McHale's Navy

Spawned from the inexplicably popular TV series, this low-rent comedy has the PT-73 Naval crew in hot water when they get involved in horse-racing. What exactly is the comedic charge in seeing Tim Conway continually falling down stairwells or open shafts? Was Ernest Borgnine really having a good time? I wasn't much of a fan of the television show, and this movie made me less of one. Claudine Longet (looking like a wistful daffodil) has a few quick scenes as a French lass who develops a crush on klutzy Conway, but this isn't good nostalgia--it's a schlocky, painfully inept matinée quickie derived from Abbott & Costello and Martin & Lewis, but nowhere near on those levels. * from ****

McHale's Navy was, most famously a TV series, and it shows in this movie. This movie has that sitcom feel: cram as many laughter attempts into as short a time as possible, with a random plot and no character development. Plus the humour is generally quite juvenile.

This all doesn't lend itself well to the longer format.

It's 1943 somewhere in the South Pacific and the misadventures of PT73. Skipper McHale (Ernest Borgnine) delivers money to an isolated orphanage. He returns to find his men have expanded the operation without his approval. They get on the wrong side of a horse race and owes everybody about $2k. Captain Binghamton (Joe Flynn) in a plane tries to catch McHale but incompetent Ensign Charles Parker (Tim Conway) shoots him down thinking it's the Japs.

It's a lot of silly slapstick comedy. I never saw the TV show. If this is any guide, it's a pretty low grade sitcom. The show is in black and white while this is in sharp bright colors. It could be funny in half hour spurts but it feels tiresome after awhile. It does allow Conway to riff on extended jokes. However, even he feels a bit too extended just like the movie. It is what it is and what one expects.

"McHale's Navy" from 1964, directed by Edward Montagne and based on the hit TV series, is a lively, good-natured romp that brings the beloved antics of WW2 South Pacific Lt. Commander Quinton McHale and his misfit PT-73 crew to the big screen with full Technicolor charm. Ernest Borgnine shines with his easygoing charisma, perfectly matched by Tim Conway's bumbling yet endearing Ensign Parker, while Carl Ballantine, Joe Flynn, and the rest of the original TV cast provide pitch-perfect supporting performances that preserve the show's camaraderie and quick comic timing, with lovely Claudine Longet supplying the eye candy. Filmed largely on location in Southern California, standing in for the South Pacific, the movie expands the TV universe with broader set pieces, playful slapstick, and a buoyant seafaring spirit. Frank De Vol's sprightly score keeps the tone light and propulsive, and the cinematography takes full advantage of the vibrant outdoor settings and nautical action. As a successful translation from small screen to large, it captures the heart of the series while delivering bigger laughs, sunnier visuals, and a sense of breezy, escapist nonsense that made it a crowd-pleaser in its day and a nostalgic delight for fans ever since. This was followed up by a sequel which had the boys getting involved with the Air Force this time, but surprisingly with no McHale, and no Ernest Borgnine, who was working on another film at the time. The TV series however, soon became quite repetitive and the ratings fell off, so that was that. The whole concept, including the title, was rebooted for a movie in the late 90's, but it was a critical and box office failure. What remains of the legacy of the franchise is best remembered for the first couple years of the series, this movie, and the oddball sequel. This film is a great big screen color representation of the B&W show, and one doesn't really need to know anything about the TV version, to enjoy the over-the-top, non-stop gags, and at times hilarious antics of the proceedings. Still boatloads full of fun.

My father didn't watch much TV in the 60's. He didn't even laugh much. Just his personality. When he watched this show, he used to laugh so hard, he'd nearly fall off his chair. Of course I laughed too, since I wasn't used to seeing him laugh. My dad was a WWII US Navy Destroyer veteran stationed in the South Pacific, and his squadron earned 11 battle stars, so they weren't on a luxury cruise. He laughed the hardest at Leadbottom - Binghamton, so I figure he had or knew a CO like Old Leadbottom. Come to think of it, my Dad acted a lot like Binghamton, so maybe he saw some of himself in old Leadbottom. Who knows, he's gone now. I love to watch this show on tape, it gives me a brief connection back to those happy times with my father. I find myself laughing still.