 down periscope is a 1996 20th century fox comedy film produced by robert lawrence and directed by david s. ward, starring kelsey grammer, lauren holly and rob schneider and co-starring bruce dern, harry dean stanton, william h. macy and rip torn. lieutenant commander thomas dodge fights to save his naval career while also being saddled with a group of misfit seamen brought together as the crew of his first command, a rusted but recommissioned wwii-era diesel submarine, the uss stingray, set to participate in a special naval war-game. ==plot== lieutenant commander thomas dodge (kelsey grammer), a capable yet somewhat unorthodox u.s. navy submariner, is about to be passed over a third time for command of his own nuclear submarine; this because of his unconventional ways and because of a notorious genital tattoo he received while drunk. failure to secure a command will result in dodge being dropped from the navy's command program and an assignment to a desk job, and that means he'll resign from the navy. during his career, dodge has made an enemy of rear admiral yancy graham (bruce dern), who strongly speaks out against dodge's command promotion. vice admiral dean winslow (rip torn), who likes dodge and his methods, finds the perfect use for the lt. commander: winslow launches a war-game to test the navy's defenses against possible attack by old diesel-powered submarines in the hands of us enemies. among those defenses being tested is the los angeles-class submarine uss orlando, commanded by commander carl knox (william h. macy), dodge's former co. for this purpose, dodge is selected to command the rusty world war ii era balao-class diesel sub, the uss stingray, ss-161. adm. winslow gives dodge the order to "don't go by the book" and to "think like a pirate" and advises that if he can win the war-game, including sinking a dummy target ship positioned in norfolk harbor, winslow will consider dodge for command of a nuclear submarine. adm. graham, however
1990s_comedy_films 1996_films 20th_Century_Fox_films American_comedy_films English-language_films Military_humor_in_film Submarine_films United_States_Navy_in_films