''McHale's Navy'' is a 1964 American

technicolor Technicolor is a family of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes. The first version, Process 1, was introduced in 1916, and improved versions followed over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black-and ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

film based on the 1962–1966

black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

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 American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network. The series was filmed i ...

'' starring

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 perf ...

Tim Conway Thomas Daniel "Tim" Conway (December 15, 1933 – May 14, 2019) was an American actor, comedian, writer, and director. Conway is perhaps best known as a regular cast member (1975–1978) on the TV comedy ''The Carol Burnett Show'' where he port ...

and Joe Flynn, which had in turn originated with a one-hour anthology drama starring Borgnine entitled ''Seven Against the Sea''. The film version was directed by series producer

Edward Montagne Edward J. Montagne Jr. (May 20, 1912 – December 15, 2003) was an American television series producer and film director. He was the son of screenwriter Edward J. Montagne, Career He produced the successful American television series '' The Ph ...

and its supporting cast includes Carl Ballantine,

Gavin MacLeod Gavin MacLeod ( ; born Allan George See; February 28, 1931 – May 29, 2021) was an American actor best known for his roles as news writer Murray Slaughter on ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' and ship's captain Merrill Stubing on ABC's ''The Love ...

Jean Willes Jean Donahue (born Jean Willes; April 15, 1923 – January 3, 1989) was an American film and television actress. She appeared in approximately 65 films in her 38-year career. Early years Born Jean Willesin Los Angeles to William Simmons Willes ...

, Claudine Longet, and

George Kennedy George Harris Kennedy Jr. (February 18, 1925 – February 28, 2016) was an American actor who appeared in more than 100 film and television productions. He played "Dragline" in ''Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), winning the Academy Award for Best Supp ...

. The film was followed by a sequel entitled '' McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force'' which did not feature Borgnine or Carl Ballantine. A remake entitled ''

'', was released in 1997 and features an appearance by Ernest Borgnine playing a 75-year old McHale. The filming location for

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

is the same as the one used in the series. For more information on the main characters see the TV series ''

''. The movie was released on DVD for Region 1 on January 31, 2011. The film was released following the end of the second season of the television series.

Plot

Set "Somewhere in the South Pacific" in 1943, Gruber's gambling scheme backfires when he tries to raise money for St Theresa's Orphanage through off-track horserace betting. Heavy bets on the horse "Silver Spot" leaves the crew owing a large sum to sailors and marines. Captain Binghamton is attempting to spy on the illegal operation from the air, but Ensign Parker mistakes his plane for the enemy and shoots it down. The Captain is rescued from a wet landing in the bay, but can't restrict McHale and his crew to base because they have been ordered to report to New Caledonia for a special briefing. Some time later, when the crew is in

, Ensign Parker runs PT-73 into the dock and destroys the dock and cargo of businessman Henri Le Clerc, leaving the crew even more in debt. However, while on a reconnaissance mission to an island the crew comes across Silver Spot who was lost on the island after the horse was being moved from Australia. They decide to enter Silver Spot in a race in New Caledonia to win enough money to pay all their debts. Otherwise, the only way to pay all their debts is for McHale to marry his old flame Margot Monet, also known as Maggie Monahan, who owns a gambling parlor in New Caledonia (but who McHale would rather not marry). They try to disguise the horse with much heavy hair, but when the hair starts to come off during the race they decide to use a smoke screen from the 73 to keep anyone from seeing too much. However, this made it impossible for the racetrack authorities to know who won. But the smokescreen also caused a Japanese submarine to be captured by the 73. In the end, Le Clerc is so grateful for saving his town he forgives the debt. The crew also receive a reward for rescuing Silver Spot which just happens to be enough to pay the sailors and marines. While all this was going on the PT-73 crew was dogging Binghamton and his aide Carpenter. And just as they were leaving New Caledonia the bashful Parker is kissed by Bouchard and the lightheaded Parker accidentally sets off a depth charge which destroys Le Clerc's dock and cargo again. But rather than marry Monet to pay for the new damage, McHale and crew immediately scramble to get out of New Caledonia.

Cast

as Lieutenant Commander Quinton McHale *

as Ensign Charles Parker * Joe Flynn as Captain Wallace B. Binghamton ("Old Leadbottom") * Bob Hastings as Lieutenant Elroy Carpenter * Gary Vinson as George "Christy" Christopher,

Quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land army, armies, a quartermaster is an officer who supervises military logistics, logistics and requisitions, manages stores or barracks, and distri ...

* Bobby Wright as Willy Moss,

Radioman Radioman (RM) was a rating for United States Navy and United States Coast Guard enlisted personnel, specializing in communications technology. History of the rating The rating was created originally in 1921. In 1997, under the direction of Ch ...

* Carl Ballantine as Lester Gruber, Torpedoman's Mate * Billy Sands as Harrison "Tinker" Bell, Engineman & Motor Machinist Mate * Edson Stroll as Virgil Edwards, Gunner's Mate *

as Joseph "Happy" Haines,

Seaman Seaman may refer to: * Sailor, a member of a marine watercraft's crew * Seaman (rank), a military rank in some navies * Seaman (name) (including a list of people with the name) * ''Seaman'' (video game), a 1999 simulation video game for the Seg ...

* Yoshio Yoda as Fuji Kobiaji, Cook,

3C, Japanese PW. *

as Henri Le Clerc *

as Margot Monet (Maggie Monahan) * Claudine Longet as Andrea Bouchard * Cliff Norton as Australian sergeant major * Marcel Hillaire as Chief de Gendarmes

References

External links

* * * {{McHale's Navy 1960s war comedy films 1964 films Films set in 1943 American war comedy films Military comedy films Films about the United States Navy in World War II Universal Pictures films Films directed by Edward Montagne Films scored by Jerry Fielding Films set in New Caledonia 1964 comedy films 1960s English-language films 1960s American films McHale's Navy English-language war comedy films

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links