"F Troop" (1965) TV series 1965-1967

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Creator:

Richard M. Bluel

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)

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:

It is mentioned several times throughout the run of the series that Sergeant O'Rourke was a veteran of the Mexican War. However, it is not made clear as to whether or not he or Corporal Agarn fought in the Civil War.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In the pilot and opening credits, Wilton Parmenter is receiving a Silver Star, an award created in 1918 that became a medal in 1932.

Quotes:

Chief Wild Eagle: Hekawis very brave warriors, except for one thing...
Sergeant Morgan O'Rourke: What's that?
Chief Wild Eagle: We *faint* a lot.

Movie Connections:

Featured in A Serious Man (2009)

Soundtrack:

F Troop

Silly, funny family entertainment

There was a time, perhaps when our better sensibilities knew it, when we were allowed to laugh at all races, religions and socio-ethnicities without being labeled "racist". It was a gentler, more naive time indeed, and the airwaves broadcast TV aimed at the silly side of life. "Gilligan's Island", "The Beverly Hillbillies", "I Dream of Jeannie", "Petticoat Junction", "It's About Time" and of course, "F-Troop".

There is a common thread in all of these shows: Simple, honest people are ennobled. Officious, pompous people are made fun of. Everyone is fodder for fun - no-one is above being poked at.

Ken Berry as William Parmenter is amazing in his comic timing (Mayberry RFD was a big step down for me). Melody Patterson is absolutely delicious jail-bait as "Calamity" Jane, and of course Frank DeKova and Don Diamond as Chief Wild Eagle and Crazy Cat, and Forrest Tucker and Larry Storch, as Sgt. O'Rourke and Corporal Agarn, respectively, are mirror-images of avarice and opportunity.

The relationships of these last 4 characters were the most typical of TV, but smartly turned on it's head: Agarn and Crazy Cat, full of ideas and energy, scheming and snatching at everything that moved, in their climb to "success". Sgt. O'Rourke and Chief Wild Eagle, as the "Establishment", wisely knowing when to take opportunities, but at the same time wringing their hands about their underlings almost as to say "What is it with the kids these days"?

This was wonderful social satire loaded with sight-gags, something for young and old. Unfortunately we Americans seem to have lost the knack for subtle comedy, as we now linger under the thumb of blistering insults and mechanical obviousness. I don't know if we get it ourselves these days - perhaps that is why people look at the show and react first without giving the show any thought.

I don't mean to discount the valid views of other, more PC posters, but they're missing the point. TV and film are just time capsules...you can no more examine history through something like "F-Troop" than experience the future through something like "2001". Ultimately, they're both the '60s.

What you can do is understand the period and sensibilities of that time, and remember one major lesson - something we were learning then but have perhaps since forgotten: That we are all the same under the skin. And at best, we should be taken very, very lightly.