"The Rat Patrol" (1966)TV series 1966-1968

Creator:

Tom Gries

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

12 September 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Adventure | War

Plot:

Set in North Africa during World War II, this series chronicles the adventures of a 4-man team of commandos within the Long Range Desert Group...

Plot Keywords:

Africa | Army | Commando | North Africa Campaign | North Africa

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe.

Cast

Christopher George	...	Sgt. Sam Troy (56 episodes, 1966-1968)
Gary Raymond	...	Sgt. Jack Moffitt (56 episodes, 1966-1968)
Lawrence P. Casey	...	Pvt. Mark Hitchcock (56 episodes, 1966-1968)
Justin Tarr	...	Pvt. Tully Pettigrew (53 episodes, 1966-1968)
Eric Braeden	...	Capt. Hans Dietrich / ... (52 episodes, 1966-1968)

Runtime:

30 min (58 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Filming Locations:

Amargosa Valley, Nevada, USA

Company:

Mirisch-Rich Productions

Trivia:

Inspired by the series--and particularly inspired by the Rats' Jeeps, which were equipped with .50 caliber machine guns--was a U.S. Army officer stationed in Vietnam during the show's run; accordingly, he installed a .50 cal MG in his own Jeep. Several of his men took turns firing the weapon. The recoil from each shot picked up the Jeep and moved it, making the gun swing wildly; bullets went everywhere except at the target. So much for jumping hills and blowing up tanks from the back of a Jeep!

Quotes:

Sgt. Sam Troy: Let's shake it!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Werewolf (#10.4)" (1998)

One of my all time favorite series...

I am a child of the seventies having grown up in and around the time and as a kid I can remember this being on in the afternoon and played on Saturday afternoon's. Two of my earliest best friends in this world were named Korey and Coy and we would watch this with great enthusiasm being only age 7 to 9 years old. My father at the time owned a jeep and after the show aired we would go outside and play the Rat Patrol. I always seemed to pick Tully to play because he always drove the jeep and we would spend an hour or two just making up our own adventures as we went along. My memories of this are quite strong when I still watch this series as it reflects a time when I had no worries in the world. I am not a violent person because of this series even for all the explosions and gun play it just makes feel good to watch it and because of that it truly is one of my favorite series of all time.