10 Stars.
As I've written before, there's lots of LAUREL AND HARDY connections to the show. In this case, the episode borrows from BLOCKHEADS (1938), where Stan Laurel thought World War I was still going on!
Writer Sherwood Schwartz just "revised it" a bit, adding goofy Vito Scotti to the story as a Japanese soldier who thinks its still WW II! Incredible.
This is laugh out loud stuff, and Scotti, the ultimate character comedian is a blast. Note his thick coke-bottle glasses and over the top stand-up comedian Japanese accent. No question, superstars like Robin Williams were influenced by Vito Scotti.
He naturally holds the castaways hostage --after all they're Americans! Surprisingly, Gilligan and the Skipper manage to get free, and there's a cool scene where Gilligan gets to pilot the sailor's mini submarine. This has to be one of the best props on the show, at least for the first season. The question --for all us fans -- what ever happened to all these neat props when the show ended?
Note the opening scene where the Skipper orders Gilligan to keep digging for lobsters. At least they ate well on the island. Good trivia question as to what the main dish was.
Excellent direction by Alan Crosland, Jr., who was a master like his famous father.
SEASON 1 EPISODE 15 remastered color and black and white dvd box set. 6 dvd set, released 2004. The color tv prints are the best.