Phil Silvers was the big star of this famous and very successful TV series in the 1950s, but this final episode belonged to Paul Ford.
Colonel Hall (Ford) is all excited because "television has come to Camp Fremont." What he's talking about is closed-circuit television where you can watch what is going on in one area while being safely away in some other area. This was a brand-new invention in the '50s.
They have a camera set up to show the gas chambers (not to kill people) to be able to see experiments. The colonel is showing off his new toy to another officer when Bilko and his boys sneak into the chamber and begin to shoot craps. Moments later, Bilko is caught red- handed. "Caught on tape" is not a new idea!
What's more, he tells Bilko he is going to install cameras in every building and "I'll know what you are doing 24 hours a day." That's exactly what happens and it's driving Ernie nuts. Then, the colonel leaves for the weekend. Ernie and Rocco stop at the nearby diner and the unshaven, crude cook is Colonel Hall! At least he looks and sounds just like him. Bilko and Barbella think they are both losing their minds. The devious sergeant then devises a plan to use the chef - who is a physical double of Col. Hall - as Bilko's "personal colonel." He wants him to impersonate the officer and change a few rules. The chef says, "no thanks" but is threatened seconds later by a hood whom he owes money to (played by Al Lewis), so says "okay" to a modified deal in which Bilko plays three times the amount. "I could have gotten a general for this much," he moans.
Anyway, Bilko's job is to get the fake Colonel Hall to get rid of all the spy cameras. What happens when this lecherous twin hits the camp is extremely funny. It gets really wild when the real Colonel Hall comes back early and the two guys are in the same vicinity, creating chaos.
If this TV show had to end, at least it ended on a high note.
Colonel Hall (Ford) is all excited because "television has come to Camp Fremont." What he's talking about is closed-circuit television where you can watch what is going on in one area while being safely away in some other area. This was a brand-new invention in the '50s.
They have a camera set up to show the gas chambers (not to kill people) to be able to see experiments. The colonel is showing off his new toy to another officer when Bilko and his boys sneak into the chamber and begin to shoot craps. Moments later, Bilko is caught red- handed. "Caught on tape" is not a new idea!
What's more, he tells Bilko he is going to install cameras in every building and "I'll know what you are doing 24 hours a day." That's exactly what happens and it's driving Ernie nuts. Then, the colonel leaves for the weekend. Ernie and Rocco stop at the nearby diner and the unshaven, crude cook is Colonel Hall! At least he looks and sounds just like him. Bilko and Barbella think they are both losing their minds. The devious sergeant then devises a plan to use the chef - who is a physical double of Col. Hall - as Bilko's "personal colonel." He wants him to impersonate the officer and change a few rules. The chef says, "no thanks" but is threatened seconds later by a hood whom he owes money to (played by Al Lewis), so says "okay" to a modified deal in which Bilko plays three times the amount. "I could have gotten a general for this much," he moans.
Anyway, Bilko's job is to get the fake Colonel Hall to get rid of all the spy cameras. What happens when this lecherous twin hits the camp is extremely funny. It gets really wild when the real Colonel Hall comes back early and the two guys are in the same vicinity, creating chaos.
If this TV show had to end, at least it ended on a high note.
