''The Private Navy of Sgt. O'Farrell'' is a 1968 American

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Frank Tashlin Frank Tashlin (born Francis Fredrick von Taschlein, February 19, 1913 – May 5, 1972), also known as Tish Tash and Frank Tash, was an American animator and filmmaker. He was best known for his work on the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' ...

and starring

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...

Phyllis Diller Phyllis Ada Diller (née Driver; July 17, 1917 – August 20, 2012) was an American stand-up comedian, Actor, actress, author, musician, and visual artist, best known for her Eccentricity (behavior), eccentric stage persona, Self-deprecation, se ...

, and

Jeffrey Hunter Jeffrey Hunter (born Henry Herman McKinnies Jr.; November 25, 1926 – May 27, 1969) was an American film and television actor and producer known for his roles in films such as ''The Searchers'' and ''King of Kings (1961 film), King of Ki ...

. It was the final film for Tashlin, who died in 1972.

Plot

Master Sergeant A master sergeant is the military rank for a senior non-commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries. Israel Defense Forces The (abbreviated "", master sergeant) is a non-commissioned officer () rank in the Israel Defense Force ...

Dan O'Farrell is a

G.I. G.I. is an informal term that refers to "a soldier in the United States armed forces, especially the army". It is most deeply associated with World War II, but continues to see use. It was originally an initialism used in U.S. Army paperwork f ...

on an island somewhere in the South Pacific during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, bemoaning the loss of a ship torpedoed while ferrying to the island a desperately needed cargo of beer. Among his problems are the Navy personnel making life difficult for him and his Army buddies, an officer trying to emulate

John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 – July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-born naval officer who served in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War. Often referred to as the "Father of the American Navy", Jones is regard ...

, a hoped-for delivery of morale-boosting nurses turning out to be six men, the ugliest woman (Diller) ever to wilt a bouquet of flowers, and a Japanese soldier who has been hiding from everyone else and hiding something else as well.

Cast

as M/Sgt. Dan O'Farrell *

as Nurse Nellie Krause *

as Lt. (j.g.) Lyman P. Jones *John Myhers as Lt. Cdr. Roger N. Snavely *

Mako , better known by the mononym name Mako (sometimes stylised MAKO), is a Japanese Voice acting in Japan, voice actress, singing, singer and a member of the band Bon-Bon Blanco, in which her prominent role is as the maraca player. She has also perf ...

as Calvin Coolidge Ishimura *

Henry Wilcoxon Henry Wilcoxon (born Harry Frederick Wilcoxon; 8 September 1905 – 6 March 1984) was a British-American actor and film producer, born in the British West Indies. He was known as an actor in many of director Cecil B. DeMille's films, also ser ...

as RAdm. Arthur L. Stokes *

Dick Sargent Richard Stanford Cox (April 19, 1930 – July 8, 1994), known professionally as Dick Sargent, was an American actor. He is best known for being the second actor to portray Darrin Stephens on ABC's fantasy sitcom ''Bewitched''. He took the name ...

as Capt. Elwood Prohaska *Christopher Dark as Pvt. George Strongbow * Michael Burns as Pvt. Johnny Bannon * William Wellman Jr. as Cpl. Kennedy *

Robert Donner Robert Donner (April 27, 1931 – June 8, 2006) was an American television and film actor. Early life Donner was born in New York City on April 27, 1931. He was raised in New Jersey, Michigan and Texas. He spent four years in the United States N ...

as Pvt. Ogg (USMC) *

Jack Grinnage Jack Grinnage (born Jack Eugene Stewart, January 20, 1931) is an American actor with a film and television career spanning seven decades. Born in Los Angeles, Grinnage made his first television appearances in 1954. The following year, he played ...

as Pvt. Roberts * William Christopher as Cpl. Jack Schultz (billed as a Pvt.) *

Mylène Demongeot Mylène Demongeot (; born Marie-Hélène Demongeot ; 29 September 1935 – 1 December 2022) was a French film, television and theatre actress and author with a career spanning seven decades and more than 100 credits in French language, French, ...

as Gaby *

Gina Lollobrigida Luigia "Gina" Lollobrigida (4 July 1927 – 16 January 2023) was an Italian actress, model, photojournalist, and sculptor. She was one of the highest-profile European actresses of the 1950s and 1960s, a period in which she was an international ...

as Maria *John Spina as Cpl. Miller (uncredited) *

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

(archive footage from '' Pennies from Heaven'') (uncredited) * Edith Fellows (archive footage from ''Pennies from Heaven'') (uncredited)

Production

The film was an original story which was purchased by producer John Beck in 1965. He tried to set the project up at MGM, but after Bob Hope was attached, it was made via United Artists, where Hope had a deal in association with NBC.Nat Segaloff, ''Final Cuts: The Last Films of 50 Great Directors'', Bear Manor Media, 2013, pp. 285–287 It was one of the last "A" pictures for Jeffrey Hunter. The movie was filmed in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

in 1967 with Hope at 64 years of age at the time; it was originally to have been filmed in Hawaii, but due to the activity during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, the US

Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...

, which cooperated with the production, suggested the filming move to the Caribbean.

Reception

Renata Adler Renata Adler (born October 19, 1937) is an American author, journalist, and film critic. Adler was a staff writer-reporter for ''The New Yorker'' for over thirty years and the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1968 to 1969. She h ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' gave an unfavourable review, complaining about ''"the endless progression of unfunny lines."''

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

'' stated, ''". . . the striking thing about "The Private Navy of Sgt. O'Farrell" is how completely it neglects the humorous possibilities of film,"'' although he found enough good in the tight storytelling,

's directing and

's performance to award two-and-a half stars.

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

said it was ''"okay, but crudely plotted"'' and ''"routinely directed."''

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic, film historian, and author. He is known for his book of film capsule reviews, '' Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide'', published from 1969 to 2014. Maltin was the film criti ...

stated, ''"Of the many terrible Hope comedies of the 1960s, this may be the worst,"'' and gave it his rock-bottom rating of ''BOMB.''Leonard Maltin's 2015 Movie Guide, page 1128

Notes

External links