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 originated from an hour drama entitled Seven Against the Sea, broadcast on April 3, 1962.
The ABC series spawned three feature films: McHale's Navy ; a sequel, McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force ; and a much later 1997 sequel-remake of the original series.

"Seven Against the Sea" (1962)

-winning dramatic actor Ernest Borgnine first appeared as Quinton McHale in a one-shot 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.

Plot

During World War II, Lieutenant Commander Quinton McHale is the commanding officer of the U.S. Navy PT boat PT-73, stationed at the Pacific island base 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 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. 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 and even bathes with him. 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 the Japanese rendered on the island attack, 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 their boats to protect the beachhead and the Marines, but he has no boats, since the Japanese sank them all. However, McHale manages to capture a Japanese PT boat patrolling 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.
"Seven Against the Sea" is available for public viewing at the Paley Center for Media in New York City and Los Angeles.

Cast

This episode of an early dramatic anthology series received respectable ratings and ABC ordered a series. However, the series it wanted was significantly different in tone from the pilot.
In an interview in Cinema Retro magazine, Ernest 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 film Destination Gobi inspiring a half-hour comedy with the Borgnine character's PT boat. Coincidentally, the lead character in Destination Gobi, played by Richard Widmark, was named McHale.

''McHale's Navy'' (1962–1966)

This wacky 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 the loony misfit crew of PT-73, wily boys with crazy antics, led by Lieutenant Commander Quinton McHale, played by Borgnine.
The producer, Edward J. Montagne, had enjoyed success with The Phil Silvers Show, a military comedy about an opportunistic noncommissioned 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 Sgt. Bilko actors and writers. However, unlike The Phil Silvers Show, 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 concerns about peacetime duties rather than fighting a war.
If Borgnine had misgivings about the show's new direction, he hid them and played straight-man to the comedians around him. At the time of the series, then-President John F. Kennedy was known as the wartime commander of PT-109. A popular book, PT 109: John F. Kennedy in WWII by Robert J. Donovan came out the previous year, and PT-109 was sometimes slyly referenced in a few episodes relating to a young commissioned PT boat officer.

Plot

The basic plot revolves around McHale's crew's wacky schemes to make money, get girls, and have a ball, and the efforts of Captain Binghamton to rid himself of the PT-73 crew for good, either by transfer or court martial. Although they are forever getting into trouble, they get out of trouble. 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 entire show is based on only two locations, one in the South Pacific at a fictional base called Taratupa - the inferred location are islands south of New Zealand and an equally fictional town in Italy called Voltafiore. The first few episodes merely indicate it is "somewhere in the South Pacific 1943". While in the South Pacific, McHale's crew lives on "McHale's Island", which is described as 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. In the final season, Binghamton and the entire PT-73 crew move to the liberated Italian theater to the town of Voltafiore "in Southern Italy" "in late 1944".

Episodes

Regular characters

Lieutenant Commander McHale

Quinton McHale — 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. 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 movie, 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. 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

Charles Beaumont Parker — McHale's likable, but goofy second-in-command, he is referred to by McHale as "Chuck" and by the crew as "Mister Parker". Tim Conway's bashful, unassertive, naïve, mildly gung-ho bungler often succeeds in spite of clownish ineptitude. Like Conway, Ensign Parker is from Chagrin Falls, Ohio. Parker was born between about 1916 and 1920 and worked for the Chagrin Falls Gazette.
Although he tries to be military, he is too dimwitted to command too much respect, and many of the episodes involve Parker getting into trouble because of his bumbling and ineptitude such as accidentally firing depth charges or shooting down Allied aircraft. Even before becoming a member of McHale's crew, Ensign Parker's personnel file is a laundry list of major foul-ups, including crashing a destroyer escort into a dock, doing something unspecified in heavy fog to the heavy cruiser USS Minneapolis, and calling in a naval airstrike on a Marine gasoline dump. Because of his considerable bumbling, the crew tries to protect Parker, who they feel will not survive as an officer without their help. Also, he is very slow to catch on and does not know when to keep his mouth closed. For instance, when Binghamton says "the cat is out of the bag", Parker says, "I'm sure it's around here somewhere, Sir. Here, kitty kitty".
Parker's catchphrase is "Gee, I love that kind of talk" and he loves to cite naval regulations which he knows by heart, but somehow can never remember his serial number correctly. In the episode titled "The Great Impersonation", Ensign Parker impersonates British General Smythe-Pelly in Noumea, New Caledonia while the actual general leads an invasion against Japanese forces. In another Conway dual role, Parker impersonates Admiral Chester "Rockpile" Beaty in "The Seven Faces of Ensign Parker". In "H.M.S. 73", Parker poses as a phony British rear admiral, Sir Reggie Grother-Smyth and impersonates British Admiral Clivedon Sommers in "The British Also Have Ensigns". From time to time, Parker is called upon to fool Captain Binghamton with a voice impersonation of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Captain Binghamton

Wallace "Wally" Burton Binghamton USNR — McHale's perpetually frustrated commanding officer, he is referred to as "Old Leadbottom". He is a married naval reservist, and his job before the war was as the commodore of a yacht club on Long Island and the editor of a yachting magazine.
Cantankerous and cross, Binghamton often dreams of a promotion to admiral or occasionally military glory, but is much too inept, cowardly, and a bit of a goof himself. Binghamton does come close to a promotion to Admiral Rogers's staff in "The Balloon Goes Up", but because Binghamton took too long in getting things squared away, someone else gets the promotion. The one time Binghamton leads the PT-73 into battle, he only succeeds in "sinking" an enemy truck on land with a torpedo, based on an actual attack conducted by the.
Binghamton is constantly trying to "get the goods" on "McHale and his pirates" to send them to prison or get them transferred, and he comes close just about all the time, only to have McHale's crew get out of trouble, usually by having some kind of military success, through some form of blackmail, or because Binghamton wants some kind of a favor from McHale. When he isn't complaining about McHale and his crew to his superiors, Binghamton constantly tries to impress superior officers, VIPs, or people with connections for personal gain–which usually backfires, making him look foolish. As a running gag, Binghamton is forever being knocked down or covered with something messy. Blind without his glasses, Binghamton also has his glasses knocked or taken off a number of times. Occasionally, he is seen throwing darts at a picture of McHale.
His catchphrases are: "What in the name of the Blue Pacific" or "What in the name of Nimitz ?", and "What is it, wha', wha', wha', what?!". A running gag has a frustrated Binghamton looking up and saying, "Why me? Why is it always me?" or "Somebody up there hates me!" His favorite catchphrase is "I could just scream!", which was once used by McHale and once by Carpenter. The only time Binghamton ever gets even with the PT-73 crew is in McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force when he orders the crew under the command of Ensign Parker to jump off a dock into the water. In the pilot episode, "An Ensign for McHale", the sign outside Binghamton's office reads "Capt. R. F. Binghamton, U.S.N.R." even though his name is later established to be Wallace Burton Binghamton.

Lieutenant Carpenter

Elroy Carpenter — Binghamton's sycophantic aide, he is a bumbler who tries to be military, but is too inept to be taken seriously. He is slow to catch on and does not know when to keep his mouth shut. Like Parker, he often knocks down, or causes Binghamton to be knocked down because of his clumsiness and dimwittedness. However, again like Parker, Carpenter is also subjected to Binghamton's tirades. Early in the first season, Lt. Carpenter commands PT-116, but soon drifts into less responsibility. In McHale's Navy, Carpenter says he is from Cleveland. In the spin-off movie McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force, Carpenter is in charge of PT-116, which is promptly sunk in the first few minutes of the movie.

''PT-73'' crew

George "Christy" Christopher — Whenever McHale is not personally steering the -73, it will be Christy at the helm. Besides Binghamton, he is the only married man and the only one with any children. Christy marries Lt. Gloria Winters early in the series in "Operation Wedding Party", and she moves to San Diego. They have a daughter not long afterwards in "The Big Raffle" episode. Because his crew helped them get married, their daughter is named Quintina Charlene Leslie Wilhelmina Harriet Virginia Hetty Fujiana after the crew.
Radioman Willy Moss — a good-natured Southerner from Tennessee, he operates the crew's still and is in charge of radio and telephone communication for the crew. He also serves as the -73’s sonar operator. In "The British Also Have Ensigns", he is revealed to have nine brothers and sisters.
Torpedoman's Mate Lester Gruber — a hustler and hack magician, his get-rich-quick schemes often get the crew in trouble. Gruber hails from Brooklyn, worked in a used car sales lot, and frequently references the Dodgers and Ebbets Field. Carl Ballantine entertained troops with his comedy and magic during World War Two.
Motor Machinist Mate Harrison James "Tinker" Bell — — a top notch mechanic, he is in charge of keeping the -73 running.
Gunner's Mate Virgil Edwards — the handsome and well built lover boy is a crack shot with a.50-caliber machine gun. According to the episode "The Truth Hurts", Virgil has been in the service at least six years.
Seaman Joseph "Happy" Haines — MacLeod left the series before the third season to appear in the movie The Sand Pebbles. He had also appeared in the 1959 movie Operation Petticoat, which has a few similarities to McHale's Navy.
Seaman 3rd Class Fujiwara Takeo Kobiashi, 'Fuji' — perhaps the most unusual character in the series, he is the lovable, boyish, Japanese prisoner of war and deserter from the Imperial Japanese Navy whom the PT-73 crew takes on as a de facto comrade — and keeps hidden from Binghamton and almost everyone outside of McHale's gang. In the episode titled "A Letter For Fuji", his name is given as Fujiwara Takeo; in "The August Teahouse of Quint McHale" and the movie McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force, it is given as Takeo Fujiwara. Although Fuji is a member of the Japanese military and has a girlfriend in Japan, his only loyalty is to the PT-73 crew and not the Japanese war effort. In the episodes "The Truth Hurts" and "The Vampire of Taratupa", Fuji is revealed to be from Yokohama. In the tag of one of the fourth season episodes set in Italy, he is revealed to have a second cousin who is a lieutenant in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.
In exchange for being given a safe house instead of imprisonment in a prisoner-of-war camp, Fuji gladly "serves time" as the crew's houseboy and cook at their camp on "McHale's Island". Keeping Fuji's presence and identity a secret from Captain Binghamton and others is a running gag, with wacky consequences throughout the series. For instance, to avoid detection during an inspection by Binghamton, Fuji disguises himself and poses as a Polynesian chief in the premiere episode ; in the first episode set in Europe, he is passed off as a member of the 442nd Japanese-American Regiment. In "The Mothers of PT-73" and "Orange Blossoms for McHale", he is presented as a Filipino houseboy; in "Fuji's Big Romance", he is a part-Hawaiian sailor.
Fuji is involved in a frequent scenario on the show. Whenever Binghamton is seen approaching the island unannounced, the crew converges on McHale for instructions. Naturally, the primary concern is to get Fuji out of sight before he is spotted. So invariably, the first order out of McHale’s mouth is, “Fuji. Head for the hills!”, whereupon he takes off for the other side of the island. This scenario is played out so often, in one episode in the later seasons, McHale begins, “Fuji…” and Fuji finishes, “I know. Head for hills.”
Fuji's seemingly fluent yet awkward command of the English language serves as a comic device; particularly humorous is the unexpected and arbitrary use of American colloquialisms and ethnic phrases, all spoken with a thick Japanese accent — personal catchphrases include the Yiddish lament Oy vey and the Italian exclamation . He fondly calls Commander McHale "Skippa-san" and Ensign Parker "Parka-san".

More information

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.
The final season had a total change of scenery as Binghamton, Carpenter, and the entire PT-73 crew, along with Fuji, 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 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 the Nazi salute 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. They later add a submarine-style periscope and fancy furnishings. Colonel Douglas Harrigan of the U.S. Army is, as the overall military commander of the area, Binghamton's superior and a thorn in Binghamton's side. A schemer, Harrigan is sometimes on McHale's side, sometimes on Binghamton's side, or plays one against the other—whatever suits his purposes. Beckman also played Colonel Platt in McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force.
In "McHale the Desk Commando", McHale learns what a tough job it is when he replaces Binghamton as base commander of Taratupa so Binghamton does not have to face tough-as-nails Admiral "Iron Pants" Rafferty, who is inspecting naval installations. About the only other time Binghamton betters the PT-73 crew is in McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force. He does so by pushing them off the dock one at a time.
Sometimes, Binghamton tries to use legitimate means to get rid of McHale and/or his crew. In "All Chiefs and No Indians", Binghamton tries to get the whole crew promoted to chief petty officers so they will be split up and reassigned. When they deliberately fail the exams after they find out what Binghamton is up to, he gives them all passing grades anyway. Another example is in the episode entitled "Little Red Riding Doctor" in which Don Knotts is Army psychiatrist Lt. Pratt, whom Binghamton tries to con into believing McHale's crew is suffering a terrible case of combat fatigue and should be sent back to the States.
The two movies with the same basic cast, McHale's Navy and McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force, have the same basic plot scheme as the show in the South Pacific, and in many ways were merely extensions of the show. Even parts of the filming location for New Caledonia in the first movie are the identical to episodes from the show.
At the end of the fourth season in 1966, low ratings and repetitive story lines brought McHale's Navy to an end.

Other characters

Urulu

Many of the episodes in the South Pacific involve interactions with native islanders. The most colorful is Polynesian chief and witchdoctor, Pali Urulu, who is as shifty and scheming as McHale and his men. When McHale and the crew are in Urulu's village, the chief displays a portrait of President Franklin D. Roosevelt; when the Japanese troops arrive, Urulu turns it over to reveal a portrait of Japanese Emperor Hirohito. Though "primitive", Urulu is like Gruber – a hustler who is always looking for ways to make money or swindle money from the Navy. In the episode titled "We Do The Voodoo", after Binghamton refuses to pay Urulu for damage to his coconut grove, Urulu uses his powers to put a curse on Binghamton, who then has a streak of bad luck. In "The Balloon Goes Up", Urulu displays the sign "Gone Headhunting" when he leaves his hut and is called a cannibal by Binghamton and McHale. Aubuchon also played the Russian sailor Dimitri in McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force.

Big Frenchy

Another shifty character is Big Frenchy, played by George Kennedy in episodes titled "French Leave For McHale" and "The Return of Big Frenchy". He is a thieving French smuggler, captain of a small boat, and an old friend of McHale's who knows better than to turn his back to him. In "The Return of Big Frenchy", he convinces Binghamton and Parker that he is a member of the "French Underground" so he can steal supplies. Kennedy also played businessman Henri Le Clerc of New Caledonia in the 1964 movie. Kennedy began his career in showbiz as a technical adviser on the 'Bilko' show.

Senior officers

The show has its share of admirals. Admiral Rogers is played by Roy Roberts in 22 episodes. In some episodes, his first name is John while in others, it is Bruce. Herbert Lytton played Admiral Roscoe G. Reynolds in 11 episodes. Bill Quinn played Admirals Benson, Slocum, and Bruce Elliott in six episodes. Willis Bouchey played Admiral Hawkins in three episodes. Admiral Rafferty was played by Philip Ober in "McHale, the Desk Commando" and "McHale's Floating Laudromat". Ted Knight played Admiral "Go-Go" Granger in "The Fountain of Youth" and "One of Our Engines is Missing". In "Uncle Admiral", Harry Von Zell played Ensign Parker's uncle Vice Admiral Tim "Bull Dog" Parker. Simon Scott played General Bronson 9 times when the show is in Italy. Henry Beckman as U.S. Army Colonel Harrigan was also a regular presence in the Italian episodes, with his actor also playing Air Corps colonel Pratt in McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force.

Multiple character roles

Peggy Mondo played several roles in the series. She played the heavyset daughter of a Polynesian chief, Little Flower, who is always looking for a husband such as Ensign Parker or even Binghamton. Mondo also played Fifi in "French Leave for McHale" and a few episodes as Mama Giovanni and Rosa Giovanni when the crew is in Italy. Stanley Adams played a native chief, the Shah of Durani, and political boss Frank Templeton in the last episode "Wally for Congress". Richard Jury played Lt. Plowright in "Parents Anonymous" and a goofy dentist in "The Novocain Mutiny". Both Syl Lamont, who played Yeoman Tate, and Clay Tanner, who played a Marine guard, appeared in the series a number of times. Tony Franke also appeared in the series several times and as Sgt. Frank Tresh in the movie McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force. Dick Wilson played Voltafiori citizen and partner of the mayor, Dino Baroni. Walter Brooke and Nelson Olmstead each played several different naval officers. Among the actors who repeatedly played Japanese soldiers and sailors are Dale Kino, John Fujioka and Mako.

Guest stars

In "The Missing Link", Marlo Thomas played Binghamton's niece, Cynthia Prentice, who takes an interest in Ensign Parker, although it turns out entirely for anthropological reasons. In "Camera, Action, Panic", Arte Johnson played the bumbling Cameraman Sweeney who is making a movie of the PT-73 crew in action. In "Is There a Doctor in the Hut", Bernie Kopell played Colonel Pryer, who is the obnoxious manager of the movie star Rita Howard played by Lisa Seagram. In "Hello McHale? Colonna!", McHale finagles to have comic Jerry Colonna do an unscheduled Special Services show. Pat Harrington, Jr. played the thieving Guido Panzini in "McHale's Country Club Caper". Steve Franken played the snooty Lt. Jason Whitworth III in "Birth of a Salesman", whom Binghamton hopes will give him a job selling insurance after the war. George Furth played the self-centered Roger Whitfield III, who tries to take advantage of Binghamton's hopes to get his old job back at the yacht club owned by Whitfield's father in "Dart Gun Wedding". Marvin Kaplan played the MIT electronics genius Ensign Eugene J. Kwazniak in "All Ahead, Empty" in which the -73 is wired for remote control. Bernard Fox played the clumsy Sub-Lieutenant Cedric Clivedon in "The British Also Have Ensigns". Susan Silo played Virgil's stowaway girlfriend Babette in "Babette, Go Home". Jesse Pearson played singing idol Harley Hatfield in "The Rage of Taratupa". In "Make Room for Orvie", Michael Burns played 18-year-old Seaman Orvie Tuttle, who is the newest member of the PT-7 crew, but who does not go with the crew when they move to Italy in the next episode. Ann McCrea was cast as Carol Kimberly in "Beauty and the Beast". In "The Comrades of 73", in which the -73 is slated to be sent to the Soviet Union as part of Lend Lease, Sue Ane Langdon played Russian Commander Krasni and Cliff Norton played Russian Admiral Gurevitch.

''PT-73'' crew love life

McHale's always hopeful love interest while the show is in the South Pacific is Navy Nurse Molly Turner, a New Jersey gal who is always trying to corner the ever romantically elusive McHale. Another love interest of the reluctant McHale is an old friend and a bit of a wildcat Kate O'Hara. At first, his crew tries to get McHale interested in her, then Kate tries to blackmail McHale into marrying her, and then Binghamton tries to blackmail her into marrying McHale when she tries to back out herself. Yet another love interest of the always reluctant McHale is Maggie Monohan in "The Return of Maggie", the owner of a gambling joint in New Caledonia and an old flame of McHale's who wants him back, but he does not want her back. Willes also played Congresswoman Clara Carter Clarke in "Send Us a Hero".
Though painfully shy around women, Ensign Parker's love interest in the South Pacific is a lovely French girl from a nearby island, Yvette Gerard, played by Claudine Longet. In "A Medal for Parker", his girlfriend back home in Chagrin Falls is Mary, who is more interested in dating a war hero than Parker. While the very bashful Parker is shy around women, women are not always shy around Parker, such as in "The Happy Sleepwalker" when Lt. Nancy Culpepper finds Parker irresistible. In "The Vampire of Taratupa", Parker dates Lt. Melba Benson, who is as big a klutz as he is. In the episode entitled "36-24-73", situated in Italy, hints are given of a relationship developing between Parker and by-the-book female Ensign Sandra Collins after he sternly corrects her about in what sections certain regulations are. Along with other WAVES clad in bathing suits, they provide valuable assistance in capturing a German U-boat when its captain runs the U-boat aground trying to get a better look. McGiveney also played the part of Judy in "The Stool Parrot" episode.
Although the crew is forever chasing women, certain women gain their interest more than others. After receiving a "Dear John letter", shy and broken-hearted Willy's love interest becomes Southern belle Nurse Cindy Bates. Tinker tries to impress and win over fickle Nurse Betsy Gordonlove in "Scuttlebutt". Happy's love interest in "The Happy Sleepwalker" is Lt. Anne Wright. When Gruber's girlfriend Ginger shows up to surprise him in "Lester, the Skipper", McHale is talked into letting Gruber pretend he is the commander of the -73 while she is there. In "Fuji's Big Romance", the lonely prisoner of war falls for lovely Sulani, the daughter of a Polynesian chief, when the crew sympathetically takes him along on one of their social outings to a luau with the native islanders,.
Other than Binghamton and Christy, none of the regular characters on the show is married, and only Christy has any children.

Cast

Except where noted, the actors appeared on the show in every season:
as Lester Gruber
The real-life PT-73 was finished on August 12, 1942, by Higgins Industries, Iinc., New Orleans. It was long, weighed 56 tons, and had a top speed of 40 knots. It was assigned to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 13 under the command of Commander James B. Denny, USN. The squadron participated in the Aleutian Islands Campaign from March 1943 to May 1944. The squadron was then transferred to the Southwest Pacific, where the squadron saw action at Mios Woendi, Dutch New Guinea; Mindoro, Philippine Islands; and Brunei Bay, Borneo. The squadron was also based for a time at Dreger Harbor, New Guinea, and San Pedro Bay, Philippine Islands, but saw no action from these bases. Overall, the real PT-73 did not have the kind of illustrious combat record depicted in the series. On January 15, 1945, it ran aground off Lubang Island in the Philippine Islands after delivering supplies to Filipino guerrillas and was destroyed by the crew to prevent it from falling into enemy hands.

Production

The Pacific Ocean naval base stood on the back lot of Universal Studios. For years after the show went off the air, the sets were an attraction on the studio tour. The portion of the Universal Studios tour involving Bruce the Shark attacking the tourist tram takes place on McHale's Lagoon, according to the tour guides.
Three PT-73 boats were used in the show. One was for shots at sea and two were converted 63-ft World War II Army Air Force Sea Rescue boats based at Universal Studios, which were reconfigured above-deck to resemble the vessel used in filming the PT-73 underway; a 71-foot type II Vosper MTB, a British design built in the U.S. for export to the Soviet Union. The war ended in August 1945 before the boat, , was sent to the Soviet Union. The boat was purchased by Howard Hughes for a for the only flight of his Spruce Goose aircraft. The boat was sold to the studio—as there were few PT boats in existence, almost all having been sold, stripped, or destroyed after the war by various governments—where significant liberties were taken reconfiguring the Vosper 694 and the two Sea Rescue boats to resemble a World War II-era PT boat.
Shots of the crew aboard the PT-73 were usually staged on a full-scale mock-up of the bridge and gun tubs in front of a front projection screen at Universal.
PT-73s final appearance was in the 1970s show Emergency!. Station 51 was dispatched to a movie studio to rescue a man trapped beneath a boat. The boat in question was being moved from one end of the studio to another by truck, and wooden supports holding it had broken and trapped a man underneath. "PT-73" is visible on the bow, appearing as if the numbers had been removed, but an image of them remained. The boat was missing the pilot house, masts, and depth charges. No record of the final fate of this boat, or the other converted 63-ft boat has been found.
The sea-going PT-73 was sold to the mayor of Hawthorne, California, Hal Crozer, and converted to a sport-fishing boat. In 1992, the boat was destroyed when it broke from its mooring near Santa Barbara and washed up on the beach during a storm.

Spinoff

Producer Edward Montagne set up a female version of McHale's Navy entitled Broadside, which ran for 32 episodes in the 1964–1965 ABC season. In place of the PT crew were a group of WAVES led by Lt j.g. Anne Morgan consisting of Joan Staley, Sheila James, Lois Roberts, and Jimmy Boyd, up against Binghamton-type Captain Edward Andrews and his Lt Carpenter clone George Furth. Furth guest-starred in an episode of McHale's Navy entitled, "Dart Gun Wedding". Dick Sargent provided a love interest for Nolan.
Although not an actual spinoff, Tim Conway and Joe Flynn teamed up playing characters with similar personalities in The Tim Conway Show, which lasted only 12 episodes in 1970.

Theatrical films

Two feature film spin-offs were based on the series: McHale's Navy and McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force. The cast appeared in both films, with the exception of Borgnine and Ballantine in the latter film; Borgnine was not available due to schedule conflicts with the filming of The Flight of the Phoenix; why Ballantine was absent is not known. To beef up the crew, Gavin MacLeod, who left the series, returned for this appearance. 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.
Both films were produced without laugh tracks. The sea-going PT-73 was extensively filmed running between San Pedro and Catalina Island's Avalon harbor, which stood in for the fictional town where the show was set. While both did well at the box office, the latter film was not as successful and was derided by critics as being too excessive in its use of slapstick comedy, though others praised it for satirizing of military incompetence. William Lederer, who co-authored the second film with John Fenton Murray, used scenes lifted directly from his comic novel, All the Ships at Sea. Unlike the television series, both movies were filmed in Technicolor.
McHale's Navy earned an estimated $2,250,000 in North American rentals. McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force took in $1,500,000.
In 1997, a sequel was released, starring Tom Arnold as McHale's US Naval Academy graduate son, which showed the PT-73 and its crew operating in a modern, post-World War II setting in the Caribbean. Borgnine has a cameo appearance as the senior McHale, commanding rear admiral of what appears to be the United States Naval Special Warfare Command and going by the code name "Cobra".

Home media

has released all four seasons of McHale's Navy on DVD in Region 1. On November 17, 2015, Shout! released McHale's Navy- The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1. The 21-disc set contained all 138 episodes and both theatrical films in special collectible packaging.
In Australia, Madman Entertainment has released all four seasons on DVD. Madman had released the first three seasons in Australia on August 3, 2009, in Slimline packaging, replacing the original releases, which were box sets. In June 2011, a Slimline-packaged set of season 4 was seen in Big W stores in Australia in Region 4, however, no details indicate the item being available elsewhere.