The D.I. (1957)

Gunnery Sergeant Jim Moore is one of the toughest Drill Instructors on Parris Island. But he's got a thorn in his side: Pvt. Owens, who always seems to foul up when the pressure's on. ... See full summary »

Director:

Jack Webb

Writer:

James Lee Barrett

Stars:

Jack Webb, Don Dubbins, Jackie Loughery

Cast

Credited cast:
Jack Webb	...	Gunnery Sgt. Jim Moore
Don Dubbins	...	Pvt. Owens
Jackie Loughery	...	Annie
Lin McCarthy	...	Capt. Anderson
Monica Lewis	...	Burt (as Matt Davis)
Virginia Gregg	...	Mrs. Owens
Jeannie Beacham	...	Hostess
Lou Tobin	...	Bartender at Cotton Club
Earle Hodgins	...	Guard
Jeanne Baird	...	Mother at Woman's Store
Barbara Pepper	...	Woman Customer
Melody Gale	...	Little Girl at Woman's Store
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John T. Ahern	...	Pvt. Casto
Charles M. Golden	...	Pvt. Labarsky
Joseph C. Holmes	...	Pvt. Madison

Storyline

Gunnery Sergeant Jim Moore is one of the toughest Drill Instructors on Parris Island. But he's got a thorn in his side: Pvt. Owens, who always seems to foul up when the pressure's on. Convinced that "there's a man underneath that baby powder," Sgt. Moore drives Owens to the point of desertion. Making things worse, Capt. Anderson has given Moore three days to make the scared private into Marine material, "or I'll personally cut the lace off his panties and ship him out!" Adding to the pressure, Moore also juggles a budding romance with a shop girl.

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Plot Keywords:

drill instructor | sergeant | boot camp | military | acronym in title | 

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Taglines:

Nobody knew he had a girl--not even the girl!

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 March 1958 (Finland)

Also Known As:

The Drill Instructor

Filming Locations:

Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base, Oceanside, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mark VII Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Many real-life Marines are extras in the movie.

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Goofs

Movie opens with wrongly punctuated close-up of a Marine plaque with the phrase "Let's be damned sure that no man's ghost will ever say - "If your training program had only done it's job." Correct punctuation is "its".

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Quotes

TSgt Moore: There must be a man under that baby powder.

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Connections

Featured in JAG: Boot (1996)

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Soundtracks

" (If'n You Don't) Somebody Else Will"
Music by Ray Conniff
Lyrics by Fred Weismantel
Sung by Monica Lewis

User Reviews

I played the part of "Hillbilly" in the movie.

I was a working DI at MCRD San Diego when I was selected to play in the movie. I was the first Marine so selected by Webb. I am (or was, Technical Sergeant Charles A Love, USMC. Concerning the sun glasses scene which we shot at DelMar..I was wearing the glasses because I had supposedly gotten a black eye while scuffling with Dubbins at the wash rack scene. If you look closely you can see the makeup of such on my face. They originally had normal looking glasses but Colonel Carneal had them changed to the silly ones so as to make it not look they were medically unnecessary...Semper Fi Marines..I will be glad to answer any queries you may have about the making of the movie. I presently live in Deland, Florida. TechSgt Lou Lazarko lives nearby. (He had a run in with Webb in the bar) I have been in touch with some of the Marines.Notably Pete O'Neal, whose face I slapped to kill the supposedly one that Dubbins had killed and which I subsequently took up to Webb who visually verified that this was a female flea and not the male one that Dubbins had slapped. Some of the other Marines have written on this site with good information. Actually Lou Lazarko is the one who took Lt. Schmidt's role when he couldn't properly deliver the line of "What's this, the brand called X" in the Duty hut when Jack threw the cup at him and hit the door. Lou originally went to Hollywood with us as a troop handler and then took Schmidts place. Lou and I then were the handlers of the thirty five recently graduated Marines who were use in the movie. At that time Lou was a working DI at MCRD San Diego, not PI as someone has indicated. Jack took the four of use with the main parts to Chicago for what they called the World Premiere where we appeared on stage between each showing of the movie. As someone pointed out Jack never could quite get down the real DI cadence and they used Sgt Prutzman's and my cadence calling in the movie. I will probably write more about the movie as time goes on. I will be happy to answer any emails about it...Semper Fi. ([e-mail])