The D.I. (film)
Encyclopedia
The D.I. is a black-and-white
military
drama
film
starring, produced and directed by Jack Webb
. The film was produced by Jack Webb's production company Mark VII Limited
and distributed by Warner Brothers.
The film was the first screenplay by former Marine screenwriter James Lee Barrett
and was based on his teleplay
The Murder of a Sand Flea. Barrett had been on Parris Island
as a recruit in 1950.
on Parris Island
, has a thorn in his side, Private Owens, who always caves when the pressure's on. Convinced he can make Owens into Marine material, Moore pushes Owens to the point of desertion.
Barrett's screenplay expanded the play by introducing subplots of Moore having a romance with a local shop girl (played by Webb's real wife of the time Jackie Loughery
) and having Owens' mother (Virginia Gregg
) make a trip to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot
to beg the Corps to keep her son in to make a man out of him.
that took place at Parris Island on the night of April 8, 1956, the Marine Corps was deluged for requests from various producers to make films exploiting the incident. Unlike many producers seeking to make exploitation film
s about Marine Corps brutality, Jack Webb based his treatment on a teleplay by former Marine James Lee Barrett
The Murder of a Sand Flea broadcast on the Kraft Television Theatre
on 10 October 1956 with Lin McCarthy repeating his role. As the screenplay made no mention of the incident of Ribbon Creek and gave a positive view of the Marine Corps, the Marines enthusiastically cooperated with Webb providing many technical advisers and actual Marines to appear in the film as Marines. Portions of the film were shot at Camp Pendleton, California. The film premiered at Parris Island in May 1957 and was shown during the training of Marine Corps Drill Instructors; as Webb's Drill Instructor neither used profanity or physically struck his recruits.
Singer Monica Lewis provided a musical interlude, performing the provocative song "(If'n You Don't) Somebody Else Will," backed by the Ray Conniff
orchestra and chorus, which was released as a single by Columbia Records
.
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
starring, produced and directed by Jack Webb
Jack Webb
John Randolph "Jack" Webb , also known by the pseudonym John Randolph, was an American actor, television producer, director and screenwriter, who is most famous for his role as Sergeant Joe Friday in the radio and television series Dragnet...
. The film was produced by Jack Webb's production company Mark VII Limited
Mark VII Limited
Mark VII Limited was the production company of actor, producer, and director Jack Webb, and was active from 1951 to 1982. Many of its series were produced in association with Universal Television; most of them aired on the NBC television network in the U.S....
and distributed by Warner Brothers.
The film was the first screenplay by former Marine screenwriter James Lee Barrett
James Lee Barrett
James Lee Barrett was an American producer, screenwriter, and writer.Barrett, along with Peter Udell and Phillip Rose won the 1975 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for Shenandoah, which was based on his 1965 film by the same name, which starred James Stewart.Other notable works written by...
and was based on his teleplay
Teleplay
A teleplay is a television play, a comedy or drama written or adapted for television. The term surfaced during the 1950s with wide usage to distinguish a television plays from stage plays for the theater and screenplays written for films...
The Murder of a Sand Flea. Barrett had been on Parris Island
Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island
Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island is an military installation located within Port Royal, South Carolina, approximately south of Beaufort, the community that is typically associated with the installation. MCRD Parris Island is used for the training of enlisted Marines...
as a recruit in 1950.
Plot
Technical Sergeant Jim Moore, a Drill InstructorDrill instructor
A drill instructor is a non-commissioned officer or Staff Non-Commissioned Officer in the armed forces or police forces with specific duties that vary by country. In the U.S. armed forces, they are assigned the duty of indoctrinating new recruits entering the military into the customs and...
on Parris Island
Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island
Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island is an military installation located within Port Royal, South Carolina, approximately south of Beaufort, the community that is typically associated with the installation. MCRD Parris Island is used for the training of enlisted Marines...
, has a thorn in his side, Private Owens, who always caves when the pressure's on. Convinced he can make Owens into Marine material, Moore pushes Owens to the point of desertion.
Barrett's screenplay expanded the play by introducing subplots of Moore having a romance with a local shop girl (played by Webb's real wife of the time Jackie Loughery
Jackie Loughery
Jacqueline "Jackie" Loughery is best known as the first Miss New York USA and winner of the first Miss USA beauty pageant, in Long Beach, California. In 1952, she won the title only after a second ballot broke a first-place tie...
) and having Owens' mother (Virginia Gregg
Virginia Gregg
Virginia Gregg Burket was an American actress best known for her many roles in radio dramas.Born in Harrisburg, Illinois, Virginia Gregg was the daughter of musician Dewey Alphaleta and businessman Edward William Gregg.-Radio:Gregg was a prolific radio actor, heard on such programs as The...
) make a trip to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot
Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island
Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island is an military installation located within Port Royal, South Carolina, approximately south of Beaufort, the community that is typically associated with the installation. MCRD Parris Island is used for the training of enlisted Marines...
to beg the Corps to keep her son in to make a man out of him.
Production
Following the Ribbon Creek incidentRibbon Creek Incident
The Ribbon Creek incident is the most common term for events which occurred on the night of April 8, 1956, when Staff Sergeant Matthew McKeon, a junior drill instructor at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina, marched his assigned platoon into Ribbon Creek, a swampy tidal...
that took place at Parris Island on the night of April 8, 1956, the Marine Corps was deluged for requests from various producers to make films exploiting the incident. Unlike many producers seeking to make exploitation film
Exploitation film
Exploitation film is a type of film that is promoted by "exploiting" often lurid subject matter. The term "exploitation" is common in film marketing, used for all types of films to mean promotion or advertising. These films then need something to exploit, such as a big star, special effects, sex,...
s about Marine Corps brutality, Jack Webb based his treatment on a teleplay by former Marine James Lee Barrett
James Lee Barrett
James Lee Barrett was an American producer, screenwriter, and writer.Barrett, along with Peter Udell and Phillip Rose won the 1975 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for Shenandoah, which was based on his 1965 film by the same name, which starred James Stewart.Other notable works written by...
The Murder of a Sand Flea broadcast on the Kraft Television Theatre
Kraft Television Theatre
Kraft Television Theatre is an American drama/anthology television series that began May 7, 1947 on NBC, airing at 7:30pm on Wednesday evenings until December of that year. In January 1948, it moved to 9pm on Wednesdays, continuing in that timeslot until 1958. Initially produced by the J...
on 10 October 1956 with Lin McCarthy repeating his role. As the screenplay made no mention of the incident of Ribbon Creek and gave a positive view of the Marine Corps, the Marines enthusiastically cooperated with Webb providing many technical advisers and actual Marines to appear in the film as Marines. Portions of the film were shot at Camp Pendleton, California. The film premiered at Parris Island in May 1957 and was shown during the training of Marine Corps Drill Instructors; as Webb's Drill Instructor neither used profanity or physically struck his recruits.
Singer Monica Lewis provided a musical interlude, performing the provocative song "(If'n You Don't) Somebody Else Will," backed by the Ray Conniff
Ray Conniff
Joseph Raymond Conniff was an American bandleader and arranger best known for his Ray Conniff Singers during the 1960s.-Biography:...
orchestra and chorus, which was released as a single by Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
.