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The Wackiest Ship in the Army

The Wackiest Ship in the Army

1960Movie⏱️ 1h 39mApproved
ComedyDramaWar
6.3
IMDB Rating
2,803 votes

During WW2, Lt. Rip Crandall, who was a yachtsman before the war, takes command of the USS Echo, a sailing ship, for a secret mission in waters patrolled by Japanese warships.

Director
Richard Murphy
Writers
Richard Murphy, Herb Margolis, William Raynor
Stars
Jack Lemmon, Ricky Nelson, John Lund
Release Date
December 29, 1960
Language
English, Japanese
Country
United States
💬 26
Reviews
📋 1.7K
Watchlists
📽️ View on IMDB

🎭 Top Cast

Jack Lemmon
Jack Lemmon
as Lt. Rip Crandall
Ricky Nelson
Ricky Nelson
as Ens. Tommy Hanson
John Lund
John Lund
as Lt. Cmdr. Wilbur Vandewater
Chips Rafferty
Chips Rafferty
as Patterson
Tom Tully
Tom Tully
as Capt. McClung
Joby Baker
Joby Baker
as Josh Davidson
Warren Berlinger
Warren Berlinger
as Radioman A.J. Sparks
Patricia Driscoll
Patricia Driscoll
as Maggie
Mike Kellin
Mike Kellin
as Chief Mate Jack MacCarthy
Richard Anderson
Richard Anderson
as Lt. Dennis Foster

💰 Box Office

$1,236
Worldwide Gross

🎬 Technical Specs

Aspect Ratio
2.35 : 1
Color
Color
Filming Location
Kaua'i, Hawaii, USA
Production
Columbia Pictures

🏷️ Keywords

chief petty officermissionsecretlieutenantnavy

🎯 Categories

ComedyDramaWar

⭐ Featured Review

Lemmon rules the waves
by benbrae762006-08-29
10/10

"I've just watched this movie again (and taped it), and found it just as amusing as when I first watched it 40 odd years ago (just after it's release in fact). Jack Lemmon never fails to impress, but after all this time I now realise that Ricky Nelson (although a great loss to the music world) wasn't the greatest of actors. However his naivety in this department somehow added charm to this movie. The WWII storyline based on true events couldn't be simpler. An American naval officer/ex-yachtsman Lt Rip Crandall (Jack Lemmon), and a young Ensign Tommy Hansen (Ricky Nelson), a..."

💡 Did You Know?

The original name of the boat in the movie was the "Fiesta". She was built in Hong Kong in 1932 entirely of teakwood. She was a 72 foot gaff-rigged schooner and came with a 165hp auxiliary diesel engine, weighed 28 net tons, drew 8 feet of water and could make 7.5 knots under power. She was also equipped with 3 tiled heads (bathrooms), two of them with showers, 1400 gallon fresh water tank, a 19 cubic foot deep freezer, and a 24 cubic foot refrigerator. Prior to the movie the Fiesta was owned by Martin J. Vitousek and his wife the former Beatrice Leiseder. (Source: The San Francisco Chronicle Sept. 14, 1952).

📖 Synopsis

During WW2, Lt. Rip Crandall, who was a yachtsman before the war, takes command of the USS Echo, a sailing ship, for a secret mission in waters patrolled by Japanese warships.