Information
| Year: | 1963 |
| Rating: | 6.3(697) |
| Listed in: | Biography, Drama, War |
| Directed by: | Leslie H. Martinson |
| Actors: | Cliff Robertson Ty Hardin James Gregory Robert Culp Grant Williams Lew Gallo |
| "Most men would have given up...But not the crew of PT 109" | |
Cast
| Directed by | |
|---|---|
| Leslie H. Martinson | |
| Actors | |
| Cliff Robertson | as Lt. John F. Kennedy |
| Ty Hardin | as Ens. Leonard J. Thom |
| James Gregory | as Cmdr. C.R. Ritchie |
| Robert Culp | as Ens. George 'Barney' Ross |
| Grant Williams | as Lt., Alvin Cluster |
| Lew Gallo | as Yeoman Rogers |
| Errol John | as Benjamin Kevu |
| Michael Pate | as Lt. Reginald Evans |
| Robert Blake | as Charles 'Bucky' Harris |
| William Douglas | as Gerald Zinser |
| Biff Elliot | as Edgar E. Mauer |
| Norman Fell | as Edmund Drewitch |
| Sam Gilman | as Raymond Starkey |
| Clyde Howdy | as Leon Drawdy |
| Buzz Martin | as Maurice Kowal |
| James McCallion | as Pat McMahon |
| Joseph Gallison | as Harold Mamey |
| Sammy Reese | as Andrew Kirksey |
| Glenn Sipes | as William Johnson |
| John Ward | as John Maguire |
| David Whorf | as Raymond Albert |
| Roger Davis | as Radioman |
| Andrew Duggan | as Narrator |
| Jerry Earle Kraft | as Extra |
| George Takei | as Helmsman on Japanese destroyer |
Movie info
| Languages: | English |
| Plot: | Dramatization of President John F. Kennedy's war time experiences during which he captained a PT boat, took it to battle and had it sunk by a Japanese destroyer. He and the survivors had to make their way to an island, find food and shelter and signal the Navy for rescue. |
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Goofs
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Revealing mistakes: When Ritchie shoots down the Japanese plane, you can clearly see the smoke generator hooked onto the middle part of the wing. There is nothing here that would generate smoke if it had actually been hit by gunfire (the plane may explode or catch fire due to the gasoline in the wing, but it wouldn't just smoke). Continuity: Commander Ritchie (James Gregory) is in the galley having a cup of coffee when the ship crashes into a dock, and the coffee spills all over his uniform shirt. When he appears on deck moments later to see what happened, his shirt is dry and spotless. DATE: Several American flags, in long shot, are 50-star flags (48 in 1943). Revealing mistakes: When Cmdr. Richie comes to the PT 109 to inspect it, he arrives in a jeep. When Cmdr. Richie comes to the PT 109 to be taken to the new base he arrives in a jeep. It is the same shot in both scenes (you can tell from the duffel bag in both scenes). Revealing mistakes: When Kennedy carries Pappy out of the water after swimming to the first island you can see the plank in the water that he walks on. The plank was put there so the actor could miss stepping on the coral. Later when Kennedy swims out there is no plank in the water and you can see him flinching as he walks on the coral. DATE: In the air raid scene at the start of the film, one of the crewmen manning an anti-aircraft gun is black. Non-white sailors in World War II were assigned almost exclusively to mess duties at sea and menial labor on shore. The services weren't desegregated until after the war. Continuity: When Jack Kennedy is down in the boat inspecting his quarters and the land crab shows up by his feet, the big claw is on the crab's right side, when Ens. Leonard Thom appears in the scene approximately 35 seconds later with Jack Kennedy and Ens. Thom asked the size of the crew, Jack Kennedy replies one land crab. When the land crab appears, his large claw is on the left side of the crab. Fact errors: In the film, PT 109 is shown rescuing the remnants of a Marine patrol off Choiseul Island while under enemy fire. This rescue actually occurred on November 2, 1943 - 3 months AFTER PT 109 had been rammed and sunk - but by PT 59, a PT which had been converted into a gunboat and was JFK's second and last command in the South Pacific. Continuity: When Cmdr. Ritchie spills the coffee on his shirt, he is seen at the mess table in PT 109's forward crew's quarters, but when he emerges on deck to see what has happened, he comes up through a hatch at the stern of the boat under the 20mm gun. This hatch is to the lazarette, a small workroom to the rear of the engine room. Ritchie would have had to (quite needlessly) pass through almost the entire boat below decks from bow to stern (front to rear) - through the galley, the wardroom, the dayroom, the engine room, and the lazarette - to emerge from that hatch, passing four other hatches to the deck on the way. Fact errors: The cylindrical smoke generators on the sterns of the recreated PT boats in the movie face the wrong way. Real PT boat's generators were installed with the smoke-emitting nozzle to port (left). The movie boat's nozzles are on the starboard (right) sides of the generators. Fact errors: Unmodified (except for paint) American AT-6 trainers are used to represent Japanese aircraft. |
Quotes
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Charles 'Bucky' Harris: Good afternoon, sir. Crew's compartment ready for inspection. Harris, Gunner's Mate Second, standing by. Cmdr. C.R. Ritchie: Good afternoon. [He looks around, and then opens one of the lockers. On the inside of the door is a picture of a luscious pin-up girl] Somebody's kid sister? Charles 'Bucky' Harris: Sorry, sir. Lt. John F. Kennedy: He's very sorry, sir. Cmdr. C.R. Ritchie: Oh, no, no. Don't apologize... the most seaworthy thing I've seen on this boat. Ens. Leonard J. Thom: [reporting aboard the PT109] Mr. Kennedy? Ensign Leonard Thom, your exec. [they exchange salutes] Lt. John F. Kennedy: Oh, hi. Glad to meet you, Leonard. [they shake hands] Lt. John F. Kennedy: Welcome aboard. Ens. Leonard J. Thom: [looking around the boat] How long did they give you to put it in shape? Lt. John F. Kennedy: Well, we've used about half the time just talking right here. |
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