McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force (1965)

just watch it!

Admirable film.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Was forced to watch this movie at sleep away camp. If your a huge fan of the series how was it possible to have a movie without it's star Ernest Borgnine? During the whole movie you would wonder or hope that Ernie at least would make a cameo in this slow moving,frustrating and down right dull picture. Ted Bessel's character doesn't even fill the void in this bomb. Prior to his death I met Ernie at a book signing in New York City and he told me it was one of the greatest honors to have your characters name in a title and not be present. Ernie was overseas working on another film called THE FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX. A Jeep falling out of an airplane couldn't save this lemon.

I very much enjoyed this film, but understood going in that I was going to be immersed in silly physical gags, imponderably head- scratching plot twists, and rear-projection "outdoor" scenes. And I got all of them, in barrels. Even without McHale (Borgnine was filming "Flight of the Phoenix") it is a worthwhile creative endeavor.Tim Conway plays Navy Ensign Parker who must disguise himself to escape from a sticky situation -- unfortunately (one would think) for him, the uniform with which he absconded belongs to the son of a 4-star general. Mistaken for the misplaced general's son, Parker constantly finds himself in situations for which his incompetence ill-prepares him, and yet he not only succeeds (incredibly, but consistent with the show's expectations) but does so while battling the nervous stresses added by the continual presence of Capt. Binghamton.If you are a fan of the show (or of comedies of this silly sort), then you will enjoy this, which is actually an elevation from the average episode of the later couple years of the series.If you desire "Philadelphia Story" sophistication, or "Bringing up Baby" is the peak of your tolerance for sight gags, then this is not your cup of tea. It was definitely my cup of tea.

The title of the comment about says it all. Even though there is a good comedic cast in this movie and some amusing moments, I think they were a bit desperate to try to sell this without Ernest Borgnine being in it.On the other hand, you do get to see Tim Conway, and early looks at Gavin MacLeod and Bob Hoskins. Sadly, although he was in a lot of TV and film I watched in the 60s, I just never could warm up to Joe Flynn's single character persona. Of course, he was always the foil, so you weren't meeant to warm up to him. Still, other notable character foils managed to do so without being quite as irritating. (Ted Baxter in Mary Tyler Moore, or Richard Deacon in The Dick Van Dyke Show, as examples).

This movie is pretty darn old. I think it says here it was released in 1965. Anyhow, I've never really considered myself much of Tim Conway fan and my memories of the series centered on how silly it was. Well, I'm a heckuva lot older now and I can appreciate silly a lot better now. I laughed out loud at least a dozen times while watching this earlier today on AMC. I'm pretty positive no film displays the comic genius of Tim Conway better than this one. I was reminded a lot of the three stooges, Conway, Joe Flynn, and the guy playing Elroy almost steal the stooges act completely. The physical comedy is a hoot. I would love to have a DVD of this one and some other McHale's Navy stuff. Borgnine doesn't make it but that only gives more time for Conway and Flynn to just go off. The plot is very above average also, lots of twists and goofy situations for the boys to work their magic with. I know lots of people will pass on this movie because its old school, black and white, no bad language, and done in the classic style. But check this out, if you have an interest in comedy and you want to watch some of the best do it right...don't miss this one. Conway's love interest is a very pretty girl by the way...I don't recall ever seeing her before..super cute! The actors playing the "big brass" are all very good also. The boyfriend from THAT GIRL also has a nice part in this one. Give McHale's Navy joins the Air Force a look. It's just as funny as Norbit and there is no pointless vulgarity or pimp stuff. (not that I personally object to that stuff)