Down Periscope (1996)

Director:

David S. Ward

Writers (WGA):

Hugh Wilson (story)
Hugh Wilson (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

1 March 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

A rusty sub. A rebel commander. A renegade crew. When destiny called, they should have hung up.

Plot:

Lt. Cmdr. Tom Dodge is assigned as Captain to the USS Stingray, an old diesel driven submarine that has seen better days...

Plot Keywords:

Submarine | Navy | War Game | Reference To Beethoven | Sea

Cast

Kelsey Grammer	...	Lt. Cmdr. Thomas 'Tom' Dodge
Lauren Holly	...	Lt. Emily Lake, Diving Officer
Rob Schneider	...	Executive Officer Martin T. 'Marty' Pascoe
Harry Dean Stanton	...	CPO Howard, Chief Engineer
Bruce Dern	...	RAdm. Yancy Graham
William H. Macy	...	Cmdr. Carl Knox (Orlando)
Ken Hudson Campbell	...	Seaman Buckman
Toby Huss	...	Seaman Nitro 'Mike'
Duane Martin	...	Planesman 1st Class Jefferson 'R.J.' Jackson
Jonathan Penner	...	Seaman Stanley 'Spots' Sylvesterson
Bradford Tatum	...	Engineman 1st Class Brad Stepanak (Winslow)
Harland Williams	...	Seaman 2nd Class E.T. 'Sonar' Lovacelli
Rip Torn	...	Vice Adm. Dean Winslow
James Martin Jr.	...	Orlando Radioman
Jordan Marder	...	Orlando Ensign

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some crude language.

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #34116) | Iceland:L | Argentina:13 | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Canada:PG | Denmark:12 | Finland:S | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | UK:12

Filming Locations:

Alameda Naval Air Station, Alameda, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Harry Dean Stanton - playing the veteran Chief Engineer, Howard - actually served in the navy during WWII.

Goofs:

Continuity: Sylvesterson was the first sailor picked to board the boat, but when Sylvesterson walks up the plank when boarding the boat, RJ Jackson is seen walking behind Dodge, not Sylvesterson. Where did RJ Jackson come from?

Quotes:

Lt. Comd. Dodge: Somebody find Buckman, launch him out a torpedo tube.

Movie Connections:

References Anchors Aweigh (1945)

Soundtrack:

Louie Louie

Much more cleverly funny than advertised...

I first saw this movie when it came out on video within months of its theatrical release in 1996. I remember how I laughed much more than I expected.

I haven't watched the film until it came out on cable TV recently. Even though I knew the plot and many of the jokes, I still found myself laughing as hard as when I first saw it. I was pleasantly surprised that the movie still had an appeal after all these years and many of the actors in the film did a great job without being overly done. Kelsey Grammer, in particular, played a very likeable commander and even though he had the goofiest men under his command, Grammer brought out the best in each of them.

This movie is much more believeable to watch than any of the Police Academy movies. Being a former Navy vet myself, the language made sense to me and after watching a super serious thriller like "U-571" recently, Down Periscope still kept within the framework of what is acceptable and believeable within the Navy. If you haven't seen this film, I highly recommend it for pure entertainment and escapism.