5 O'Clock Charlie

Episode aired Sep 22, 1973
TV-PG
25m

IMDb RATING

8.5/10

927

YOUR RATING

Comedy Drama War

Against Col. Blake's wishes, Burns requests an anti-aircraft gun to combat the North Korean pilot who keeps attempting to bomb the ammo dump near the 4077th MASH every day at 5:00 PM. But ha... Read allAgainst Col. Blake's wishes, Burns requests an anti-aircraft gun to combat the North Korean pilot who keeps attempting to bomb the ammo dump near the 4077th MASH every day at 5:00 PM. But having it in camp makes the unit a bigger target.Against Col. Blake's wishes, Burns requests an anti-aircraft gun to combat the North Korean pilot who keeps attempting to bomb the ammo dump near the 4077th MASH every day at 5:00 PM. But having it in camp makes the unit a bigger target.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

8.5/10

927

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Trivia
The idea for this episode was probably based on the activity of a real Japanese pilot during World War II who would harass the U.S. Marines on Guadalcanal. This pilot would fly over Marine encampments at night in order to deprive them of much needed sleep. Sometime he would drop a bomb, other times he would just fly over them. The Marines nicknamed him Washing-machine Charlie, and like 5 O'Clock Charlie, his plane's engine was out of timing.

Goofs
Frank mentions Billy Mitchell, saying he was played by Gary Cooper. Gary Cooper starred in "The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell" in 1955, two years after the Korean War ended.

Quotes
Hawkeye: [after Frank pulls a stapler out of his gun holster] Take our money, mister. Just don't staple us.

Connections
Referenced in M*A*S*H: There Is Nothing Like a Nurse (1974)

Soundtracks
Chattanooga Choo Choo
(uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren
Lyrics by Mack Gordon
Sung in Japanese during the opening scene

User reviews4

Featured review

8/10

Frank and the Artillery

For some reason there is a huge ammunition dump adjacent to the camp. This brings a daily assault from a North Korean pilot in a small plane who drops a bomb each day at five o'clock (hence, Five O'Clock Charlie). The folks in camp bet on how far from the target the bomb will explode. Everyone is having fun but Frank, who considers himself a military man (sort of like Barney Fife and his bullet) decides the camp needs an anti-aircraft gun. When General Clayton's jeep is blown up he grants Frank's request. The doctors are outraged because a gun will draw fire from more serious North Koreans. The new dentist in camp tells Hawkeye and Trapper that what they need to do is get rid of the ammo dump and you get rid of the need for a gun. Despite the absurdity and cavalier attitude of everyone, it's a good episode.