Onionhead (1958)

After his girlfriend Jo refuses to make a commitment to their relationship, Al Woods decides to enlist and finds himself in the US Coast Guard. He makes it through basic training but a ... See full summary »

Director:

Norman Taurog

Writers:

Nelson Gidding (screenplay), Weldon Hill (novel)

Stars:

Andy Griffith, Felicia Farr, Walter Matthau

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Andy Griffith	...	Alvin 'Al' Woods aka Onionhead
Felicia Farr	...	Stella Papparonis
Walter Matthau	...	'Red' Wildoe
Erin O'Brien	...	Josephine 'Jo' Hill
Joe Mantell	...	Harry 'Doc' O'Neal
Ray Danton	...	Ensign Dennis Higgins
James Gregory	...	Lt. Cmdr. Fox aka The Skipper
Joey Bishop	...	Sidney Gutsell
Roscoe Karns	...	'Windy' Woods
Claude Akins	...	Poznicki
Ainslie Pryor	...	Chief Miller
Sean Garrison	...	Yeoman Kaffhamp
Dan Barton	...	Ens. Fineberg
Mark Roberts	...	Lt. J.G. Bennett
Peter Brown	...	Clark (scenes deleted)

Storyline

After his girlfriend Jo refuses to make a commitment to their relationship, Al Woods decides to enlist and finds himself in the US Coast Guard. He makes it through basic training but a run-in with one of his instructor's lands him as a junior cook on a ship based in Boston. At a bar, he meets the pretty Stella Papparonis and while they see each other regularly, she refuses to stay with him when he rents a hotel room for the night. On board ship, he finds that his direct superior, 'Red' Wildoe, isn't very helpful as far as the galley goes but Al proves to be quite adept at cooking. Al learns a lot about doing the right thing, especially when Stella, now married to Red, starts throwing herself at every man in sight. When the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor, life becomes far more serious as well.

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Plot Keywords:

coast guard | based on book

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Taglines:

The Ship's Cook who has the Coast Guard in a Stew!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 October 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der Zwiebelkopf

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: Richard Benjamin, Paula Prentiss/The Grateful Dead (1980)

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Soundtracks

"I Only Have Eyes for You"
(uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren
Played on piano when Al is serving punch

User Reviews

Shallow Water Sailors

Apparently a lot of people who are used to Andy Griffith from No Time For Sergeants or from the Andy Griffith Show were expecting something quite different from Onionhead. This is an armed service film set in the Coast Guard during World War II. It's got it's funny moments, but if you're expecting No Time For Sergeants at sea you won't get it. At least Griffith isn't redoing Lonesome Rhodes here.

Andy leaves the plains of Oklahoma behind and becomes a cook after a fashion on a Coast Guard vessel, earning the enmity which gradually warms to respect from chief cook Walter Matthau. He's got less success with Ray Danton the Executive Officer on his ship who is an American version of Captain Bligh in more ways than one. Fans of Mutiny On The Bounty will remember Clark Gable's lecture to Charles Laughton on all the ways that captains make extra money before and during their voyages. Danton has something of that racket going here.

But being headstrong and obstreperous Griffith does not observe the chain of command and causes more problems than what he's trying to solve. He's also got some romantic issues as well with girl he left behind Erin O'Brien-Moore and Felicia Farr the nymphomaniac wife of Walter Matthau.

Best scenes are in the galley with Matthau, Griffith separately and apart. Now their bits are standard for every Hollywood service comedy.

Such colorful cast members as James Gregory, Joey Bishop, Joe Mantell, Tige Andrews, and Claude Akins round out the cast. Many of them clean some Navy clocks when at a bar they're referred to as shallow water sailors. Onionhead is definitely a classic films though it's not quite a comedy.