Down Periscope
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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.
Plot
Lieutenant Commander Thomas Dodge (Kelsey Grammer), a capable US Navy officer, is about to be denied command of his own submarine for a third time because of his rather unconventional ways and his reputation about a tattoo on his penis reading 'Welcome aboard!' (which he'd gotten after a crash with a Russian sub before Murmansk and a drunken rout following the incident, but is never seen in the movie). He is particularly opposed by Rear Admiral Graham (Bruce Dern). Failure to secure his command will result in him being dropped from the command program. His commander, Vice Admiral Winslow (Rip Torn), manages to convince the Navy to give him a last chance: to test the Navy's defenses against enemy submarines. And for this purpose, Dodge is granted the command over a rusty and outdated Diesel engine vessel, the USS Stingray, which should simulate a situation with Russian Diesel subs sold to terrorists.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 traditonal rules of warfare and play by his own discretion. Winslow tells Dodge that if he can win the wargame, including sinking a mock battleship in Charleston harbor, he will do what he can to get Dodge command of a Los Angeles-class submarine.
His opponent in the wargame is Rear Admiral Graham. 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 Pascoe (Rob Schneider), rebellious Engineman 1st Class Stapanek, sharp-eared Seaman 2nd Class 'Sonar', compulsive gambler Seaman 'Spots', and the not-so-culinary cook Seaman Buckman. Also, as part of a pilot project insituted 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.
Using risky and unorthodox strategies to offset their technological disadvantage, Dodge and the Stingray crew manage to take out their assigned target in Norfolk Harbor. After this, Dodge violates the rules concerning the containment area, choosing to obey Admiral Winslow's orders to "think like a pirate." Pascoe attempts to take command away from Dodge because of this, but the crew refuses to assist, and Dodge forces him to walk the plank. Graham then assumes personal command of the wargame and is able to "kill" the Stingray, but not before it launches two torpedoes at the dummy target in Charleston harbor. Since the shots were fired prior to the kill, and they found their target, Dodge is the victor of the game.
Afterwards, Graham protests that Dodge left the containment area, thus defying a direct order. Winslow overrides him, pointing out that the containment area had been narrowed without proper authorization and that Dodge had higher orders from Winslow himself. Winslow advises Graham that he can forget about his third star.
Winslow congratulations 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. It is also hinted that Dodge and Lake begin a romantic (or at least physical) relationship.
Trivia
The USS Stingray in the movie was filmed on USS Pampanito, a Balao-class submarine from WW2, now a museum ship and memorial in San Francisco.
In some countries, this movie is called "Pipe Dreams" .
External links
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