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Sgt. Bilko
Movie poster for Sgt. Bilko
Directed by	Jonathan Lynn
Produced by	Brian Grazer
Written by	Nat Hiken Andy Breckman
Starring	Steve Martin Dan Aykroyd Phil Hartman
Music by	Alan Silvestri
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date(s)	March 29, 1996
Running time	93 min.
Language	English
Budget	$29 million (estimated)
IMDb profile

Sgt. Bilko is a 1996 comedy film directed by Jonathan Lynn and written by Andy Breckman. It is an adaptation of the 1950s television series The Phil Silvers Show (which itself is often informally called Sgt. Bilko or simply Bilko).

Master Sergeant Ernest G. Bilko, played by Steve Martin, is in charge of the motor pool at Fort Baxter, a small US Army base. Exploiting this position, he directs a number of scams ranging from gambling to renting out military vehicles. His commanding officer, Colonel Hall, overlooks Bilko's money making schemes, as he is more concerned with his own affairs. Bad news begins when inspector Major Thorn (played by Phil Hartman), Bilko's rival, arrives at the camp and begins to cast scrutiny on Bilko's record. The motivation for Thorn's actions is due to the intense rivalry between the two due to several mishaps in the past, particularly because Thorn's career was ruined due to one of Bilko's scams (A fixed boxing match at Fort Dix: Thorne reaches into the losing fighters locker and pulls out a bag of money as a Colonel walks in and sees Thorne holding the cash, the Colonel then believes Thorne set up the fix, and sends Thorne to Greenland as punishment, in fact Thorne was irate at the fix and angrily questioned the fighter as the Colonel walked in). Bilko when telling the story as soon as he mentions Fort Dix he says "Where I earned my stripes", which leads us to believe Bilko was originally a motorpool member in the 9th or 69th Infantry regiments of the US Army. Thorn's revenge ensues and ultimately it becomes a battle of wits between the two men. Thorn's reliance on sabotage ultimately leads to his downfall and he is sent to Greenland. Also within the movie's plot is Bilko's fiancee, Rita, whom Bilko has stood up several times at the altar. Bilko is given an ultimatum to win her back within 30 days or to lose her forever.

Note: Only Major Cast details here.

• Steve Martin .... Master Sergeant Ernest G. Bilko
• Dan Aykroyd .... Colonel John T. Hall
• Phil Hartman .... Major Colin Thorn
• Glenne Headly .... Rita Robbins
• Daryl Mitchell .... Pfc. Wally Holbrook
• Max Casella .... Spc. Dino Paparelli
• Eric Edwards .... Pvt. Duane Doberman
• Dan Ferro .... Pvt. Tony Morales
• John Marshall Jones .... Sgt. Henshaw
• Brian Leckner .... Pvt. Sam Fender
• John Ortiz .... Pvt. Luis Clemente
• Pamela Adlon .... Sgt. Raquel Barbella (as Pamela Segall)
• Mitchell Whitfield .... Pvt. Mickey Zimmerman
• Austin Pendleton .... Major Ebersole
• Chris Rock .... 1st Lt. Oster
• Cathy Silvers .... 1st Lt. Monday (as Catherine Silvers)
• Steve Park .... Captain Moon
• Debra Jo Rupp .... Mrs. Hall
• Richard Herd .... General Tennyson

• Sgt. Bilko at the Internet Movie Database