''McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force'' is a 1965 film based upon the television 1962–1966

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

McHale's Navy ''McHale's Navy'' is an American sitcom starring Ernest Borgnine that aired 138 half-hour episodes over four seasons, from October 11, 1962, to April 12, 1966, on the ABC television network. The series was filmed in black and white and originate ...

''. Series supporting players Joe Flynn and

Tim Conway Thomas Daniel "Tim" Conway (December 15, 1933 – May 14, 2019) was an American actor, comedian, writer, and director. From 1966 to 2012 he appeared in more than 100 TV shows, TV series and films. Among his more notable roles, he portrayed the ...

are the leads for this

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

to the first film made in 1964, also named ''McHale's Navy''. Most of the film is based on their two characters, particularly Ensign Parker.

Plot

Binghamton ( Joe Flynn) is sent to a staff meeting in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, Australia and is forced to use the PT-73 to get there after Fuji (

Yoshio Yoda James Yoshio Yoda (March 31, 1934 – January 13, 2023) was a Japanese-born American actor and businessman who played Takeo Fujiwara in the American television series ''McHale's Navy''. Early life Yoda was born on March 31, 1934, in Tokyo, Jap ...

) sabotages Lt. Carpenter's (

Bob Hastings Robert Francis Hastings (April 18, 1925 – June 30, 2014) was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of Lt. Elroy Carpenter on ''McHale's Navy'' and voicing Commissioner James Gordon in the DC Animated Universe. Early life Hast ...

) 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 (

) switches uniforms with Lt. Harkness (

Ted Bessell TED may refer to: Economics and finance * TED spread between U.S. Treasuries and Eurodollar Education * ''Türk Eğitim Derneği'', the Turkish Education Association ** TED Ankara College Foundation Schools, Turkey ** Transvaal Education Depart ...

), who then is mistakenly arrested by the Russian

NKGB The People's Commissariat for State Security (russian: Народный комиссариат государственной безопасности) or NKGB, was the name of the Soviet Union, Soviet secret police, intelligence (information ...

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 Lt. 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 Lt Harkness' father, General Harkness (

Tom Tully Thomas Kane Tulley (August 21, 1908 – April 27, 1982) was an American actor. He began his career in radio and on the stage before making his film debut in ''Northern Pursuit'' (1943). Subsequently, he was nominated for an Academy Award for hi ...

), for fear of being found out. In the meantime, Harkness (or rather Parker) is promoted three times to Lt. 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 Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

, much to the consternation of his PT-73 crewmates.

Cast

Production

Series star

Ernest Borgnine Ernest Borgnine (; born Ermes Effron Borgnino; January 24, 1917 – July 8, 2012) was an American actor whose career spanned over six decades. He was noted for his gruff but relaxed voice and gap-toothed Cheshire Cat grin. A popular perfor ...

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 Carl Ballantine (September 28, 1917 – November 4, 2009) was an American magician, comedian and actor. Billing himself as "The Great Ballantine", "The Amazing Ballantine" or "Ballantine: The World's Greatest Magician", his vaudeville-style come ...

also doesn't appear in the movie and the PT-73 crew is not seen in large portions of the film. The movie, which also features

, was directed by series producer

Edward Montagne Edward J. Montagne Jr. (May 20, 1912 – December 15, 2003) was a television series producer and film director who directed the films ''McHale's Navy'' (1964) starring Ernest Borgnine, its sequel ''McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force'' (1965) star ...

. 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. 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 The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

and from 1941 was known as the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

(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 theaters on July 9, 1965 and later to VHS on March 31, 1998.

References

External links