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Music comedy

Sergeant Deadhead (1965): Cast, Plot & Where to Watch

Sergeant Deadhead (1965) movie poster

Sergeant Deadhead is a 1965 music comedy directed by Norman Taurog, starring Frankie Avalon as Sergeant Deadhead / Sergeant Donovan, Buster Keaton and Harvey Lembeck. It runs 1 hour 30 minutes. Stream it on fuboTV and MGM Plus.

Where to watch Read the plot summary
Sergeant Deadhead (1965) movie poster
Released
Runtime
1h 30m (90 min)
Director
Norman Taurog
Genres
Music , Comedy
Original language
English
Studio
American International Pictures
After the credits
No No extra scene
The story

What Is Sergeant Deadhead About?

The premise of Sergeant Deadhead without spoilers. The whole story is in the plot summary further down.

A wildly absurd comedy set on a launch pad follows an astronaut and his chimpanzee companion on a space mission. After completing their orbit, they return to discover that the chimp now possesses the astronaut’s mind while the astronaut is left with the chimp’s intellect, sparking a cascade of hilarious mishaps and bewildering situations.

Sergeant Deadhead Themes & Keywords

· 50 tags
  • character name as title
  • nickname as title
  • sergeant dead head character
  • absurdism
  • the white house washington d.c.
  • psychotronic film
  • cover up
  • military cover up
  • three word title
  • rocket launching
  • model rocket exploding
  • doused with water
+38 more
  • stepped on
  • marching drill
  • lawn sprinkler
  • neck tie caught in drawer
  • cutting off necktie
  • project moon monkey
  • electric shock
  • panic button
  • woman in a shower
  • fire hose
  • air force base
  • pocket watch
  • pen grenade
  • shoulder massage
  • chimpanzee
  • william tecumseh sherman quotation
  • newscast
  • cheating at checkers
  • space capsule
  • talking chimpanzee
  • sikorsky h 34 helicopter
  • doppleganger
  • escape from jail
  • wedding ring
  • female singer
  • wedding reception
  • vat 69 whisky
  • knocked unconscious
  • woman drops her towel
  • woman wrapped in a towel
  • reference to dr. jekyll and mr. hyde
  • air force
  • astronaut
  • woman in military
  • wedding
  • wedding night
  • tuba
  • teenager
Where to watch

Where to Watch Sergeant Deadhead

Stream it on fuboTV and MGM Plus. US availability and prices from JustWatch.

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Streaming availability in the US, powered by JustWatch logo

Cast & crew

Sergeant Deadhead Cast & Characters

Frankie Avalon leads the cast as Sergeant Deadhead / Sergeant Donovan, with Buster Keaton as Airman Blinken and Harvey Lembeck as Airman McEvoy. Directed by Norman Taurog; 43 actors are credited in all.

Also Starring in Sergeant Deadhead

· 39 more
Show all 43 cast members
Plot

Sergeant Deadhead Plot Summary

What happens in Sergeant Deadhead from start to finish, spoilers included, with a timeline of 15 key events. The opening is below; the full summary is a 4-minute read.

Spoilers ahead

Sergeant Deadhead, a bumbling soldier on a bustling air base, finds himself in hot water after he blows up a model rocket on the parade ground. His fiancée, Airman Lucy Turner, Deborah Walley, frets that a constant round of discipline is pushing their wedding further into the distance, fearing she’ll have to marry a man who’s stuck in the guardhouse. As the base scrambles to keep his antics in check, Deadhead’s reputation as a lovable screw-up grows, setting the stage for a sequence of farcical misadventures that blurs the line between duty and chaos.

Full summary

The whole story of Sergeant Deadhead, scene by scene

Read the full summary
Quiz

How Well Do You Know Sergeant Deadhead?

10 questions about the story, each with a hint if you get stuck. Pick an answer to see whether you were right.

Question 1 of 10

  1. Question 1: not answered
  2. Question 2: not answered
  3. Question 3: not answered
  4. Question 4: not answered
  5. Question 5: not answered
  6. Question 6: not answered
  7. Question 7: not answered
  8. Question 8: not answered
  9. Question 9: not answered
  10. Question 10: not answered

What is the name of Sergeant Deadhead's fiancée?
Details

Sergeant Deadhead Also Known As

Also known as “Sergeant Dead Head”.

Also known as
  • Sergeant Dead Head

Seen Sergeant Deadhead?
More like this

Movies Like Sergeant Deadhead

Films with a similar story, tone or audience, including No Time for Sergeants, RocketMan and Deadhead Miles.

FAQ

Sergeant Deadhead FAQ: Where to Watch, Cast & Runtime

Runtime, release date, director, cast, where to watch and post-credit scenes of Sergeant Deadhead, each answered in a sentence.

How long is Sergeant Deadhead?

Sergeant Deadhead runs 1 hour 30 minutes (90 minutes).

When was Sergeant Deadhead released?

Sergeant Deadhead was released on August 18, 1965.

Who directed Sergeant Deadhead?

Sergeant Deadhead was directed by Norman Taurog.

More films by Norman Taurog

Who is in the cast of Sergeant Deadhead?

Sergeant Deadhead stars Frankie Avalon as Sergeant Deadhead / Sergeant Donovan, Buster Keaton as Airman Blinken and Harvey Lembeck as Airman McEvoy, among 43 credited actors.

Where can I watch Sergeant Deadhead?

In the US, Sergeant Deadhead is streaming on fuboTV, MGM Plus and MGM+ (availability from JustWatch).

Does Sergeant Deadhead have a post-credit scene?

No. Sergeant Deadhead has no extra scene during or after the credits.

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