MovieChat Forums > The Rat Patrol (1966) Discussion > What a Stinker!

What a Stinker!

posted 16 years ago by reitamay
17 replies | jump to latest

This is no swipe at the actors or technical crew of the program. I'm sure they did the best they could under the circumstances. But the scripts set up such improbable situations and escapes that the series is pretty silly. Plus, the production values were so compromised by the budget constraints, that the program looks like something produced by an average college film department. If ABC was so strapped for cash at the time, they could've asked schlockmeister Chuck Barris to simply grind out another cheap game show and have avoided this tripe. At least such an approach would have been more honest.

[–] pmiano100 16 years ago

I agree. Not only was the acting bad, but there were any number of inaccuracies.

1. Hauptmann Dietrich was the Elmer Fudd of the Afrika Korps. Rommel would have had him shot or transferrd to the Russian Front for his incompetence.

2. The "German panzers" all looked suspiciously like surplus American Army tanks from the 1950s.

3. They never ran up against any Italian units that I recall. Had they all surrendered by then?

4. They blew up tanks with hand grenades, which is totally impossible unless you shove the grenades inside the tanks.

5. There were no Americans in the Long Range Desert Group. It was strictly a British and Commonwealth group.

No wonder Hans Gudegast changed his name to Eric Braeden and works in American soap operas. He's still got the German accent though. I think he's the only living member of the cast still acting. Christopher George, an otherwise decent actor, died years ago of a heart attack and the others faded into well-deserved oblivion.

[–] wmkingsman 13 years ago

MAD Magazine did a parody of this show that was spot-on.
Like pointing out that the show gave the impression that the Americans won The Battle of North Africa all by themselves with only one jeep.

[–] jeff_the_dj 13 years ago

What a big ol bunch of hypocrites! This show wasn't made to be realistic, it was made to be entertaining and in my view and opinion it does just that. Stop being so serious and just enjoy some entertaining Classic TV

We can DO IT ALLLL DAY LONG, (We'll have to pay more for the light bill if we do it at night!)

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] bobbyp1966 12 years ago

I agree, Jeff! Considering that the show aired at 8:30pm on Monday nights, it was the perfect show for preteen boys with wild imaginations, as well as the last show before their bedtime. I hope this gives the haters a general idea of ABC's target audience.

[–] gppressingon 12 years ago

I agree wholeheartedly with Jeff, Toni and Bobby. RAT PATROL is meant to be escapist fun and it succeeds in that. I recently picked up the complete series for only $16 and having just barely dented the first season I feel I've gotten my money's worth and still have about 50 episodes to go.

My 10-year-old son and I watch it together and we have a good time. As Bobby wrote, it was a show targeted to young boys (and their dads, many of whom like me are still preteen boys at heart). The creator Tom Gries and ABC knew what that audience enjoyed and he delivered the goods.

Gary

[–] jimel98 12 years ago

I'm a history buff and a student of WW2 though far from an expert. With that said, I'm not going to pick apart the show for the mistakes in historical events and such, I'm just going to say I always thought the show sucked. When I was a kid and got to stay up and watch it (age 6-8) I did. I liked it. I turned about 15 and saw it again in reruns and thought, Feh, this isn't very good. I've caught an episode now and then to try and like it again, but about 1/2 way through, I change the channel to almost anything.

And ok, I always thought it was VERY STUPID that a .50 caliber machine gun could destroy a tank. Escapist or surrealist? Nah, STUPID. Sorry, just how I view this tripe.

[–] Stonework 11 years ago

Yeah, this show was okay to watch when you were a kid, but in terms of realism it's almost as bad as a Rambo movie. Mostly just worth a a chuckle when you watch the action scenes and hear the music. The stories work as drama only if you aren't thinking too much.

[–] bagpipe_mouse 13 years ago

Elmer Fudd? I see him as more of a Wile E. Coyote. Either way, he's tasty eye candy. (So is the rest of the cast for that matter.) If I want realistic WWII, I'll tune in to the History or Military Channel. Rat Patrol is a breezy, goofy bit of escapism to watch while I'm eating peanut butter and jelly on a lazy Saturday morning, and I'm glad I discovered it!

[–] Stonework 11 years ago

No matter what else, that theme song and the jeeps jumping the dunes rocks every time I hear it.

The Long Range Desert Group, by the way, did not use a lot of jeeps. They preferred light, 2-wheel drive Ford and Chevy trucks. American design, apparently made mostly in Canada, carried a lot of supply and had good endurance.

The four team members have distinct headgear because the original concept was supposed to be an Englishman (black beret), an American (GI helmet), an Australian (bush hat) and Frenchmen (Foreign Legion capi). They simplified the casting to three Americans and one Englishman, but retained the hats. Christopher George, of Greek-American descent, kept the bush hat as a tribute to the Australians who fought in Greece in 1941. Which was awkward, as that hat design was actually South African.

[–] Koosh_King01 10 years ago

3. They never ran up against any Italian units that I recall.

There's a few they encounter, but they're portrayed as wimps.

I mean, really, how many times will you look under Jabba's manboobs?

[–] pmiano100 10 years ago

I wonder why I'm not surprised? By the way, it was the British Special Air Service that used mostly jeeps in North Africa. Their paratroop raids were debacles but they had great success using the jeeps.

[–] kenburke (2279) 6 years ago

I thought they used half tracks.

[–] darkness_surroundz 8 years ago

plus each season was only 26 episodes per season-like today-back then 30 per was the norm

[–] ToranRa 8 years ago

I know I'm probably being a thread necromancing moron, but I can sum this show up to this after seeing an episode or two. It is among may shows of the 1960s that were just plain cheesy and fun. Just like Star Trek: The Original Series. I think that is why some found The Rat Patrol and Star Trek: TOS entertaining, and why some do not.

"Fear Sells." - World War Z (no, not from the horrid adaptation, this is from the book)

[–] [deleted] a year ago

The humor is that so many people like to rag on this being unrealistic but those same people gobble up the woke quota shit that is unrealistic as fuck and say thank you can I have more please.

People watched it for the same reason they watched The A-Team or Knight Rider... they just wanted to piss away some time being entertained.

[–] TheFearmakers 7 years ago

So this show looks like a Student Film?

No.