relationship developing between Parker and by-the-book female Ensign Sandra Collins (Maura McGiveney) after he sternly corrects her about in what sections certain regulations are (they then talk about what regulations are their favorites).
Along with otherWAVES clad in bathing suits, they provide valuable (albeit totally unwitting) assistance in capturing a GermanU-boat when its captain runs the U-boat aground trying to get a better look. McGiveney also played the part of Judy in "The Stool Parrot" episode. Although the crew (especially the lover-boy Virgil) is forever chasing women (Navy nurses, native island girls or local Italian women), certain women gain their interest more than others. After receiving a "Dear John letter", shy and broken-hearted Willy's love interest becomes Southern belle Nurse Cindy Bates (Brenda Wright). Tinker tries to impress and win over fickle Nurse Betsy Gordonlove (Barbara Werle) in "Scuttlebutt."
Happy's love interest in "The Happy Sleepwalker" is Lt. Anne Wright (Lois Roberts). When Gruber's girlfriend Ginger (Jean Hale) shows up to surprise him in "Lester, the Skipper", McHale is talked into letting Gruber pretend he is the commander of thePT-73 while she is there. In "Fuji's Big Romance", the lonely prisoner of war falls for lovely Sulani (Yvonne Ribuca), the daughter of a Polynesian chief, when the crew sympathetically takes him along on one of their social outings to aluau with the native islanders. Other than Binghamton and Christy, none of the regular characters on the show is married and only Christy has any children.
The cast of the half-hour sitcom series was as listed below. Except where noted, the actors appeared on the show in every season.
The real-lifePT-73 was finished on August 12, 1942, byHiggins Industries, inNew Orleans. It was 78 feet (24 m) long, weighed 56 tons and had a top speed of 40knots. It was assigned to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 13 under the command of Commander James B. Denny, USN. The squadron participated in theAleutian Islands Campaign from March 1943 to May 1944. The squadron was then transferred to the Southwest Pacific, where it saw action atMios Woendi,Dutch New Guinea;Mindoro, Philippine Islands; andBrunei Bay, Borneo.[9]
The squadron was also based for a time atDreger Harbor, New Guinea, andSan Pedro Bay, Philippine Islands, but saw no action from these bases. Overall, the realPT-73 did not have the kind of illustrious combat record depicted in the series. On January 15, 1945, it ran aground offLubang Island in the Philippine Islands after delivering supplies toFilipino guerrillas and was destroyed by the crew to prevent it from falling into enemy hands.[9]
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The Pacific Ocean naval base stood on the back lot ofUniversal Studios. For years after the show went off the air, the sets were an attraction on the studio tour. The portion of the Universal Studios tour involvingBruce the Shark from Jaws attacking the tourist tram takes place on McHale's Lagoon, according to the tour guides.
Few PT boats survived World War II, almost all having been sold, stripped, or destroyed after the war by various governments. This made sourcing an appropriate boat for the television series challenging.
Three different vessels were used to portrayPT-73 in the show: a converted 71-foot (22 m) type IIVosper MTB (motor torpedo boat), a British design built in the U.S. for export to the Soviet Union,[10] was used for shots at sea; and two 63-foot (19 m)World War II air-sea rescue boats were reconfigured above-deck to resemble the reconfigured Vosper and based at Universal Studios.
The war had ended in August 1945 before the Vosper, hull numberPT-694, could be sent to the Soviet Union. It was purchased byHoward Hughes for a chase boat for the only flight of hisSpruce Goose aircraft.[10] Universal purchased the boat.
Significant liberties were taken reconfiguring the Vosper 694 and the two air-sea rescue boats to resemble a World War II-era PT boat. These included:
The final known film appearance of anyPT-73 was of one of the converted 63-foot air-sea rescue boats in the 1970s showEmergency! ("Quicker Than the Eye", season 4, episode 8, aired: November 9, 1974). Per the storyline: Station 51 was dispatched to a movie studio to rescue a man trapped beneath a boat; the boat in question was being moved from one end of the studio to another by truck, and wooden supports holding it had broken and trapped a man underneath. As seen in the episode, shadowed lettering of "PT-73" is visible on the bow of the boat, which was missing its pilot house, masts, anddepth charges.[11][f]
No record of the final fate of either converted 63-foot air-sea rescue boat has been found.
The sea-goingPT-73 (the ex-Howard HughesPT-694 Vesper boat) was sold in 1966 to a private owner,[12][g] and converted to a sport-fishing boat. In 1992, the boat was destroyed when it broke from its mooring nearSanta Barbara and washed up on the beach during a storm.[13]
Producer Edward Montagne set up a female version ofMcHale's Navy entitledBroadside, which ran for 32 episodes on ABC during the1964–65 television season. In place of the PT crew were a group ofWAVES led by Lt. Anne Morgan (Kathleen Nolan). She and her motor pool personnelJoan Staley,Sheila James, Lois Roberts. andJimmy Boyd (as a male with a female name), were up against the naval base's rarefied commanderEdward Andrews and his nervous adjutantGeorge Furth, who guest-starred in an episode ofMcHale's Navy entitled "Dart Gun Wedding."Dick Sargent provided a love interest for Nolan.
Edward Andrews (as "Eddie Andrews") had appeared in Edward Montagne's military sitcomThe Phil Silvers Show (Sergeant Bilko). Montagne remembered him and co-starred him inBroadside. "The amusing thing is that Ed Montagne first offered me the Captain Binghamton role in hisMcHale's Navy and I turned him down," said Andrews in 1965. "After seeing what a wonderful job Joe Flynn is doing with the role, I keep kicking myself for what was apparently a stupid decision. [Broadside] is roughly a distaff version ofMcHale's Navy."[14]
Although not an actual spinoff, Tim Conway and Joe Flynn teamed up playing characters with similar personalities inThe Tim Conway Show, which lasted only 13 episodes in 1970.
Dell Comics published three issues of a comic adaptation in 1963.[15] There was also a Dell comic adaptation of the first film in 1964.[16]
A board game,McHale's Navy Game, was published byTransogram in 1962.[17] A trading card set was published byFleer in 1965.[18]
Years after the show ended, Borgnine and Conway played theSpongeBob SquarePantssuperhero teamMermaid Man and Barnacle Boy.
Two feature filmspin-offs were based on the series:McHale's Navy (1964) andMcHale's Navy Joins the Air Force (1965). The ensemble cast appeared in both films, but Borgnine and Ballantine were absent from the second film; Borgnine was not available due to schedule conflicts with the filming ofThe Flight of the Phoenix; why Ballantine was missing is not known. To beef up the crew, MacLeod, who had left the series, returned for this appearance. In aCinema Retro interview, Borgnine said that Montagne wanted to make the film cheaply, without him, and would not show him the script.[5] Both films have the same basic plot scheme as the series in the South Pacific and, in many ways, were merely extensions of the series. Even parts of thefilming location for New Caledonia in the first movie are identical to episodes from the series.
The seagoingPT-73 was extensively filmed running between San Pedro and Catalina Island'sAvalon harbor, which stood in for the fictional town where the show was set. The first film did well at the box office, but the latter film (without Borgnine) was not as successful and was derided by critics as having too much slapstick comedy, though others praised it for satirizing of military incompetence (after a typical screw-up, the Japanese POW Fuji sighs, "Beats me how they beating us.").William Lederer, who co-authored the second film with John Fenton Murray, used scenes lifted directly from his comic novel,All the Ships at Sea.
Unlike the television series, both movies were filmed inTechnicolor.McHale's Navy (1964) earned an estimated $2,250,000 ($22.8 million in2024) in North American rentals.[19][h]McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force took in $1,500,000 ($15 million in2024).[20]
In 1997, a sequel was released, also namedMcHale's Navy. It starredTom Arnold as McHale's son, aUnited States Naval Academy graduate. The film showed thePT-73 and its crew operating in a modern, post-World War II setting in the Caribbean. Borgnine has acameo appearance as the senior McHale, commandingrear admiral of what appears to be theUnited States Naval Special Warfare Command and going by the code name "Cobra."
Shout! Factory has released all four seasons ofMcHale's Navy on DVD in Region 1. In November 2015, Shout! releasedMcHale's Navy – The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1.[21] The 21-disc set contained all 138 episodes and both theatrical films in special collectible packaging. In Australia,Madman Entertainment released all four seasons on DVD. Madman released the first three seasons in Australia in August 2009, in Slimline packaging, replacing the original releases, which were box sets. In June 2011, a Slimline-packaged set of season 4 was seen in Big W stores in Australia in Region 4, however, no details indicate the item being available elsewhere. All full episodes are now available on YouTube.
| DVD Name | Ep # | Release dates | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Region 4 | ||
| Season 1 | 36 | March 20, 2007 | August 16, 2007 |
| Season 2 | 36 | September 11, 2007 | November 8, 2007 |
| Season 3 | 36 | March 18, 2008 | August 6, 2008 |
| Season 4 | 30 | November 18, 2008 | May 20, 2009 |
| Complete Series | 138 | November 17, 2015 | N/A |
| Surviving boats | |
|---|---|
| Notable boats | |
| Builders | |
| Boats of history | |
| Classes | |
| PT-MTB Squadron | |
| PT training - PT bases |
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| Notable missions | |
| Similar | |
| Media | |
| Museum - Restoration | |
| Related | |
Preceded byUS patrol boats - Followed byPTF boat | |
