The Wackiest Ship in the Army (film)
Encyclopedia
The Wackiest Ship in the Army is a 1960 CinemaScope
comedy-drama
war film
starring Jack Lemmon
, Ricky Nelson
and Chips Rafferty
. It was filmed at Pearl Harbor
and Kauai
.
, Australia
, is surprised to be assigned command of a sailing ship, the USS Echo. The only crew member who knows how to work a ship with sails is eager young Ensign Tommy Hanson, who cost Crandall a yacht race with a mistake before the war.
Crandall tries to refuse this dubious command, but Hanson and Vandewater wear down his resistance. Vandewater points out Crandall's poor fitness report and advises that if he doesn't take this command, he'll probably never get another. Hanson takes Crandell out drinking with some of the men so he'll feel guilty about abandoning them.
The Echo barely makes out it out of the harbor, sailing straight into a storm. When it arrives in Port Moresby
, Crandall is supposed to train a replacement to deliver a coast watcher named Patterson to a location only a shallow-draft
vessel can reach. However, the replacement commander strikes Crandall as stiff-necked and unqualified to handle this kind of mission, so he takes the ship out under his own command to deliver Patterson.
Making the crossing in a not very convincing disguise as a native trading vessel, Crandall and his crew are spotted and photographed by an enemy plane. While they are delivering their passenger, a Japanese force from a passing war fleet boards the scow and captures the landing party when they return.
Crandall manages to rally his men to take the ship back. He is then 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 abandons ship as the guns open fire on the Echo and destroy her.
The crew survives to be rescued, and Crandall is given command of a modern destroyer
whilst Hanson gains command of a sub chaser for their role in helping to win the Battle of the Bismarck Sea
.
.
CinemaScope
CinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically...
comedy-drama
Comedy-drama
Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
war film
War film
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...
starring Jack Lemmon
Jack Lemmon
John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III was an American actor and musician. He starred in more than 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Mister Roberts , Days of Wine and Roses, The Great Race, Irma la Douce, The Odd Couple, Save the Tiger John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8, 1925June...
, Ricky Nelson
Ricky Nelson
Eric Hilliard Nelson , better known as Ricky Nelson or Rick Nelson, was an American singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, and actor...
and Chips Rafferty
Chips Rafferty
Chips Rafferty MBE was an iconic Australian actor. Called "the living symbol of the typical Australian", Rafferty's career stretched from the 1940s until his death in 1971, and during this time he performed regularly in major Australian feature films as well as appearing in British and American...
. It was filmed at 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...
and Kauai
Kauai
Kauai or Kauai, known as Tauai in the ancient Kaua'i dialect, is geologically the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands. With an area of , it is the fourth largest of the main islands in the Hawaiian archipelago, and the 21st largest island in the United States. Known also as the "Garden Isle",...
.
Plot summary
It is wartime. Lt. Rip Crandall, an expert yachtsman in civilian life, now based at Townsville, QueenslandTownsville, Queensland
Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Australia, in the state of Queensland. Adjacent to the central section of the Great Barrier Reef, it is in the dry tropics region of Queensland. Townsville is Australia's largest urban centre north of the Sunshine Coast, with a 2006 census...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, is surprised to be assigned command of a sailing ship, the USS Echo. The only crew member who knows how to work a ship with sails is eager young Ensign Tommy Hanson, who cost Crandall a yacht race with a mistake before the war.
Crandall tries to refuse this dubious command, but Hanson and Vandewater wear down his resistance. Vandewater points out Crandall's poor fitness report and advises that if he doesn't take this command, he'll probably never get another. Hanson takes Crandell out drinking with some of the men so he'll feel guilty about abandoning them.
The Echo barely makes out it out of the harbor, sailing straight into a storm. When it arrives in Port Moresby
Port Moresby
Port Moresby , or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea . It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the southeastern coast of the island of New Guinea, which made it a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43...
, Crandall is supposed to train a replacement to deliver a coast watcher named Patterson to a location only a shallow-draft
Draft (hull)
The draft of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull , with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained...
vessel can reach. However, the replacement commander strikes Crandall as stiff-necked and unqualified to handle this kind of mission, so he takes the ship out under his own command to deliver Patterson.
Making the crossing in a not very convincing disguise as a native trading vessel, Crandall and his crew are spotted and photographed by an enemy plane. While they are delivering their passenger, a Japanese force from a passing war fleet boards the scow and captures the landing party when they return.
Crandall manages to rally his men to take the ship back. He is then 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 abandons ship as the guns open fire on the Echo and destroy her.
The crew survives to be rescued, and Crandall is given command of a modern destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
whilst Hanson gains command of a sub chaser for their role in helping to win the Battle of the Bismarck Sea
Battle of the Bismarck Sea
The Battle of the Bismarck Sea took place in the South West Pacific Area during World War II. During the course of the battle, aircraft of the U.S. 5th Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force attacked a Japanese convoy that was carrying troops to Lae, New Guinea...
.
Cast
- Jack LemmonJack LemmonJohn Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III was an American actor and musician. He starred in more than 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Mister Roberts , Days of Wine and Roses, The Great Race, Irma la Douce, The Odd Couple, Save the Tiger John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8, 1925June...
as Lt. Rip Crandell - Ricky NelsonRicky NelsonEric Hilliard Nelson , better known as Ricky Nelson or Rick Nelson, was an American singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, and actor...
as Ens. Tommy J. Hanson - John LundJohn LundJohn Lund was an American film actor who is probably best remembered for his role in the film A Foreign Affair , directed by Billy Wilder.-Background:...
as Lt. Cmdr. Wilbur F. Vandewater - Chips RaffertyChips RaffertyChips Rafferty MBE was an iconic Australian actor. Called "the living symbol of the typical Australian", Rafferty's career stretched from the 1940s until his death in 1971, and during this time he performed regularly in major Australian feature films as well as appearing in British and American...
as Patterson (coast watcher) - Tom TullyTom TullyTom Tully was an American actor.-Biography:Born in Durango, Colorado, Thomas Kane Tulley served in the United States Navy, was a private pilot and worked as junior reporter for the Denver Post before going into acting because he felt the pay was better. Tully started out on stage before eventually...
as Capt. McClung - Joby BakerJoby BakerJoby Baker is a Canadian born actor and painter.He was born in Montreal, Quebec. In the early 1960s he made guest appearances in TV series including Dr. Kildare and The Dick Van Dyke Show and appeared in the Elvis Presley movie Girl Happy...
as Josh Davidson - Mike KellinMike Kellin-Early life:Kellin was born Myron Kellin in Hartford, Connecticut, the son of Sophia and Samuel Kellin, Russian Jewish immigrants. He was educated at Boston University and Trinity College...
as Chief Petty Officer - Warren BerlingerWarren BerlingerWarren Berlinger is an American character actor, with both Broadway runs and over a thousand television appearances to his credit.-Personal life:...
as Radioman 2nd Class A.J. 'Sparks' Sparks - Patricia DriscollPatricia DriscollPatricia Driscoll is an Irish actress, who has appeared on both television and in films. She was born in Cork, Ireland....
as Maggie, Lt. Cmdr. Vanderwater's secretary
TV series
The story was also used for the 1965 TV series The Wackiest Ship in the Army (TV series)The Wackiest Ship in the Army (TV series)
The Wackiest Ship in the Army is an American comedy series that aired for one season on NBC between September 19, 1965, and April 17, 1966. Produced by Harry Ackerman and Herbert Hirschman, the series is loosely based on the 1960 film starring Jack Lemmon and Ricky Nelson.-Synopsis:The series is...
.
Ship
- The USS Echo was based on the real-life USS EchoUSS Echo (IX-95)USS Echo , an unclassified miscellaneous vessel, was the only ship of the United States Navy to be named for the nymph Echo. A sailing scow, she was used as a supply ship in the South Pacific from 1942 to 1944.- History :...
, a 40 year old schooner or scow that was transferred from the New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
government to the US Navy in 1942, and returned to the New Zealand government in 1944.