Down Periscope
Short description
Down Periscope is a 1996 comedy about a Navy officer whose unconventional record keeps him from the nuclear submarine command he wants. Instead, Lieutenant Commander Tom Dodge is handed the USS Stingray, an obsolete diesel boat from the Second World War, along with a crew of misfits and troublemakers. Rear Admiral Yancy Graham, who has no wish to see Dodge succeed, arranges for the Stingray to serve as the target in a war game against the modern fleet. The arrival of a woman officer adds further disruption to an already chaotic crew, and Dodge must find a way to make his ragtag boat and sailors perform when it counts.
The film was directed by David S. Ward, whose earlier features include Cannery Row, Major League, King Ralph and Major League II. Kelsey Grammer leads the cast as Dodge, with Lauren Holly, Rob Schneider, Harry Dean Stanton, Bruce Dern and William H. Macy in supporting roles. The screenplay is credited to Hugh Wilson, Andrew Kurtzman and Eliot Wald, and Robert Lawrence produced for 20th Century Fox.
Made on a budget of 31 million dollars, Down Periscope took in about 38 million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds a rating of 6.2 from roughly 30,000 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 6.4 from 552 votes. A critics' rating of 3.9 from 35 reviews places it well below the reception it has found among general audiences.
What's left behind the scenes
- The "Stingray" in the film was actually filmed on the museum ship "Pampanito," a World War II-era Balao-class submarine.
- The USS Orlando (registration SSN-852) is a fictional Los Angeles-class submarine. There is no submarine with that name or registration in the US Navy. All footage was shot on various submarines of this class.
- In some countries, the film is called “The Smoker's Visions” (Pipe Dreams), in Hungary – “Fire Under Water”, and in Latin America – “Crazys on Board”.
- The shot of the “Orlando” rising was taken from the film “The Hunt for Red October” (1990).
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