Down Periscope (1996)

Lt. Cmdr. Tom Dodge is assigned as Captain to the USS Stingray, an old diesel driven submarine that has seen better days. With a crew that consists only of weird guys (and a gal), he's ... See full summary »

Director:

David S. Ward

Writers:

Hugh Wilson (screenplay), Andrew Kurtzman (screenplay)

Stars:

Kelsey Grammer, Lauren Holly, Rob Schneider

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kelsey Grammer	...	Tom Dodge
Lauren Holly	...	Emily
Rob Schneider	...	Marty Pascal
Harry Dean Stanton	...	Howard
Bruce Dern	...	Admiral Graham
William H. Macy	...	Captain Knox
Ken Hudson Campbell	...	Buckman
Toby Huss	...	Nitro
Duane Martin	...	Jackson
Jonathan Penner	...	Spots
Bradford Tatum	...	Stepanak
Harland Williams	...	Sonar
Rip Torn	...	Admiral Winslow
James Martin Jr.	...	Orlando Radioman
Jordan Marder	...	Orlando Ensign

Storyline

Lt. Cmdr. Tom Dodge is assigned as Captain to the USS Stingray, an old diesel driven submarine that has seen better days. With a crew that consists only of weird guys (and a gal), he's headed against the atomic powered USS Orlando, with the mission to destroy a dummy battleship.

---

Plot Keywords:

submarine | war game | navy | submarine crew | submarine captain | 

---

Taglines:

A rusty sub. A rebel commander. A renegade crew. When destiny called, they should have hung up.

---

Genres:

Comedy

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some crude language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 March 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Touche pas à mon périscope

Filming Locations:

Alameda Naval Air Station, Alameda, California, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$25,800,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Harry Dean Stanton played a very similar role in 1979's "Alien." Both characters were engineers on a, "ship," with similar attitudes and wore, "Hawaiian," style shirts.

---

Goofs

When attacking Norfolk, Virginia, mountains can clearly be seen in the background. This region of Virginia has no visible mountains. As seen in the Filming Locations these hills are in the San Francisco Bay Area.

---

Quotes

Lt,. Howard, Chief Engineer: [the string he placed across the hull goes slack] Bet you never saw somethin' like that on one of them big nukes.
[Stepanek shakes his head no]
Seaman Nitro 'Mike': Uh... no, we didn't use clothes lines. We had those dryer things with the window in front.

---

Crazy Credits

As the credits begins to roll, The Village People and several cast members start singing "In The Navy."

---

Connections

Edited into Stealth Fighter (1999)

---

Soundtracks

In the Navy
Written by Henri Belolo, Jacques Morali and Victor Willis
Performed by The Village People
Courtesy of Scorpio Music

User Reviews

Much more cleverly funny than advertised...

I first saw this movie when it came out on video within months of its theatrical release in 1996. I remember how I laughed much more than I expected.

I haven't watched the film until it came out on cable TV recently. Even though I knew the plot and many of the jokes, I still found myself laughing as hard as when I first saw it. I was pleasantly surprised that the movie still had an appeal after all these years and many of the actors in the film did a great job without being overly done. Kelsey Grammer, in particular, played a very likeable commander and even though he had the goofiest men under his command, Grammer brought out the best in each of them.

This movie is much more believeable to watch than any of the Police Academy movies. Being a former Navy vet myself, the language made sense to me and after watching a super serious thriller like "U-571" recently, Down Periscope still kept within the framework of what is acceptable and believeable within the Navy. If you haven't seen this film, I highly recommend it for pure entertainment and escapism.