Down Periscope is a 1996 comedy movie starring Kelsey Grammer as the captain of a rust-bucket submarine (called the USS Stingray) who is fighting for his career. Rob Schneider provides comic support as the uptight executive officer, and Lauren Holly as the Navy's first female submarine crewmember. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 402 × 600 pixelsFull resolution‎ (506 × 755 pixels, file size: 74 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) [[1]] This image is of a poster, and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the publisher or the creator of the work... David S. Ward (born 25 October 1945) is an American film director and award winning screen writer. ... Robert Z. Lawrence, a former South African national, is the current Albert L. Williams Professor of International Trade and Investment at John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. ... Hugh Wilson (b. ... Eliot Wald was a comedy writer who worked for The Second City improv group in Chicago and for Saturday Night Live before turning to movies. ... Allen Kelsey Grammer (born February 21, 1955 in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands) is a six-time Emmy and a two-time Golden Globe-winning American actor who is best known for his two-decade portrayal of psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane, whom he played for nine years on Cheers... Lauren Michael Holly (born October 28, 1963) is an American actress. ... This article is about the American actor/comedian. ... Harry Dean Stanton (born July 14, 1926 in West Irvine, Kentucky, USA) is an American actor. ... ‹ The template below is being considered for deletion. ... Not to be confused with Bill Macy. ... Ken Hudson Campbell (sometimes Ken Campbell) is an American television and voice actor. ... Toby Huss is a U.S. actor. ... Duane Martin Duane Martin (born on January 1 1970 in Hollywood, California, USA) is an African-American film and television actor. ... Jonathan Lindsay Penner (born March 5, 1962 in New York City) is an American actor, writer and producer known for starring in The Last Supper and the television series Rude Awakening and The Naked Truth. ... Bradford Tatum is an American actor who is most famous for his role as Michael Hubbs in the cult favorite stoner flick The Stoned Age (1994). ... Harland Michael Williams (born November 14, 1962 in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian-born comedian, actor, and radio personality. ... Rip Torn (born February 6, 1931) is an American Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning television and film actor, who is perhaps best known for his role as Artie on the HBO comedy series The Larry Sanders Show. ... Randy Edelman (born 10 June 1947) is a well known film and TV score composer born in Paterson, New Jersey. ... Victor Hammer (b. ... is the 60th day of the year (61st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... Allen Kelsey Grammer (born February 21, 1955 in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands) is a six-time Emmy and a two-time Golden Globe-winning American actor who is best known for his two-decade portrayal of psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane, whom he played for nine years on Cheers... USS Stingray (SS-161), the fictitious setting for the comedy movie Down Periscope, was played by still-seaworthy World War II veteran submarine USS Pampanito (SS-383). ... This article is about the American actor/comedian. ... Lauren Michael Holly (born October 28, 1963) is an American actress. ...

Plot

Lieutenant Commander Thomas Dodge (Kelsey Grammer), a capable (if somewhat unorthodox) US Navy officer, is about to be denied command of his own submarine for a third time because of his rather unconventional ways (not to mention a widely known tattoo on his penis reading 'Welcome aboard!'. He is particularly opposed by Rear Admiral Yancy Graham (Bruce Dern). Failure to secure his command will result in him being dropped from the command program. His commander, Vice Admiral Dean Winslow (Rip Torn), manages to convince the Navy to give him a last chance: to test the Navy's defenses against enemy diesel submarines. For this purpose, Dodge is granted the command over a rusty and outdated Balao-class diesel sub, the USS Stingray, which should simulate a situation with Russian diesel subs sold to terrorists. Adm. Winslow gives Dodge the order to "think like a pirate", meaning to disregard the traditional rules of warfare and play by his own discretion. Winslow tells Dodge that if he can win the wargame, including sinking a mock target in Norfolk harbor, he will do what he can to get Dodge command of a Los Angeles-class nuclear submarine. In the Royal Navy, United States Navy and United States Coast Guard, a lieutenant commander (lieutenant-commander or Lt Cdr in the RN) is a commissioned officer superior to a lieutenant and inferior to a commander. ... Allen Kelsey Grammer (born February 21, 1955 in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands) is a six-time Emmy and a two-time Golden Globe-winning American actor who is best known for his two-decade portrayal of psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane, whom he played for nine years on Cheers... The term Rear Admiral originated from the days of Naval Sailing Squadrons, and can trace its origins to the British Royal Navy. ... ‹ The template below is being considered for deletion. ... Vice Admiral is a naval rank of three star level, equivalent to Lieutenant General in seniority. ... Rip Torn (born February 6, 1931) is an American Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning television and film actor, who is perhaps best known for his role as Artie on the HBO comedy series The Larry Sanders Show. ... The Balao class was a successful design of United States Navy submarine used during World War II. An evolutionary improvement over the earlier Gato class, the boats had slight internal differences. ... A diesel engine built by MAN AG in 1906 Rudolf Diesels 1893 patent on his engine design A Diesel engine is an internal combustion engine which operates using the Diesel cycle. ... Norfolk (IPA: //) is a low-lying county in East Anglia in the east of southern England. ... Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Los Angeles class submarines The Los Angeles class is a class of nuclear-powered fast attack submarines (SSN) that forms the backbone of the United States submarine fleet, and is the most numerous class of nuclear powered submarine in the world. ...

His opponent in the wargame is Rear Admiral Graham, who is overseeing the maneuvers of the ultra-modern submarine USS Orlando, headed by Commander Carl Knox (William H. Macy). Graham, motivated by his dislike for Dodge and his own ambition (he brags that he has never lost a wargame, and that he is in line for a third star), tries to arrange circumstances to make Dodge's mission even more difficult. He handpicks a motley crew consisting mostly of what he considers rejects and failures: hot-tempered Executive Officer Martin Pascal (Rob Schneider), rebellious Engineman 1st Class Brad Stapanek, sharp-eared Sonar Technician 2nd Class E.T. 'Sonar' Lovacelli, compulsive gambler Seaman Stanley 'Spots' Sylvesterson, shock-prone (and shock-addled) electrician Seaman Nitro, and the not-so-culinary cook Seaman Buckman. Also, as part of a pilot program instituted by Graham, Lieutenant Emily Lake (Lauren Holly) joins the crew as the Navy's first female diving officer. Finally, he informs Dodge that the containment area of the exercise has been cut in half, effectively limiting what targets Dodge can pursue, and with the helpful reminder that the Stingray will unconditionally surrender upon being informed of a "shooting solution" (or enemy lock-on) at any time during the wargame. Not to be confused with Bill Macy. ... Vice Admiral is a naval rank of three star level, equivalent to Lieutenant General in seniority. ... This article is about the American actor/comedian. ... Lauren Michael Holly (born October 28, 1963) is an American actress. ...

Using risky and unorthodox strategies to offset their technological disadvantage, Dodge and the Stingray crew manage to take out their assigned target in Charleston Harbor. After Dodge remembers his orders to "think like a pirate" and leaves the exercise area, Pascal attempts to relieve Dodge of his command.Graham then assumes personal command of the wargame from the Orlando's helm and is able to "kill" the Stingray, but not before it launches two torpedoes at the dummy target in Norfolk harbor. Since the shots were fired prior to the kill, and they found their target, Dodge is the victor of the game.

Winslow congratulates Dodge on a job well done and tells him that he will not get a Los Angeles Class submarine. Instead he will be given a Seawolf-class submarine, and a "proper crew". Dodge requests that he be allowed to transfer the crew of the Stingray. USS Seawolf (SSN-575) The Seawolf class attack submarine (SSN) was the intended successor to the Los Angeles class, ordered at the end of the Cold War in 1989. ...

Trivia

• The USS Stingray in the movie was filmed on USS Pampanito, a Balao-class submarine from WWII, now a museum ship and memorial in San Francisco.

• The USS Orlando (SSN-852) is a fictional Los Angeles class submarine. As of 2007 no United States Navy submarine has ever been named Orlando or carried the hull number SSN-852. The footage used for the Orlando is of several different types of Los Angeles class ships.

• In some countries, this movie is called "Pipe Dreams". In Hungary the title is "Fire Under Water". In Latin America it's called "Crazies on board". In Russia and Ukraine its name is Up Periscope. [www.pipedreamsoverseas.com]
• The ending sequence with the credits runs with the music of In the Navy by Village People

• There is an older World War II film called Up Periscope.

• During the opening sequence when the Orlando is supposed to be returning to the submarine Base in Groton, CT, the submarine is actually heading back out to sea. The two bridges the ship moves under cross the Thames River in New London, and if the boat were actually heading into port, it would cross under the railroad trestle before the larger highway bridge.

• The only golf course that the Orlando would pass by after returning from an Arctic patrol is Shenecosset in New London, CT. However, at the time the movie was released, the holes close to the river were not yet in existence.

USS Pampanito (SS-383), a Balao-class submarine, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the gafftopsail pompano, Trachinotus rhodopus. ... The Balao class was a successful design of United States Navy submarine used during World War II. An evolutionary improvement over the earlier Gato class, the boats had slight internal differences. ... USS Wisconsin, one of three Iowa class battleships opened to the public as a museum, and was one of two Iowas maintained in the US Mothball fleet. ... San Francisco redirects here. ... USS Orlando (SSN-852) is a fictitious Los Angeles-class submarine appearing in the 1996 comedy Down Periscope. ... Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Los Angeles class submarines The Los Angeles class is a class of nuclear-powered fast attack submarines (SSN) that forms the backbone of the United States submarine fleet, and is the most numerous class of nuclear powered submarine in the world. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... USN redirects here. ... See In the Navy (film) for the 1941 Abbott & Costello film. ... Village People is a concept disco group formed in the late 1970s. ... Up Periscope is a 1959 World War II drama starring James Garner as a Navy frogman fighting the Japanese. ... Waterfront of Groton, Connecticut looking upriver Groton is a town located on the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. ...

External links

• Down Periscope at the Internet Movie Database