Down Periscope is a 1996 20th Century Fox comedy film produced by Robert Lawrence and directed by David S. Ward, starring Kelsey Grammer, Lauren Holly and Rob Schneider and co-starring Bruce Dern, Harry Dean Stanton, William H. Macy and Rip Torn.
Lieutenant Commander Thomas Dodge fights to save his naval career while also being saddled with a group of misfit seamen brought together as the crew of his first command, a rusted but recommissioned WWII-era diesel submarine, the USS Stingray, set to participate in a special naval war-game.
Plot
LCDR Thomas Dodge (Kelsey Grammer), a capable yet unorthodox U.S. Navy submariner, is about to be passed over a third time for command of his own nuclear submarine, this because of his unconventional ways and because of a genital tattoo received after getting drunk and passing out. Failure to secure a command would result in Dodge being dropped from the Navy's command program and an assignment to a desk job, and that means he'd resign from the Navy. During his career, Dodge has made an enemy of RADM Yancy Graham (Bruce Dern), who strongly speaks out against Dodge's command promotion.
VADM Dean Winslow, ComSubLant (Rip Torn), who likes Dodge and his methods, finds the perfect use for the Commander: Winslow launches a war-game to test the Navy's defenses against possible attack by old diesel-powered submarines in the hands of US enemies. Among those defenses being tested is the Los Angeles-class submarine USS Orlando, commanded by CDR Carl Knox (William H. Macy), Dodge's former CO. For this purpose, Dodge is selected to command the World War II-era Balao-class diesel sub, the USS Stingray, SS-161. Winslow tells Dodge to stick to his unorthodox "pirate" methods and promises that if he can win the war-game, including sinking a dummy target ship positioned in Norfolk harbor, Dodge will be considered for command of a nuclear submarine.
Graham, however, motivated by his dislike for Dodge and his own ambition for promotion, arranges circumstances to make Dodge's mission much more difficult. Graham handpicks a crew for the Stingray consisting of the "crew from Hell" as Dodge initially refers to them: hot-tempered and uptight LT Martin Pascal (Rob Schneider) as XO; crusty CPO Chief Engineer Howard (Harry Dean Stanton), a civilian contractor hired for the job since no active Naval personnel are familiar with a Balao-class engine system; rebellious Engineman 1st Class Brad Stepanek (Bradford Tatum); sharp-eared Sonarman 2nd Class E.T. "Sonar" Lovacelli (Harland Williams); compulsive gambler Seaman Stanley "Spots" Sylvesterson (Jonathan Penner); former U.S. Naval Academy basketball player Planesman Jefferson "R.J." Jackson (Duane Martin), who has dreams of playing in the NBA; shock-prone (and shock-addled) electrician Fireman Nitro (Toby Huss); and the not-so-culinary cook Seaman Buckman (Ken Hudson Campbell). To further frustrate Dodge, Graham also uses the Stingray to institute a pilot program of the Navy for evaluating the feasibility of women serving on submarines, knowing that the diesel boat is unsuitable for mixed-gender living; LT Emily Lake (Lauren Holly) joins the crew as Diving Officer.
Using unorthodox tactics to offset their huge technological disadvantage, Dodge and the Stingray crew attain their first objective by getting into and setting off signal flares in Charleston Harbor. Desperate to defeat Dodge, Graham then cuts the containment area for the war game in half without Winslow's authorization.
Running into trouble on their first attempt at Norfolk harbor, Dodge leaves the reduced exercise area. Irate at this lapse in protocol, the always strident and by-the-book Pascal, for whom the crew have no respect, attempts to take command of the Stingray; none of the crew support his action. Dodge then charges Pascal with mutiny and, in mock pirate form, forces him to "walk the plank" into a waiting fishing trawler.
During the Stingray? 's second attempt at Norfolk, Graham assumes personal command of the Orlando. Dodge uses an incredibly dangerous maneuver to sneak past the defenders of Norfolk, but the Orlando is able to find and chase her down. However, before the Orlando? 's shooting solution is obtained, Dodge launches two live torpedoes into the anchored dummy ship at Norfolk, which gains the Stingray the final war-game victory. Upon return to port, Winslow, after chastising Graham and denying his promotion, welcomes Dodge back and confides that Stepanek is actually his son, using his mother's name. The Admiral then informs Dodge that he will not get his own Los Angeles-class submarine, as the two had previously discussed, but instead a new Seawolf-class submarine (the USN's most advanced), plus a proper crew to man her. Dodge declines this latter notion, requesting the transfer of his entire Stingray crew with him to his new command.
Shipping Boxes Orlando Video
Cast
- Kelsey Grammer as Lt. Commander Thomas "Tom" Dodge, Commanding Officer, USS Stingray
- Lauren Holly as Lt. Emily Lake, Diving Officer
- Rob Schneider as Lt. Martin T. "Marty" Pascal, Executive Officer
- Harry Dean Stanton as Chief of the Boat, CPO Howard, Chief Engineer
- Bruce Dern as Rear Admiral Yancy Graham, Officer in Charge of War Games
- William H. Macy as Commander Carl Knox, Commanding Officer USS Orlando
- Ken Hudson Campbell as Culinary Specialist 2nd Class Buckman, Cook
- Toby Huss as Fireman Nitro "Mike", Electrician
- Duane Martin as Planesman 1st Class Jefferson "R.J." Jackson, Helmsman
- Jonathan Penner as Seaman Stanley "Spots" Sylvesterson, Helmsman
- Bradford Tatum as Engineman 1st Class Brad Stepanak, Engineman
- Harland Williams as Sonarman 2nd Class E.T. "Sonar" Lovacelli, Sonar Technician
- Rip Torn as Vice Admiral Dean Winslow, Commander, Submarine Force, US Navy Atlantic Fleet (ComSubLant)
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 Cold War drama The Hunt for Red October.
Down Periscope began shooting on May 6, 1995 and finished on July 27. The USS Pampanito, a Balao-class submarine from World War II, now a museum ship and memorial in San Francisco, played the part of the USS Stingray. The nearby Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet played the part of Naval Station Norfolk.
The film makes use of both standard U.S. Navy stock footage as well as scenes shot specifically for the film. The scenes of the fictional USS Orlando were taken of the USS Springfield, home-ported at the New London Submarine Base in Groton, Connecticut, during a one-day VIP cruise for the christening committee of the USS Seawolf.
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. The Fletcher is one of the most decorated ships in U.S. 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 the Stingray.
Release
Down Periscope had its U.S. theatrical release on March 1, 1996. The film grossed $25,785,603 domestically and $37,553,752 worldwide; it currently sits at the position of 2,315 for all-time domestic gross. The film was released five months later on home video on August 6, 1996.
Reception
Critical reception was generally low for Down Periscope; it holds a 12% positive rating from the film aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes.
That said, at least one US Navy Submariner considers it to be an accurate representation of life aboard a submarine
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