Down Periscope

Last updated
Down Periscope
Down periscope.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by David S. Ward
Screenplay by Hugh Wilson
Andrew Kurtzman
Eliot Wald
Story byHugh Wilson
Produced by Robert Lawrence
Starring
Cinematography Victor Hammer
Edited by William M. Anderson
Armen Minasian
Music by Randy Edelman
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Release date
  • March 1, 1996 (1996-03-01)
Running time
93 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$31 million [1]
Box office$37.5 million [2]

Down Periscope is a 1996 American military comedy submarine film directed by David S. Ward, produced by Robert Lawrence, and starring Kelsey Grammer, Lauren Holly, and Rob Schneider along with Bruce Dern, Harry Dean Stanton, William H. Macy, and Rip Torn in supporting roles. Released by 20th Century Fox on March 1, 1996, the film focuses on Lieutenant Commander Thomas Dodge (played by Grammer), a capable (if somewhat unorthodox) U.S. Navy officer who fights to save his career after being saddled with a group of misfit seamen who have been brought together as the crew of his first command, USS Stingray, a rusty, obsolete World War II-era diesel submarine that is the focus of a special naval war game, supervised by a bitter rival (played by Dern) who is fighting to bury Dodge's career by any means necessary.

Contents

Plot

Lieutenant Commander Thomas Dodge, currently the executive officer of the Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Orlando under its commanding officer Commander Carl Knox, is being considered for a third time to captain a submarine. He has been previously rejected because of his unorthodox command methods that include a "brushing" incident with a Russian submarine near the port of Murmansk, Russia, and a genital tattoo reading "Welcome Aboard" that he acquired afterward while drunk on shore leave. If denied again, he will be dismissed from the Navy's submarine command program.

Rear Admiral Yancy Graham, who dislikes Dodge, opposes his promotion, but Vice Admiral Dean Winslow, Commander, Submarine Force Atlantic, who likes Dodge and his methods, selects him to participate in a war game to test the Navy's defenses against attack from diesel-powered submarines. As Russia has been selling off their diesel fleet to America's adversaries, Winslow orders him to restore the rusty World War II-era Balao-class diesel-powered submarine USS Stingray, assigned to him by Graham, and use it to "invade" Charleston Harbor undetected, and if successful, to sink a dummy warship in Norfolk Harbor with two live torpedoes. Though initially reluctant to participate, Dodge offers Winslow a wager: if he successfully completes both tasks, Winslow will give him a nuclear submarine to command. Winslow agrees to consider it, subtly instructing Dodge to "think like a pirate" instead of following the conventional war-game rules.

Graham, boasting that he has never lost a war game and motivated by his own ambition to obtain a third star, handpicks "the crew from hell" for Stingray: hot-tempered, uptight Lieutenant Martin G. Pascal as the executive officer; crusty civilian naval contractor Howard as the Chief Engineer; rebellious Engineman 1st Class Brad Stepanak; ultra-sharp-eared Sonar Technician 2nd Class E.T. "Sonar" Lovacelli; compulsive gambler Seaman Stanley "Spots" Sylvesterson; former losing college basketball player Seaman Jefferson "Stoneball" Jackson; shock-prone (and shock-addled) Electrician's Mate Michael Nitro; and not-so-Culinary Specialist Second Class Buckman as Stingray's cook. Additionally, Graham assigns Lieutenant Emily Lake as Stingray's Diving Officer to see if women can successfully serve aboard submarines.

Using a storm off the Carolina coast as a diversion, Dodge and his crew offset their technological disadvantage by disguising the Stingray as a fishing trawler to infiltrate Charleston Harbor and set off signal flares. Upset at losing the first part of the war game and desperate to defeat Dodge, Graham halves the game's containment area without Winslow's authorization. Running into trouble on their first attempt at Norfolk Harbor, Dodge leaves the containment area and heads out to sea, breaking all contact with the Navy. Irate at this lapse in protocol, Pascal openly accuses him of hijacking his own boat and attempts to usurp him. Stingray's crew, weary of Pascal's berating and harassment, turn against him, and Dodge charges him with attempted mutiny. On deck, Lake witnesses Dodge and the crew, wearing makeshift buccaneer outfits and speaking like pirates, commit a mock execution by making a blindfolded Pascal walk the plank into the raised net of a waiting fishing trawler that will take him ashore.

During the Stingray's second attempt at Norfolk, Graham, hellbent on stopping Dodge, assumes command of the Orlando from Knox. Dodge employs an incredibly dangerous maneuver: passing Stingray between the huge propellers of a commercial supertanker to avoid sonar detection by the naval ships and aircraft protecting the approach to Norfolk. By the time Orlando eventually locates, pursues, and targets the Stingray, Dodge has fired two live torpedoes at 900 yards (820 m) into a target ship anchored in Norfolk Harbor, thereby humiliating Graham and winning the war game.

After Dodge's crew returns to port, Winslow chastises Graham and denies his promotion for attempting to undermine Dodge's success. He then congratulates Dodge, informing him that he will now be given command of a new Seawolf-class submarine, along with a "proper crew" to man her. Dodge respectfully requests that his entire Stingray crew be transferred with him, to which Winslow agrees, also revealing that Stepanak is his son, despite having his mother's surname. After Dodge dismisses his crew to begin a well-earned shore leave, Lake casually asks him as both of them leave the dock, "What exactly is this tattoo I keep hearing about?".

Cast

Production notes

The name of the film is a play on the title of the 1959 World War II drama Up Periscope and spoofs several titles in the submarine film subgenre, including the Cold War drama The Hunt for Red October . [3]

Down Periscope began shooting on May 6, 1995, and finished on July 27. [4]

USS Pampanito, a Balao-class submarine from World War II, now a museum ship and memorial in San Francisco, played the part of USS Stingray. The nearby Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet stood in for Naval Station Norfolk.

The film makes use of both standard US Navy stock footage and scenes shot specifically for the film. The target ship that is torpedoed and sunk, ending the film's war game, is both naval stock footage of the USS Fletcher and a prop shooting miniature. Fletcher was one of the most decorated ships in US Navy history. Over the closing credits, a music video is shown of the Village People and the film's cast performing "In the Navy" aboard Stingray.

Release

Down Periscope had its US theatrical release on March 1, 1996. [4] The film grossed $25,785,603 domestically and $37,553,752 worldwide. The film was released on home video five months later, on August 6, 1996. [4]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , the film has a score of 11% from 35 reviews, with an average rating 4.1/10. The site's consensus states: "Down Periscope takes audiences on an aimless voyage for aquatic hijinks, proving there really aren't any effective sub-stitutes for a well-written script." [5] On Metacritic, the film receive a score of 39 based on 18 reviews, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". [6]

Variety wrote, "The makers of Police Academy and Major League team up to take on the submarine corps [...] and the result is a testosterone comedy that’s crude fun, with a pinch of corn-pone morality. It’s good-natured, innocuous frivolity that should raise a few smiles..." However, Stephen Holden of The New York Times felt, "The tone of the acting, which is set by Mr. Grammer's blandly laid-back performance, is all wrong for a genre that demands over-the-top hamming". Holden also wrote that the film does manage to provide "a couple of amusing bits", but "The energy level of Down Periscope is so low that moments like these, which should flare hilariously, reach a wan flicker". [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Thresher</i> (SSN-593) United States Navy submarine (1961–63)

USS Thresher (SSN-593) was the lead boat of her class of nuclear-powered attack submarines in the United States Navy. She was the U.S. Navy's second submarine to be named after the thresher shark.

USS <i>Corvina</i> Submarine of the United States

USS Corvina (SS-226), a Gato-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the corvina.

USS <i>Scorpion</i> (SSN-589) Skipjack-class nuclear-powered submarine

USS Scorpion (SSN-589) was a Skipjack-class nuclear-powered submarine that served in the United States Navy, and the sixth vessel, and second submarine, of the U.S. Navy to carry that name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard O'Kane</span> US Navy admiral and Medal of Honor recipient (1911–1994)

Richard Hetherington O'Kane was a United States Navy submarine commander in World War II, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for commanding USS Tang in the Pacific War against Japan to the most successful record of any United States submarine ever. He also received three Navy Crosses and three Silver Stars, for a total of seven awards of the United States military's three highest decorations for valor in combat. Before commanding Tang, O'Kane served in the highly successful USS Wahoo as executive officer and approach officer under noted Commander Dudley "Mush" Morton. In his ten combat patrols, five in Wahoo and five commanding Tang, O'Kane participated in more successful attacks on Japanese shipping than any other submarine officer during the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Submarine films</span> Subgenre of war film

The submarine film is a subgenre of war film in which the majority of the plot revolves around a submarine below the ocean's surface. Films of this subgenre typically focus on a small but determined crew of submariners battling against enemy submarines or submarine-hunter ships, or against other problems ranging from disputes amongst the crew, threats of mutiny, life-threatening mechanical breakdowns, or the daily difficulties of living on a submarine.

USS <i>Lionfish</i> Submarine of the United States

USS Lionfish (SS-298), a Balao-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy named for the lionfish, a scorpaenid fish native to the Pacific and an invasive species found around the Caribbean. She was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1986, and is now on display at Battleship Cove in Fall River, Massachusetts.

<i>The Bedford Incident</i> 1965 film by James B. Harris

The Bedford Incident is a 1965 British-American Cold War film directed by James B. Harris, starring Richard Widmark and Sidney Poitier, and produced by Harris and Widmark. The cast also features Eric Portman, James MacArthur, Martin Balsam, and Wally Cox, as well as early appearances by Donald Sutherland and Ed Bishop. James Poe adapted Mark Rascovich's 1963 novel of the same name, which borrowed from the plot of Herman Melville's Moby-Dick; at one point in the film, the captain is advised he is "not chasing whales now".

<i>Operation Petticoat</i> 1959 film by Blake Edwards

Operation Petticoat is a 1959 American World War II submarine comedy film in Eastmancolor from Universal-International, produced by Robert Arthur, directed by Blake Edwards, that stars Cary Grant and Tony Curtis.

<i>Operation Pacific</i> 1951 war drama film by George Waggner

Operation Pacific is a 1951 black-and-white World War II submarine war drama from Warner Bros. Pictures, produced by Louis Edelman, and written as well as directed by George Waggner. John Wayne and Patricia Neal star and Ward Bond and Philip Carey play supporting roles.

USS <i>Fanning</i> (DD-37) Paulding-class destroyer

The first USS Fanning (DD-37) was a modified Paulding-class destroyer in the United States Navy during World War I and later in the United States Coast Guard, designated as CG-11. Her namesake was Nathaniel Fanning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles A. Lockwood</span> United States admiral

Charles Andrews Lockwood was a vice-admiral and flag officer of the United States Navy. He is known in submarine history as the commander of Submarine Force Pacific Fleet during World War II. He devised tactics for the effective use of submarines, making the members and elements of "silent service" key players in the Pacific victory.

<i>Hostile Waters</i> (film)

Hostile Waters is a British 1997 television film about the loss of the Soviet Navy's K-219, a Yankee I class nuclear ballistic missile sub. The film stars Rutger Hauer as the commander of K-219 and claims to be based on the true story, also described in the 1997 book of the same name. The film was produced by World Productions for the BBC and HBO, in association with Invision Productions and UFA Filmproduktions. It was written by Troy Kennedy Martin and directed by David Drury, and was first transmitted on BBC One on 26 July 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lawson P. Ramage</span> US Navy admiral and Medal of Honor recipient

Lawson Paterson "Red" Ramage was a vice admiral in the United States Navy and a noted submarine commander during World War II. Ramage was decorated with the Medal of Honor and several other combat decorations during the war. He also served during the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

<i>The Hunt for Red October</i> (film) 1990 film directed by John McTiernan

The Hunt for Red October is a 1990 American submarine spy thriller film directed by John McTiernan, produced by Mace Neufeld, and starring Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, Scott Glenn, James Earl Jones, and Sam Neill. The film is an adaptation of Tom Clancy's 1984 bestselling novel of the same name. It is the first installment of the film series with the protagonist Jack Ryan.

<i>Hell Below</i> 1933 film

Hell Below is a 1933 American MGM pre-Code film set in the Adriatic Sea during World War I about submarine warfare based on Commander Edward Ellsberg's novel Pigboats. The film stars Robert Montgomery, Walter Huston, Robert Young, Madge Evans and Jimmy Durante.

<i>Youre in the Navy Now</i> 1951 film by Henry Hathaway

You're in the Navy Now is a 1951 American war comedy film about the United States Navy in the first months of World War II. The film was directed by Henry Hathaway and stars Gary Cooper as a new officer wanting duty at sea but who is instead assigned to an experimental project without much hope of success. It was released by 20th Century Fox and its initial release was titled U.S.S. Teakettle. When the film failed to gain an audience, it was re-titled to the present title.

HMS <i>L2</i> Submarine of the Royal Navy

HMS L2 was a L-class submarine built for the Royal Navy during World War I.

<i>We Dive at Dawn</i> 1943 British film

We Dive at Dawn is a 1943 war film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring John Mills and Eric Portman as Royal Navy submariners in the Second World War. It was written by Val Valentine and J. B. Williams with uncredited assistance from Frank Launder. It was produced by Edward Black. The film's sets were designed by Walter Murton.

<i>Destroyer</i> (1943 film) 1943 war film directed by William A. Seiter

Destroyer is a 1943 American war film directed by William A. Seiter and starring Edward G. Robinson.

<i>Run Silent, Run Deep</i> (film) 1958 film by Robert Wise

Run Silent, Run Deep is a 1958 American black-and-white war film starring Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster, based on the 1955 novel of the same name by Commander Edward L. Beach Jr. The picture was directed by Robert Wise and produced by Harold Hecht. The title refers to "silent running", a submarine stealth tactic. The story describes World War II submarine warfare in the Pacific Ocean, and deals with themes of vengeance, endurance, courage, loyalty, and honor, and how these can be tested during wartime.

References

  1. "Down Periscope | PowerGrid". Powergrid.thewrap.com. 1996-03-01. Archived from the original on 2015-07-15. Retrieved 2015-07-14.
  2. Down Periscope at Box Office Mojo
  3. Chapman, James. War and Film. Reaktion Books, 2008, p. 229.
  4. 1 2 3 TCM Notes Misc. Notes
  5. Down Periscope at Rotten Tomatoes
  6. "Down Periscope". Metacritic.
  7. "Down Periscope". The New York Times . Retrieved October 13, 2017.