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

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 ...

''. Series supporting players Joe Flynn and Tim Conway 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 titled ''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 List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, Australia, and is forced to use the ''PT-73'' to get there after Fuji ( Yoshio Yoda) sabotages Lt. 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 Lt. 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 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), 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), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

, 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 Lt. 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 Gen. Harkness * Susan Silo as Cpl. "Smitty" Smith * Henry Beckman as Col. Platt * Ted Bessell as Lt. Wilbur Harkness * Jean Hale as Sgt. Madge Collins * Cliff Norton as Maj. Bill Grady * Jacques Aubuchon as Dimitri * Joe Ploski as Russian Seaman

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 perf ...

was unavailable due to a scheduling conflict with the 1965 film ''The Flight of the Phoenix''. However, in a ''Cinema Retro'' interview, Borgnine said producer Edward Montagne wanted to make the film cheaply, without him, and would not show him the script. Carl Ballantine also doesn't appear and the ''PT-73'' crew is not seen in large portions. The film, which also features Ted Bessell, was directed by Montagne. Save for Quinton McHale (Borgnine) and Lester Gruber (Ballantine), the film features all the main characters from the television series. The film is titled ''McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force''—where "Air Force" in an American context usually refers to the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

(USAF). Since the plot is situated "Somewhere in the South Pacific, 1943", this would be historically inaccurate, as until 1947 the Air Force was part of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

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 ...

(USAAF). However, many servicemen colloquially referred to the USAAF as the "Air Force" during the era 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