Onionhead
Encyclopedia
Onionhead is a 1958 movie, set on a U.S. Coast Guard
cutter during World War II
, starring Andy Griffith
and featuring Felicia Farr
, Walter Matthau
, and Erin O'Brien
.
The film was written by Nelson Gidding and Weldon Hill from Hill's novel, and was directed by Norman Taurog
. It was such a notorious flop that it drove Griffith, who had enjoyed enormous success in A Face in the Crowd and No Time for Sergeants
, into television, according to Griffith's videotaped interview in the Archive of American Television
. Weldon Hill is the pseudonym of William R. Scott, a native Oklahoman who based the novel on his own World War II service in the U.S. Coast Guard. Griffith had experienced such success with his previous service comedy, No Time for Sergeants
, that this was an attempt to cash in on it. "Onionhead" was marketed as an uproarious comedy but is actually a comedy-drama with some fairly dark themes. The picture also features James Gregory
, Rat Pack
comedian Joey Bishop
, and Claude Akins
.
college to join the armed forces after a quarrel with his co-ed sweetheart, Jo. He joins the Coast Guard, partly by chance due to the flip of a coin.
After boot training, Al is assigned to a buoy tender as a ship's cook. He encounters immediate hostility from the chief of the galley, Red Wildoe, as well as from new crew mates like Gutsell and Poznicki and an arrogant ensign named Higgins.
In a bar, Al picks up Stella, who appears to do this kind of thing with some regularity. They develop a strong attraction, but she seems to be holding out for something more.
A frustrated Al stops seeing her, whereupon he and the alcoholic Wildoe get drunk together and bond. He also befriends Gutsell by fixing him up with a girlfriend of Stella's and learns from Wildoe how to be a cook, making a number of embarrassing mistakes.
Wildoe abruptly proposes to Stella and they marry. A free-for-all breaks out at their wedding celebration, a jealous Al instigating a fight with soldiers who are clearly familiar with Stella from previous nights in the bar.
Pearl Harbor
is attacked and war declared. Wildoe is assigned to another vessel and ships out for nearly a year. During this time, Stella begins seeing other men. Al tries to prevent this on Wildoe's behalf, but can't resist Stella himself.
Aboard ship, Al becomes the new chief cook. Higgins is promoted to executive officer and cuts back on the crew's food budget to feather his own nest. Higgins also objects to finding Al's hair in his food, so Al shaves his scalp bald, earning the nickname "Onionhead."
Upon receiving a leave to attend his father's funeral, Al reconnects with Jo, realizing that she is the one he loves.
A final flirtation by Stella leads to Al calling her a tramp. She replies: "I can't help the way I am."
Back aboard ship, Al's attempt to expose Higgins's chicanery implicates the innocent captain as well. After engaging in combat at sea with a submarine
, Al gets the captain off the hook by refusing to produce any proof of Higgins' misdeeds. His punishment for the accusation against a fellow officer is being reassigned to Greenland
, but before he goes, Al privately slips the evidence to the captain, who will use it to court-martial Higgins.
as Al Woods
Felicia Farr
as Stella
Walter Matthau
as Red Wildoe
Erin O'Brien as Jo Hill
James Gregory
as the Skipper
Joey Bishop
as Sidney Gutsell
Roscoe Karns
as Windy Woods
Claude Akins
as Poznicki
Ray Danton
as Higgins
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
cutter during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, starring Andy Griffith
Andy Griffith
Andy Samuel Griffith is an American actor, director, producer, Grammy Award-winning Southern-gospel singer, and writer. He gained prominence in the starring role in director Elia Kazan's epic film A Face in the Crowd before he became better known for his television roles, playing the lead...
and featuring Felicia Farr
Felicia Farr
Felicia Farr is a former American actress and model.-Biography:Felicia Farr appeared in several modeling photo shoots and advertisements throughout the 1950s and 1960s...
, Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau was an American actor best known for his role as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and his frequent collaborations with Odd Couple star Jack Lemmon, as well as his role as Coach Buttermaker in the 1976 comedy The Bad News Bears...
, and Erin O'Brien
Erin Joanne O'Brien
Erin O'Brien is an American actress active during the mid-twentieth century and best known as the leading lady of arguably the first made-for-TV movie, Girl on the Run, which also served as the pilot for the television series 77 Sunset Strip...
.
The film was written by Nelson Gidding and Weldon Hill from Hill's novel, and was directed by Norman Taurog
Norman Taurog
Norman Rae Taurog was an American film director, and screenwriter.Between 1920 and 1968, Taurog directed over 140 films, and directed Elvis Presley in more movies than any other director...
. It was such a notorious flop that it drove Griffith, who had enjoyed enormous success in A Face in the Crowd and No Time for Sergeants
No Time for Sergeants
No Time for Sergeants is a 1954 best-selling novel by Mac Hyman, which was later adapted into a teleplay on The United States Steel Hour, a popular Broadway play and 1958 motion picture, as well as a 1964 television series. The book chronicles the misadventures of a country bumpkin named Will...
, into television, according to Griffith's videotaped interview in the Archive of American Television
Archive of American Television
The Archive of American Television is a division of the non-profit Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation that films interviews with notable people from all aspects of the television industry....
. Weldon Hill is the pseudonym of William R. Scott, a native Oklahoman who based the novel on his own World War II service in the U.S. Coast Guard. Griffith had experienced such success with his previous service comedy, No Time for Sergeants
No Time for Sergeants
No Time for Sergeants is a 1954 best-selling novel by Mac Hyman, which was later adapted into a teleplay on The United States Steel Hour, a popular Broadway play and 1958 motion picture, as well as a 1964 television series. The book chronicles the misadventures of a country bumpkin named Will...
, that this was an attempt to cash in on it. "Onionhead" was marketed as an uproarious comedy but is actually a comedy-drama with some fairly dark themes. The picture also features James Gregory
James Gregory (actor)
James Gregory was an American character actor noted for his deep, gravelly voice and playing brash roles such as McCarthy-like Senator John Iselin in The Manchurian Candidate , the audacious General Ursus in Beneath the Planet of the Apes, and loudmouthed Inspector Luger in Barney Miller...
, Rat Pack
Rat Pack
The Rat Pack was a group of actors originally centered on Humphrey Bogart. In the mid-1960s it was the name used by the press and the general public to refer to a later variation of the group, after Bogart's death, that called itself "the summit" or "the clan," featuring Frank Sinatra, Dean...
comedian Joey Bishop
Joey Bishop
Joey Bishop was an American entertainer who was perhaps best known for being a member of the "Rat Pack" with Frank Sinatra, Peter Lawford, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Dean Martin...
, and Claude Akins
Claude Akins
Claude Marion Akins was an American actor with a long career on stage, screen and television.Powerful in appearance and voice, Akins could be counted on to play the clever tough guy, on the side of good or bad, in movies and television. He is best remembered as Sheriff Lobo in the 1970s TV series...
.
Plot
In the spring of 1941, Al Woods quits an OklahomaOklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
college to join the armed forces after a quarrel with his co-ed sweetheart, Jo. He joins the Coast Guard, partly by chance due to the flip of a coin.
After boot training, Al is assigned to a buoy tender as a ship's cook. He encounters immediate hostility from the chief of the galley, Red Wildoe, as well as from new crew mates like Gutsell and Poznicki and an arrogant ensign named Higgins.
In a bar, Al picks up Stella, who appears to do this kind of thing with some regularity. They develop a strong attraction, but she seems to be holding out for something more.
A frustrated Al stops seeing her, whereupon he and the alcoholic Wildoe get drunk together and bond. He also befriends Gutsell by fixing him up with a girlfriend of Stella's and learns from Wildoe how to be a cook, making a number of embarrassing mistakes.
Wildoe abruptly proposes to Stella and they marry. A free-for-all breaks out at their wedding celebration, a jealous Al instigating a fight with soldiers who are clearly familiar with Stella from previous nights in the bar.
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor, known to Hawaiians as Puuloa, is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. Much of the harbor and surrounding lands is a United States Navy deep-water naval base. It is also the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific Fleet...
is attacked and war declared. Wildoe is assigned to another vessel and ships out for nearly a year. During this time, Stella begins seeing other men. Al tries to prevent this on Wildoe's behalf, but can't resist Stella himself.
Aboard ship, Al becomes the new chief cook. Higgins is promoted to executive officer and cuts back on the crew's food budget to feather his own nest. Higgins also objects to finding Al's hair in his food, so Al shaves his scalp bald, earning the nickname "Onionhead."
Upon receiving a leave to attend his father's funeral, Al reconnects with Jo, realizing that she is the one he loves.
A final flirtation by Stella leads to Al calling her a tramp. She replies: "I can't help the way I am."
Back aboard ship, Al's attempt to expose Higgins's chicanery implicates the innocent captain as well. After engaging in combat at sea with a submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
, Al gets the captain off the hook by refusing to produce any proof of Higgins' misdeeds. His punishment for the accusation against a fellow officer is being reassigned to Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
, but before he goes, Al privately slips the evidence to the captain, who will use it to court-martial Higgins.
Cast
Andy GriffithAndy Griffith
Andy Samuel Griffith is an American actor, director, producer, Grammy Award-winning Southern-gospel singer, and writer. He gained prominence in the starring role in director Elia Kazan's epic film A Face in the Crowd before he became better known for his television roles, playing the lead...
as Al Woods
Felicia Farr
Felicia Farr
Felicia Farr is a former American actress and model.-Biography:Felicia Farr appeared in several modeling photo shoots and advertisements throughout the 1950s and 1960s...
as Stella
Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau was an American actor best known for his role as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and his frequent collaborations with Odd Couple star Jack Lemmon, as well as his role as Coach Buttermaker in the 1976 comedy The Bad News Bears...
as Red Wildoe
Erin O'Brien as Jo Hill
James Gregory
James Gregory (actor)
James Gregory was an American character actor noted for his deep, gravelly voice and playing brash roles such as McCarthy-like Senator John Iselin in The Manchurian Candidate , the audacious General Ursus in Beneath the Planet of the Apes, and loudmouthed Inspector Luger in Barney Miller...
as the Skipper
Joey Bishop
Joey Bishop
Joey Bishop was an American entertainer who was perhaps best known for being a member of the "Rat Pack" with Frank Sinatra, Peter Lawford, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Dean Martin...
as Sidney Gutsell
Roscoe Karns
Roscoe Karns
Roscoe Karns was an American actor. He appeared in nearly 150 films between 1915 and 1964.He played the title role in the popular DuMont Television Network series Rocky King, Inside Detective from 1950 to 1954...
as Windy Woods
Claude Akins
Claude Akins
Claude Marion Akins was an American actor with a long career on stage, screen and television.Powerful in appearance and voice, Akins could be counted on to play the clever tough guy, on the side of good or bad, in movies and television. He is best remembered as Sheriff Lobo in the 1970s TV series...
as Poznicki
Ray Danton
Ray Danton
Ray Danton , also known as Raymond Danton, was a radio, film, stage, and television actor, director, and producer whose most famous role was The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond...
as Higgins