Down Periscope (1996)

Plot of Down Periscope: Lt Cmdr. Tom Dodge who has been Exec of the modern sub USS Orlando, is assigned to the command of the old diesel boat USS Stingray, with a scratch crew of misfits, and is given the task of simulating an attack on a navy harbour. The crew include Emily who is the diving officer, as an experiment whether women can be part of a submarine crew. The boat is fixed up and despite the crew and the Exec who is a shouting idiot, they easily hoodwink the defenders and enter the harbour. One of the reasons is because diesel submarines can be very quiet, while atomic subs cannot, due to their need to pump cooling water. Dodge has an enemy, Admiral Graham who, in order to prevent Dodge winning the war game takes over as commander of the USS Orlando, and the two submarines edge their way about under water trying to get the upper hand. When Dodge sees a large tanker making its way towards the port he sees that he can win the game.

Content: No sex or nudity, though there is a running joke about Dodge having a tattoo on his dick. Buckman, the cook, is constantly smoking a cigar. Most of the film is spent either in the control room of the Stingray, or the control room of the USS Orlando. The Stingray is occasionally seen on the surface rolling about and sometimes sailing across the harbour with lots of the US reserve fleet in the background. There are also shots of an atomic sub sliding through the waves. Under water we sometimes see both the subs and they play cat and mouse, or mouse and cat. The admirals sit round tables and argue. On the Stingray the Exec shouts a lot until they throw him off.

A View: I can see what they were getting at, but despite a lot of effort being made this movie is just not funny, or engaging. There is a bit of slapstick, and the shouty executive officer is really, really irritating. It was a relief when they got rid of him. And of course we knew exactly how it might progress right from the first frame. I have no idea how things go on American submarines but I know something about how tankers operate, and it would be very unusual for a commercial tanker to be provided with two propellers and no rudders, as portrayed in the film. So unfortunately not really a watch even for nothing, even if you are a Frasier fan.

Fun Fact:  One of the posters for the film could be seen as quite raunchy. I’m surprised it made it into the public domain. You can’t unsee it once it has revealed itself.