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 originated from a one-hour drama titled "Seven Against the Sea", broadcast on April 3, 1962, as part of the Alcoa Premiere anthology series. The ABC series spawned three feature films: McHale's Navy (1964); a sequel, McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force (1965); and a 1997 sequel-remake of the original series.
"Seven Against the Sea" (1962) Academy Award–winning dramatic actor Ernest Borgnine first appeared as Quinton McHale in an hour-long PT boat drama called "Seven Against the Sea", which aired as an episode of Alcoa Premiere in 1962, an ABC dramatic anthology also known as Fred Astaire's Premiere Theatre and hosted by Fred Astaire, who introduced television audiences to the Quinton McHale character. It is considered the pilot show for the series although it is an hour-long drama instead of a half-hour situation comedy and is starkly different in tone.
Plot
During World War II, Lieutenant Commander Quinton McHale (Borgnine) is the commanding officer of the U.S. Navy PT boat PT-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 150 naval aviators and Marines 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-book Annapolis graduate Lieutenant Durham (Ron Foster) parachutes onto the island. His job is to assume duties as McHale's executive officer and help him get the base on Taratupa back into action.
Durham faces an uphill battle: the men have gone native. One man has started a native laundry service, and McHale operates a still, making moonshine 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 enemy cruiser 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.
Cast The cast of "Seven Against the Sea" was: Credits appear from 50:58 through 51:25.
Ernest Borgnine as Captain Quentin McHale Ron Foster as Lieutenant Robert Durham William Bramley as Bosun Ward Gallagher John Wright as Willy Moss Gary Vinson as Christy Christopher Steve Harris as Plumber Harris Brian Eliot as Jenkins Bob Okazaki as Japanese Officer Michael Dugan as Seaman Number One Juano Hernandez as Chief Mamora
Response This episode of an early dramatic anthology series received respectable ratings and ABC ordered a series. The series requested by the network was significantly different in tone from the pilot. In an interview in Cinema Retro magazine, Borgnine said the show was meant as a vehicle for Ron Foster, who was to be contracted to Universal Pictures, but that did not work out. Producer Jennings Lang recalled the 1953 film Destination Gobi inspiring a half-hour comedy with the Borgnine character's PT boat."Call Me Ernie Part Two". Cinema Retro, Vol. 5, Issue 14. p. 50. The lead character in Destination Gobi, played by Richard Widmark, was named McHale.
"Seven Against the Sea" is available for public viewing at the Paley Center for Media (formerly the Museum of Television and Radio) in New York City and Los Angeles. , it can also be found on YouTube.
McHale's Navy (1962–1966)
This military service comedy series was set in the Pacific theatre of World War II—for the last season, the setting changed to the European theater in Italy—and focused on antics of the misfit crew of PT-73 led by Lieutenant Commander Quinton McHale, played by Borgnine. The producer, Edward Montagne, had enjoyed success with The Phil Silvers Show—often referred to as Sergeant Bilko, after the series' protagonist—a military comedy that ran from 1955 to 1959 about an opportunistic non-commissioned officer and his loyal platoon putting loony things over on the camp commander. While the pilot had been dramatic, with overtones of Henry Fonda's introspective Mister Roberts, Montagne turned the "McHale" project into "Bilko in the Navy" and recruited Sergeant Bilko actors and writers.
However, unlike Sergeant 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-President John F. Kennedy was known as the decorated wartime commander of PT-109. A popular book, PT-109: John F. Kennedy in World War II by Robert J. Donovan, came out the previous year, and a feature film based on the book, PT 109, a year after the series’ debut. was referenced in the episode "Send Us A Hero".
Plot 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 the PT-73 crew for good, either by transfer or court-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 programme The 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 a nervous 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 in drag. When they are in Italy, several of the crewmen disguise themselves in German uniforms.
Settings The entire show is based in only two locations: in the South 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 entire PT-73 crew, along with Fuji (who hid in the boat as it was being transported), move to the liberated 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 more plot twists and gags. For instance, when McHale and his crew first arrive in Voltafiore, they are greeted by the newly liberated citizens with cries of Sieg Heil! While Binghamton and Carpenter live nicely in the city hall, McHale and his men are forced by Binghamton to bivouac 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-style periscope and fancy furnishings.
Episodes
McHale's Navy came to an end in 1966, due to low ratings and repetitive storylines.
Regular characters Lieutenant Commander McHale
Lieutenant Commander Quinton McHale (Ernest Borgnine) – A principal character of the series, he is also a former captain of a tramp 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, 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 the PT-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's catchphrases 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 Parker