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: When the Stingray is taken for its dive test, the tube ready board shows tubes 1 and 2 ready to fire. The tubes are not loaded until the end of the movie.

Quotes:

Seaman Nitro 'Mike': [singing like Sinatra while working on the radio] I'm gonna feel the way I do today, 'cause you-you nutsy chick, you broad-you make me feel so young. Boom.
[speaking]
Seaman Nitro 'Mike': Oh boys, that was terrible. I'm going out, I'm gonna have a smoke. When I come back, get the horn section figured out, I can't work like this.
[Cuts a wire and gets zapped. He drops his tool, pauses, then picks it up and continues working, though now in an announcer's voice]
Seaman Nitro 'Mike': Two on, two out, Bonds is up again. Swung on, oh! That struck the ballgirl, knocked her cold! Today's game by the way...
[...]

Movie Connections:

References Anchors Aweigh (1945)

Soundtrack:

Louie Louie

Better Than You'd Think

This is one of those movies the critics really missed the mark on. This movie is practically McHale's Navy for the 90s or Police Academy at sea. Grammer proves he can play roles other than Frasier as he outwits and outfoxes the Navy in order to get his own sub. Rob Schneider is as wormy as usual, the same in every role he plays, and Lauren Holly is the local sexpot albeit with a brain. Ken Hudson Campbell is as funny as usual with almost every line a catch phrase. The movie has a wonderful intelligent plot and a non-predictable script that still surprises me every time I watch it. Many of the Navy phrases and terms go over my head, though, but it's a small obstacle for the sheer accuracy and realism of the movie and its characters.