Rally 'Round the Flagg, Boys 

A patient accuses Hawkeye of being a Communist sympathizer when he operates on a Korean soldier ahead of an American. As a result, Colonel Flagg attempts to recruit Winchester to spy on Hawkeye.

Director:

Harry Morgan

Writers:

Mitch Markowitz, Larry Balmagia (story editor)

Stars:

Alan Alda, Mike Farrell, Harry Morgan

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Alan Alda	...	Capt. Benjamin Franklin 'Hawkeye' Pierce
Mike Farrell	...	Capt. B.J. Hunnicutt
Harry Morgan	...	Col. Sherman T. Potter
Loretta Swit	...	Maj. Margaret 'Hot Lips' Houlihan
David Ogden Stiers	...	Maj. Charles Winchester
Gary Burghoff	...	Cpl. Walter 'Radar' O'Reilly
Jamie Farr	...	Cpl. Maxwell Q. Klinger
William Christopher	...	Father Francis Mulcahy
Edward Winter	...	Col. Samuel Flagg
Neil Thompson	...	Cpl. Basgall
James Carroll	...	MP (as James Lough)
Jerry Fujikawa	...	Hung Pak
Bob Okazaki	...	Doo Pak
Roy Goldman	...	Goldman

Storyline

The 4077's favorite undercover Section 8, Colonel Sam Flagg (Edward Winter) makes one of his counterintelligence visits. The episode starts with a game of bridge; Hawkeye is not as adept a bidder as he is a surgeon. Hawkeye treats a wounded North Korean officer before he treats an American GI because the enemy was almost dead. Col. Flagg appears in Potter' office, indignant when Col. Potter readily admits an enemy officer is recuperating in Post Op: did Flagg work over an informant just for fun? Radar swears they reported it; Flagg has written authorization to speak to Hawkeye and the enemy officer. His "talk" with Hawkeye goes queerly. Col. Flagg is Technicolor tripping: Hawkeye operated on "a yellow Red before a white American, which is pretty pinko." BJ thinks Hawkeye is much too hot-headed when he yells at a crazed patient, but BJ learns to walk in his pal's boots when that same patient tries to clobber Hawkeye. Chuckles did not agree with Hawkeye over the original triage order so...

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Plot Keywords:

mccarthyism | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | War

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 February 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

Rally 'Round the Flagg, Boys

Filming Locations:

Stage 9, 20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

20th Century Fox Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

24 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Photophone Sound Recording)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The title is from the movie Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys! (1958).

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Goofs

When Flagg finishes talking to Charles from the trashcan, he is forced to hide by the approach of a soldier from the mess hall. After he lowers the lid on the can he is supposedly hiding in, the can is rocking back and forth and continue to do so up to when the soldier empties his tray into the can. If the can had a bottom and something as heavy as a man were in it, it wouldn't rock back and forth. The weight would anchor the can.

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Quotes

Hawkeye: [Hawkeye tries to get bidding signals from his bridge partner] I'm reminded of a story. You've probably heard it. The, uh, King and Queen of this country were playing golf with five clubs, when their son, Jack, remarked how strange it was they had only two hearts between them. Just then, Deucey and her little dog, Trey, started singing "Four Diamonds are a girl's best friend." Whereupon the entire family beat her to death and buried her with two spades. Did you get it?"
Charles: Everybody did.
Hawkeye: Well, I ...
[...]

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Connections

References Going My Way (1944)

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Soundtracks

Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend
(uncredited)
Written by Leo Robin and Jule Styne
Performed by Alan Alda

User Reviews

Perhaps Flaggs Finest Episode!

This offering begins with a scene in a transport bus. Hawkeye sees that a North Korean soldier is the most badly injured on the bus and takes him into surgery first, ahead of the buddy of another injured guy. This guy gets really angry and threatening. This confrontation is lurking in the background throughout this episode. Of course, since Pierce is now suspect for helping the enemy, who should show up but the omnipresent Colonel Flagg. He is at his best in double talk. He tries to enlist the aid of Winchester in spying on Pierce. He uses threats like, "Would you believe that I could break both your legs with one finger." Charles goes about his business, though a chance to be stationed near Boston if he complies is hard to resist. The final scene is one of the two or three best in the series. Well done.