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

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Creator:

Tom Gries
(more)

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:

North Africa | Commando | Army | Cult TV | North Africa Campaign

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)
Eric Braeden	...	Capt. Hans Dietrich / ... (53 episodes, 1966-1968)
Justin Tarr	...	Pvt. Tully Pettigrew (53 episodes, 1966-1968)

(more)

Series Directed by
John Peyser		(10 episodes, 1966-1967)
Lee H. Katzin		(7 episodes, 1966-1967)
Robert Sparr		(6 episodes, 1967)
Herschel Daugherty		(5 episodes, 1967)
Frank Baur		(4 episodes, 1967-1968)
Sutton Roley		(4 episodes, 1967)

Series Writing credits
Tom Gries		(58 episodes, 1966-1968)
Richard H. Landau		(5 episodes, 1966-1967)
Anthony Lawrence		(5 episodes, 1966-1967)
Mark Weingart		(4 episodes, 1967)
John Peyser		(3 episodes, 1966-1967)
Edward J. Lakso		(3 episodes, 1967-1968)
Harry Kronman		(2 episodes, 1966-1967)
Ronald Sossi		(2 episodes, 1966-1967)
Daniel Aubrey		(2 episodes, 1966)
Don Brinkley		(2 episodes, 1967)
Richard De Roy		(2 episodes, 1967)
Peter Allan Fields		(2 episodes, 1967)
Ellis Kadison		(2 episodes, 1967)
Sheldon Stark		(2 episodes, 1967)

Series Produced by
Jon Epstein	....	producer (22 episodes, 1967)
Mark Weingart	....	associate producer (22 episodes, 1967)
Richard H. Landau	....	associate producer (14 episodes, 1966)
Stanley Shpetner	....	producer (9 episodes, 1966)
Lee Rich	....	executive producer (8 episodes, 1967)
Tom Gries	....	executive producer (3 episodes, 1966)
Bernard L. Kowalski	....	producer (2 episodes, 1966)

Series Original Music by
Dominic Frontiere		(43 episodes, 1966-1967)

Series Cinematography by
Brick Marquard		(34 episodes, 1966-1967)
Manuel Berenguer		(2 episodes, 1966)

Series Film Editing by
Richard K. Brockway		(19 episodes, 1966-1967)

Series Casting by
Lynn Stalmaster		(4 episodes, 1966-1967)

Series Art Direction by
Gil Parrondo		(14 episodes, 1966)
Jack T. Collis		(13 episodes, 1967)
Eddie Imazu		(9 episodes, 1967)

Series Set Decoration by
Charles S. Thompson		(20 episodes, 1967)

Series Makeup Department
Harry Ross	....	makeup artist (1 episode, 1966)

Series Production Management
Frank Baur	....	production supervisor (21 episodes, 1967)
Leonard C. Kroll	....	post-production supervisor (16 episodes, 1967)
Bernard Oseransky	....	assistant production supervisor (14 episodes, 1966-1967)
Lee Rich	....	executive in charge of production (7 episodes, 1966)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Grayson Rogers	....	assistant director (4 episodes, 1967)
George Templeton	....	assistant director (3 episodes, 1967)
Jack N. Reddish	....	second unit director (2 episodes, 1966)
Robert Gough	....	second unit director (unknown episodes)
Ricardo Hansa	....	first assistant director (unknown episodes)
Kuki López Rodero	....	first assistant director (unknown episodes)
Pedro Vidal	....	first assistant director (unknown episodes)

Series Art Department
Ángel Cañizares	....	set dresser (3 episodes, 1966)
Art Cole	....	property master (unknown episodes)
Richard Neblett	....	property master (unknown episodes)

Series Sound Department
John Haines	....	sound mixer (10 episodes, 1966)
Tom Edwards	....	sound mixer (10 episodes, 1967)
Ben Smith	....	sound effects editor (5 episodes, 1966)
Milton E. Berle	....	sound effects editor (2 episodes, 1966)

Series Special Effects by
A. Paul Pollard	....	special effects (3 episodes, 1966)
Henry Millar Jr.	....	special effects (2 episodes, 1967)
Glen Robinson	....	special effects (2 episodes, 1967)

Series Stunts
Jack N. Young	....	stunts (3 episodes, 1966-1967)
Nick Dimitri	....	stunt double (2 episodes, 1966-1968)
Frank Babich	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Steven Burnett	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Von Deming	....	stunt coordinator (unknown episodes)
Gary Epper	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Chuck Hayward	....	stunt coordinator (unknown episodes)
Hal Needham	....	stunt double (unknown episodes)
Doug O'Dell	....	stunt double (unknown episodes)
Dick Ziker	....	stunt double (unknown episodes)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
Nelson Tyler	....	aerial photographer (1 episode, 1966)
Doug Byers	....	electrician (unknown episodes)

Series Costume and Wardrobe Department
Eric Seelig	....	wardrobe (4 episodes, 1966)
Norman A. Burza	....	wardrobe (unknown episodes)

Series Editorial Department
Anthony DiMarco	....	supervising editor (28 episodes, 1966-1967)

Series Music Department
Earle Dearth	....	music editor / music supervisor (4 episodes, 1967)

Series Transportation Department
Robert Neal	....	driver (unknown episodes)

Series Other crew
Fred Lemoine	....	production executive (2 episodes, 1966)
Dennis Judd	....	location auditor (unknown episodes)
Ronald Sossi	....	assistant to producer (unknown episodes)

Production Companies

• Mirisch-Rich Productions
• Tom Gries Productions (in association with)
• United Artists Television (in association with)

Distributors

• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1966-1968) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD) (complete series)
• United Artists Television

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:

The red cap that Pvt. Hitchcock wears, although it looks like a Civil War Confederate artillery lieutenant's kepi, is actually a French Foreign Legion kepi.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The half-track used by the Germans is clearly a U.S. M3A1 half-track. The German half-track of the era, the Sdkfz 7, had eight drive wheels. The one used in the show has two drive wheels. (Unless Hauptman Diedrich was using a captured vehicle)

Quotes:

Sgt. Sam Troy: Let's shake it!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Gamera vs. Zigra (#4.16)" (1991)

The Rat Patrol-In Color!

"THE RAT PATROL"-Produced by Rich/Mirisch Productions for UATV. Number of Episodes Produced: 59 episodes in color. Filmed on location in Spain and parts of Europe. Series ran on ABC-TV.

First Telecast Of The Series: September 12,1966. Last Telecast Of The Series: September 16, 1968.

Producer: Lee Rich-Executive in charge of production. Executive Producers: Lee Rich and Walter Mirisch,under Mirisch Productions for United Artists Television.

Stars: Christopher George,Gary Raymond,Jack Moffitt,and Eric Braeden.

Synopsis: Filmed on location in Spain where a great deal of war material was left over from filming of the movies "The Great Escape", and "The Battle Of The Bulge". This was an action-adventure series about a group of American and British soldiers fighting for or against the Germans and "The Rommel" in the North African desert during the days of World War II. This was a grand series that had supreme production values and was in full color to boot,which was the selling point of the series. In other words,this was one action-packed show showing the soldiers each week battling it out over the Germans in the sophisticated "jeeps" through the desert and the adventures they face along the way. This was a series that made stars out of not only actor Christopher George,but also made a career boost out of German-born actor Eric Braeden,who would make a name for himself later on in several television shows and also would boost him to the top of the latter in American daytime television(as Victor Newman on the soap-opera,"The Young And The Restless").

Also to point out,when "THE RAT PATROL" premiered in 1966,this was the only ABC show that depicted WWII in color since the network's longest-running WWII series at the time "COMBAT",and not to mention "TWELVE O CLOCK-HIGH",were still in black and white,but would make the transition to color later on,respectfully in their final seasons. Both of the shows mentioned ran for one hour,while this series ran for an half-hour,with some episodes leading up to a cliffhanger until the next installment.

Also if you notice that every episode had the title "RAID" in it. This was basically a prime example of other shows of the 1960's that before THE RAT PATROL did the same thing with the same title. For example,on the spy drama "The Man From UNCLE"(NBC,1964-1968),every episode had the title "AFFAIR" in it,and the western fantasy/adventure-espionage drama,"The Wild Wild West"(CBS,1965-1969),had the title "NIGHT" in it.

Getting back to the series,THE RAT PATROL,this series had some of the best action sequences out there,especially with some of the episodes which were very good and some were passable. In all,compelling drama mixed with high adventure and breathtaking excitement. It held up brilliantly until the show's final episode on September 16,1968 when it went off the air with a whisper,and from there into syndicated repeats during the 1970's and 1980's. However,this was show that been out of action for years until Chicago's WGN-TV and New York's WOR-TV brought it back during the 1980's,and now it can be seen on a daily basis on The Encore Action Channel.