"F Troop" (1965) TV series 1965-1967

Creator:

Richard M. Bluel
(more)

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

8 September 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | War | Western

Plot:

Becoming a hero by accidentally leading a cavalry charge the wrong way, Lieutenant Wilton Parmenter is given command of Fort Courage...

Plot Keywords:

Fort | U.S. Cavalry | Beautiful Woman | Hekawi Tribe | Army Life

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Forrest Tucker	...	Sgt. Morgan O'Rourke / ... (65 episodes, 1965-1967)
Larry Storch	...	Cpl. Randolph Agarn / ... (65 episodes, 1965-1967)
Ken Berry	...	Capt. Wilton Parmenter / ... (65 episodes, 1965-1967)
Melody Patterson	...	Wrangler Jane Angelica Thrift (65 episodes, 1965-1967)
James Hampton	...	Hannibal Dobbs / ... (65 episodes, 1965-1967)
Frank DeKova	...	Chief Wild Eagle / ... (63 episodes, 1965-1967)
Bob Steele	...	Trooper Duffy (63 episodes, 1965-1967)
Don Diamond	...	Crazy Cat / ... (50 episodes, 1965-1967)
Joe Brooks	...	Trooper Vanderbilt / ... (48 episodes, 1965-1967)
Ivan Bell	...	Trooper Duddleson / ... (41 episodes, 1965-1967)
Ben Frommer	...	Smokey Bear / ... (30 episodes, 1965-1967)

Series Directed by
Charles R. Rondeau		(19 episodes, 1965-1966)
Seymour Robbie		(12 episodes, 1966-1967)
David Alexander		(9 episodes, 1966)
Phil Rawlins		(7 episodes, 1966-1967)
Hollingsworth Morse		(6 episodes, 1966-1967)
Leslie Goodwins		(5 episodes, 1965)
Gene Reynolds		(4 episodes, 1966)

Series Writing credits
Arthur Julian		(30 episodes, 1965-1967)
Stan Dreben		(10 episodes, 1965-1966)
Howard Merrill		(10 episodes, 1965-1966)
Seaman Jacobs		(8 episodes, 1965-1966)
Ed James		(8 episodes, 1965-1966)
Austin Kalish		(8 episodes, 1966-1967)
Irma Kalish		(8 episodes, 1966-1967)
Richard Baer		(3 episodes, 1966)
James Barnett		(2 episodes, 1965-1966)
Irving Elinson		(2 episodes, 1965-1966)
Fred S. Fox		(2 episodes, 1965-1966)
Hal Goldman		(2 episodes, 1965-1966)
Al Gordon		(2 episodes, 1965-1966)
Stan Burns		(2 episodes, 1966)
Mike Marmer		(2 episodes, 1966)
Richard M. Bluel		(1 episode, 1965)
Tom Adair		(unknown episodes)
James B. Allardice		(unknown episodes)

Series Produced by
Hy Averback	....	producer / executive producer (64 episodes, 1965-1967)
Herman S. Saunders	....	associate producer / producer (64 episodes, 1965-1967)
Phil Rawlins	....	associate producer (31 episodes, 1966-1967)
William T. Orr	....	executive producer (17 episodes, 1965-1966)

Series Original Music by
William Lava		(60 episodes, 1965-1967)
Frank Comstock		(3 episodes, 1965)
Richard LaSalle		(3 episodes, 1966-1967)

Series Cinematography by
Robert Hoffman		(34 episodes, 1965-1966)
Louis Jennings		(28 episodes, 1966-1967)
Nicholas Musuraca		(3 episodes, 1966)

Series Film Editing by
David Wages		(22 episodes, 1966-1967)
Elbert K. Hollingsworth		(13 episodes, 1966-1967)
James T. Heckert		(12 episodes, 1965-1966)
Byron Chudnow		(8 episodes, 1965-1966)
Milt Kleinberg		(6 episodes, 1965)
Stefan Arnsten		(3 episodes, 1966)

Series Art Direction by
George Renne		(63 episodes, 1965-1967)

Series Set Decoration by
Hal Overell		(33 episodes, 1965-1966)
William Wallace		(31 episodes, 1966-1967)

Series Makeup Department
Gordon Bau	....	makeup supervisor / makeup artist (65 episodes, 1965-1967)
Jean Burt Reilly	....	supervising hair stylist / hair stylist / ... (65 episodes, 1965-1967)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Phil Rawlins	....	assistant director (33 episodes, 1965-1966)
C. Carter Gibson	....	assistant director (30 episodes, 1966-1967)

Series Art Department
Robert M. Anderson	....	assistant property master (1 episode, 1966)

Series Sound Department
B.F. Ryan	....	sound (30 episodes, 1966-1967)
Samuel F. Goode	....	sound (13 episodes, 1965)
Everett A. Hughes	....	sound (10 episodes, 1965-1966)
Stanley Jones	....	sound (8 episodes, 1966)
Robert B. Lee	....	sound (3 episodes, 1966)

Series Stunts
Bobby Somers	....	stunts (19 episodes, 1965-1966)
Jesse Wayne	....	stunts (2 episodes, 1966-1967)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
Barry Wexler	....	grip (1 episode, 1966)

Series Music Department
William Lava	....	composer: theme song / composer: theme music (65 episodes, 1965-1967)
Erma E. Levin	....	music editor / composer: theme music (44 episodes, 1965-1967)
Irving Taylor	....	lyrics: theme song (34 episodes, 1965-1966)
Sam E. Levin	....	music editor (7 episodes, 1965-1966)
Eugene Marks	....	music editor (6 episodes, 1966)
Dan Wallin	....	score mixer (2 episodes, 1967)

Series Transportation Department
Frank Khoury	....	driver (1 episode, 1967)

Series Other crew
Frank Tallman	....	technical advisor (1 episode, 1966)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Television

Distributors

• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1965-1967) (USA) (TV)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

30 min (65 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (season 2) | Black and White (season 1)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Kanab Movie Ranch - 5001 Angel Canyon Road, Kanab, Utah, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Television

Trivia:

Many viewers have thought that because "Old Charlie" the town drunk would usually be thrown through the saloon doors (or window), bounce off a support post, fall face forward over the hitching rail, spin around and land on his face or back at least once an episode, he was actually a young stuntman in "old man" makeup. In reality "Charlie" was ace stuntman Harvey Parry, who at that time was 65 years old and had been a stuntman for almost 45 years.

Goofs:

Factual errors: There is basically a time-line from 1865 to 1867 in both seasons and the flag that is displayed on the flagpole has 37 stars on it. But the 37th state wasn't entered into statehood until Friday, March 1, 1867 meaning the flag was incorrect during the run of the series

Quotes:

Chief Wild Eagle: [Agarn has given Wild Eagle a parasol] Thanks Agarn, every summer me tired of being redskin.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Crawling Eye (#2.1)" (1989)

Soundtrack:

F Troop

"Who says I'm dumb?"

Although it only ran for two seasons, "F Troop" was a consistently hilarious western spoof that should have stayed on much longer. It didn't just stick to satirizing westerns--the show managed to throw in vampires (Vincent Price showed up in one episode), James Bond-ish secret agents (Pat Harrington as "Agent B. Wise"), rock bands (Agarn leaves the army to manage a group called The Bedbugs) and just about anything else they could think of. The show was crammed with memorable characters: Ken Berry's well intentioned but bumbling Capt. Parmenter, Forrest Tucker's scheming capitalist Sgt. O'Rourke, Larry Storch's loyal but not particularly bright Cpl. Agarn, Joe Brooks' sight-impaired lookout Cpl. Vanderbilt. The real find, though, was Frank DeKova as Chief Wild Eagle. DeKova parlayed his sinister, menacing appearance into a career of playing cold-hearted killers and various psychos. As conniving Chief Wild Eagle, though, he showed a flair for comed y that was wholly unexpected. Although he went over the top sometimes, he was consistently fun to watch, and you really looked forward to his appearances. There were some truly funny running gags (Parmenter's "Please Jane, not in front of the men" whenever Jane tried to put the moves on him; directions to Fort Courage that always went, "Make a left at the rock that looks like a bear, then a right at the bear that looks like a rock"), but the one that everyone remembers is when O'Rourke would say to Agan, "I don't know why everybody says you're so dumb", and then ten minutes later, in the middle of another scene, Agarn would turn to O'Rourke and say, "Who says I'm dumb?" A truly funny show that should have lasted longer than it did.

P.S. There's a blooper reel in circulation that has about 10 minutes of "F Troop" outtakes on it. If you ever come across it, snap it up. It's even funnier (and far dirtier!) than the stuff that made it into the show.