The Rat Patrol
(1966)
Run Time: 30 min
Color: Color
Aspect Ratio: 1.33 : 1
Sound: Mono
Producer: Mirisch-Rich Television Productions
Genre
- Action
- Adventure
- Drama
- War
Seasons: 2
Episodes: 58
Overview
The Rat Patrol was an American action and adventure television series that aired on ABC between 1966 and 1968. The show follows the exploits of four Allied soldiers ? three Americans and one Briton ? who are part of a long-range desert patrol group in the North African campaign during World War II. Their mission: "to attack, harass and wreak havoc on Field Marshal Rommel's vaunted Afrika Korps".
Other Related Shows
1.
The Truce at Aburah Raid
Captain Dietrich monitors a broadcast sent to the Patrol from HQ and then intercepts them on their way to meet and escort a supply convoy. With the odds decidedly against the Rats, Troy takes refuge in an oasis. A child, playing nearby, runs away terrified of the noise and falls down an old well. The Allies and the Nazis agree to put the war on hold and work together to get the child (who is still alive) out. A second German unit appears and shoots Tully. In the end, they are able to rescue the child and, in the confusion, the Patrol escapes. Guest stars: Joe Turkel as Capt. Bruener, Anna Strasberg as Marisha, Margot Jane as Kiri.
2.
The David and Goliath Raid
The Patrol ambushes a German courier and finds that his papers contain charts showing desert waterholes and some oases which are unknown to the Allies or the Germans. Suddenly a German patrol attacks, wounding Tully and destroying the Patrol's jeeps, water and weapons. Troy and crew strike out for a waterhole mentioned on the chart. Hours later, near their end, Troy and his men stagger toward an inviting waterhole to find it has been poisoned. On a distant dune they see Dietrich. Tully is near the end, because of his wound. It is up to Troy to negotiate with Dietrich. Guest stars: Manfred Lating as Medic, Mark Schell as Soldier.
3.
The Trial by Fire Raid
The Patrol attempts to destroy a small village that currently has a train in it that the Germans are loading with ammunition. However, there is a small group of Arabs (including women and children) being used to load the ammunition. One of the women stumbles upon Troy and offers to help by warning her people. But as Troy attempts to plant the explosives, Dietrich catches on to the plan and gives alarm. Troy ends up shot and captured. It is now up to the rest of the Patrol to cause enough diversion to get him free. The woman continues to plead with Dietrich to give Troy medical attention. As Dietrich is questioning Troy, though, Troy breaks free, shoots the German and is able?with the Arab woman's father's help?to get the explosives planted. The train goes up; the man is killed. Guest stars: Milton Selzer as Tobar, Gale Garnett as Safti, William Hoehne Jr. as German Corporal (uncredited).
4.
The Darers Go First Raid
Troy determines that the Rat Patrol's only chance to destroy a supply depot inside an enemy-held fortress is by capturing a German tank and using it to get past the guards. Guest stars: Manfred Lating as German Tank Commander (uncredited), Norbert Meisel as German Tank Crewman (uncredited).
5.
The Love Thine Enemy Raid
When the patrol ambush an Afrika Korps supply column, Troy accidentally wounds a German nurse. Feeling guilty, Troy decides to take her to a German field hospital. The only problem is that on the way she overhears a piece of vital information. Guest stars: Susanne Cramer as Gerta, Robert Champion as Lt. Bruener, Guy Danforth as Dr. Brahms, Hans Difflip as Capt. Krueger, Carl Crow as Sgt. Meade.
6.
The Darkest Raid
Troy infiltrates a German H.Q. posing as a blinded Afrika Korps officer to steal vital information. Guest stars: Alfred Ryder as Col. Rudolf Gerschon, Ken Drake as Lt. Klundt, Bard Stevens as Capt. Richter, Manfred Lating as Orderly.
7.
The Death Do Us Part Raid
En route to a meeting with an Arab agent, the patrol is ambushed by Dietrich. With the exception of Troy, they're all captured and taken to Dietrich's desert base. Troy eventually meets up with the agent, who turns out to be a teenage boy, and a female Irish teacher, who is reluctant to allow the boy to help Troy. Guest stars: Pippa Scott as Drucilla Blacknar, Barry Robins as Ben Nafi, Stanley Waxman as Col. Luden.
8.
The Do-Re-Mi Raid
The Patrol is ordered to rescue pop star Mickey Roberts (singer Jack Jones), who is a P.O.W. in a small Afrika Korps compound, with the S.S. also turning up to make Roberts into a propaganda coup. Guest stars: Jack Jones as Mickey Roberts, Harvey Jason as Perkins, Rick Traeger as Commandant.
9.
The Kingdom Come Raid
Hitchcock is supervising a transport convoy of new anti-aircraft shell fuses when the convoy is attacked by a German unit. Hitchcock is wounded by a deserter. Guest stars: Matt Clark as Corporal Meekin, Mark Tapscott as Major Burrows.
10.
The Hide and Go Seek Raid
The young mute son of British General Simms is kidnapped in a commando raid by Dietrich and taken to Rhodes. The patrol must rescue the boy from the island's garrison with only the help of one Greek resistance fighter. Guest stars: Mark Anthony as Miles Simms, Charles Irving as Col. von Graff, Nikita Knatz as German Guard, Morgan Jones as Capt. Boggs, Alan Caillou as Gen. Simms
11.
The Violent Truce Raid
Lieutenant West is on his way to stop a medical supply convoy, when he's ambushed by an Afrika Korps patrol. Wounded and rescued by Moffatt and Pettigrew, before he dies he informs them that he's got to stop the medical supplies, as the blood plasma is poisonous. When Moffatt destroys the deadly supplies he is put under arrest by a British Army Major. Dietrichs' help is needed by Sgt. Troy to help clear Moffatt of court-martial charges by Dietrich confirming that the plasma was contaminated. Guest stars: Howard Caine as Major Bracken, Bruce Glover as Lt. West, Mike Freeman as Johnson.
12.
The Life for a Life Raid
Dietrich traps the Rat Patrol in a cellar. In the cellar are a pregnant woman who has a valuable map, and a resistance fighter who has a personal vendetta with the woman. Guest stars: Kamala Devi as Sallah, Paul Stevens as Capt. Longet.
13.
The Fifth Wheel Raid
A British colonel is captured by the Germans after attending a staff meeting which centered on an upcoming Allied offensive. The Rat Patrol is ordered to either rescue or kill him before he can be interrogated. His Sikh aide insists on participating in the mission. Guest stars: Michael Tolan as Sgt. Kabir, Ben Wright as Col. Jamerson, Morgan Jones as Capt. Boggs, Mike Scanlon as Clerk.
14.
The Two if by Sea Raid
Moffitt gets into a German-held lighthouse by posing as an electrician, to try to gain information about a German naval convoy headed for North Africa which is carrying Tiger tanks. Guest stars: Walter Brooke as Capt. Vulcan, Michael Vandever as Lt. Reiner, Than Wyenn as Rouche, Norbert Meisel as Seaman Urban, Paul Verdier as Benet.
15.
The Street Urchin Raid
Troy hides aerial photographs of secret German installations before being captured by the Gestapo. Then a street urchin finds and tries to sell the photos. Guest stars: Jean-Michel Michenaud as Tico, John Myhers as Rettig, Rika Dialyna as Sarina, Jon Shank as 1st Guard, Tanya Lemani as Belly Dancer.
16.
The Pipeline to Disaster Raid
A British general is rescued in the desert. He insists upon leading the Rat Patrol on a mission to disrupt a German oil pipeline, despite his deteriorated condition. Guest Star: John Anderson as Gen. Owen Lansbury, Morgan Jones as Capt. Boggs.
17.
The Boomerang Raid
A lieutenant is infiltrated by submarine to set up naval gunfire coordinates, but Troy gets suspicious when the officer appears more interested in mapping the Allied positions than the German ones. Guest star: Dick Sargent as B. Kemper.
18.
The Fatal Reunion Raid
The Rat Patrol uses Moffitt's old flame, Gabrielle, (played by Louise Sorel), as a guide to rescue her husband, a French rocket scientist, from the Germans. Guest stars: Louise Sorel as Gabrielle, Gilbert Green as Colonel (General) Rettig, David Bond as Dr. Pierre Marchand, Mac McLaughlin as Andy.
19.
The Decoy Raid
A village's typhus serum is confiscated by the S.S. in order to exchange it for capturing the Rat Patrol. Dietrich questions their methods. Guest stars: Richard Davalos as Capt. Wansee, Jay Novello as LaDuc, Doreen McLean as Miss Arno, Socrates Ballis as Hassam.
20.
The Touch-and-Go Raid
Dietrich and his men capture the Rat Patrol and assume their identities, and thus are able to enter an Allied munitions dump. Guest stars: Robert Knapp as Major, Peter Church as Lt. Hartford, Carl Crow as 1st Sentry, Charles Bastin as Colonel Bauer, Tom Heaton as Operator, Mike Krempels as 2nd German, Robert Dornan as Sergeant, Nick Dimitri as U.S. Soldier (uncredited).
21.
The Field of Death Raid
Troy's brother is captured by a German Major who was injured in an earlier raid by the Rat Patrol. (Richard Brockway was film editor on several episodes, including this one.) Guest stars: Albert Paulsen as Maj. von Brugge, Horst Ebersberg as Lt. Hardt, Jack Bannon as Lt. Koenig, Nick George as Group Capt. David Troy, Darwin Joston as Pvt. Peterson.
22.
The Double Jeopardy Raid
A group of youthful partisans endanger the plans of an Allied offensive when they attack an SS camp. Danielle Roter is a guest. Guest stars: Clive Clerk as Jean-Claude, Diane Roter as Monique, Todd Martin as SS Major, Paul Prokop as Lt. Hoffman, Alain Patrick as Francoise, Catlin Adams as Girl, Mac McLaughlin as Andy.
23.
The Hickory Dickory Dock Raid
On the Eve of a dangerous mission, Moffitt receives word that his younger brother has been killed by a German bomb in London. Guest stars: Gary Lasdun as Capt. Hunte, David Gross as 1st Sentry, Matthias Uitz as 2nd Sentry.
24.
The Tug Of War Raid
Troy goes undercover to get microfilm from a French Resistance fighter, but they are captured by Dietrich. After Troy refuses to give up the location of the microfilm, Dietrich sentences both to death. Troy must find a way to contact the Rat Patrol for rescue. Guest stars: Michael Shillo as Gaspard, Brioni Farrell as Felicia, Guy Danfort as Doctor, Murray Roman as Lt. Pohl, Bo Hopkins as Bo Randall, Nick Dimitri as German Soldier (uncredited).
25.
The Never Say Die Raid
Troy and Hitchcock are captured by a German colonel who has a scheme to use them to radio false information back to their headquarters. Meanwhile, Moffitt and Pettigrew's rescue attempts are complicated by an Italian officer who wants to surrender to them. Guest stars: Fabrizio Mioni as Lt. Cristalde, Frank Marth as Col. von Bracht, Tommy Cook as Cefalu, Kurt Landen as Guard, Budd Albright as Lt. Koss (uncredited).
26.
The Kill at Koorlea Raid
The Rat Patrol is ordered to go with a Rhodesian sniper on a mission to kill a German general, but Troy decides to try to capture the general alive. Guest stars: William Watson as Corporal Freebairn, Morgan Jones as Capt. Boggs, Manfred Lating as Lt. Sturm, Phil Bruns as Gen. Karl Koenig "The Butcher".