The Wackiest Ship in the Army (film)
The Wackiest Ship in the Army | |
---|---|
Directed by | Richard Murphy |
Written by | Richard Murphy Herbert Margolis William Raynor |
Based on | Big Fella Wash-Wash 1956 story in Argosy by Herbert Carlson |
Produced by | Fred Kohlmar |
Starring | Jack Lemmon Ricky Nelson |
Cinematography | Charles Lawton Jr. |
Edited by | Charles Nelson |
Music by | George Duning |
Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 99 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $3.6 million[1] |
The Wackiest Ship in the Army is an American 1960
The story is a dramatized, fictionalized account of a real ship known as the USS Echo. It was a sailing vessel that originated in New Zealand and became part of the United States Navy during World War II.
Plot
In 1943, U.S. Navy
Crandall tries to refuse this dubious command but Lieutenant commander Vandewater, Hanson and Crandall's former sailing buddy, wears down his resistance. Vandewater points out Crandall's poor fitness report and advises that, if he doesn't take this command, he will never get another. Hanson takes Crandall out drinking with some of the men so he will bond with them and feel guilty about abandoning them.
The Echo barely makes it out of the
Making the crossing with both ship and crew disguised as a native trading vessel, Crandall and his crew are spotted and photographed by a Japanese spotter plane. While most of the men are ashore escorting Patterson, a Japanese force from a passing warship boards the boat, capturing Crandall and the skeleton crew; when the landing party returns, they are also apprehended.
Crandall manages to rally his men to take the ship back. He is wounded and Hanson is faced with the decision of whether to radio a warning about the fleet, even though that will give away their position to guns on shore. He sends the warning and the decision is made to abandon ship, as the guns open fire on the Echo and destroy her.
The crew survives to be rescued and, for their role in helping to win the
Cast
- Jack Lemmon as Lt. Rip Crandall
- Ricky Nelson as Ensign Tommy J. Hanson
- John Lund as Lt. Cmdr. Wilbur F. Vandewater
- Chips Rafferty as Patterson (coast watcher)
- Tom Tully as Captain McClung
- Joby Baker as Josh Davidson
- Mike Kellin as Chief Petty Officer
- Warren Berlinger as Radioman 2nd Class A.J. Sparks
- Patricia Driscoll as Maggie, Lt. Cmdr. Vanderwater's secretary
- Richard Anderson as Lt. Dennis M. Foster
- Alvy Moore as Seaman J. Johnson
- George Shibata as Captain Shigetsu
Production notes
The USS Echo was based on the real-life
Columbia Pictures acquired the rights to a story in the July 1956 issue of Argosy titled Big Fella Wash Wash, inspired by reminisces from former Echo skipper Meredith "Rip" Riddle.[2] The story was advertised on the cover of the magazine as "The Wackiest Ship in the Army", because the naval vessel had been under Army command while in port, and Columbia used that title when purchasing the story in 1957. The movie never explained any connection between the ship and the Army, puzzling some viewers. (The later television series spelled out the link.) But it was mentioned in the film that the ship was under the command of the Air Force. The U.S. Air Force was part of the U.S. Army until 1947.
The director and writer of the film was Richard Murphy, who had written the script for the film You're in the Navy Now (1951). The film was originally developed for Ernie Kovacs in the lead role, with Lemmon as the ensign. But at production time Kovacs was unavailable, and Lemmon was considered too mature for an ensign; Instead, Lemmon was cast in the lead role and popular actor/singer Ricky Nelson in the supporting role.
Though acquired before Operation Petticoat, this film was not released until after that film. The United States Navy provided extensive cooperation allowing the producers to film at Pearl Harbor.[3]
Reception
Mae Tinee of the
Bosley Crowther of the New York Times wrote, "Let's say it comes out a zany and occasionally amusing farce."[5]
Television series
The film inspired the 1965 television series of the same name.
USS Echo
The real USS Echo was returned to the New Zealand government in 1944 and was subsequently used for the conveyance of food and supplies. It was unavailable for either the film or the later television series. The ship eventually served as a bar, but was poorly maintained over the years. In 2015, it was determined to be too derelict to preserve, and was broken up for scrap.
Other ships
List of other US Navy ships seen in the movie.
- USS Bennington (CV-20)
- USS Finch (DE-328)
- USS Lansing (DE-388)
- USS Brister (DE-327)
- USS Taluga (AO-62)
- USS Manatee (AO-58)
- USS Hamul (AD-20)
- USS Fletcher (DD-445)
- USS Philip (DD-498)
- USS Epperson (DD-719)
- USS Philip (DD-498)
- USS Bagley (DD-386)
- USS Bolster (ARS-38)
- USS Reclaimer (ARS-42)
- USS Moctobi (ATF-105)
References
- ^ "1961 Rentals and Potential". Variety. 10 Jan 1961. p. 13.
- ^ Daysog, Rick (December 11, 2007). "Hawaii resident Meredith Riddle dies". The Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
- ISBN 978-0-78646-290-2.
- ^ Tinee, Mae. "Zany Comedy a Suspense Story: "The Wackiest Ship in the Army." Chicago Daily Tribune. 25 Dec 1960: e5. Via Proquest.
- ^ Crowther, Bosley. "'The Wackiest Ship in the Army' Arrives." New York Times. 09 Feb 1961: 36. Via Proquest.