''The Frogmen'' is a 1951 American

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

from

Twentieth Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

, produced by

Samuel G. Engel Samuel G. Engel (December 29, 1904 – April 7, 1984) was a screenwriter and film producer from the 1930s until the 1960s. He wrote and produced such films as ''My Darling Clementine'' (1946), ''Sitting Pretty (1948 film), Sitting Pretty'' ...

, directed by Lloyd Bacon, that stars

Richard Widmark Richard Weedt Widmark (December 26, 1914March 24, 2008) was an American film, stage, and television actor and producer. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as the villainous Tommy Udo in his debut film, ''Kiss of Death'' (1947) ...

Dana Andrews Carver Dana Andrews (January 1, 1909 – December 17, 1992) was an American film actor who became a major star in what is now known as film noir. A leading man during the 1940s, he continued acting in less prestigious roles and character parts ...

, and

Gary Merrill Gary Fred Merrill (August 2, 1915 – March 5, 1990) was an American film and television actor whose credits included more than 50 feature films, a half-dozen mostly short-lived TV series, and dozens of television guest appearances. He starr ...

. The film's storyline is based on operations by

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Underwater Demolition Team Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT), or frogmen, were amphibious units created by the United States Navy during World War II with specialized non-tactical missions. They were predecessors of the navy's current SEAL teams. Their primary WWII fun ...

s, popularly known as "

frogmen A frogman is someone who is trained in scuba diving or swimming underwater in a tactical capacity that includes military, and in some European countries, police work. Such personnel are also known by the more formal names of combat diver, comb ...

", against the Japanese Army and naval forces. It was the first such film about

scuba diving Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for " Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chr ...

and became a popular cultural hit. Following the opening credits, ''The Frogmen'' has an on-screen written statement: "This is a true story based on incidents which occurred in the latter part of World War II. It deals with one of the most hazardous and unique branches of the Armed Forces ... the Underwater Demolition Teams. This film could not have been produced without the active cooperation of the

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

and the

". Underwater Demolition Teams have been used since World War II for

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

duties, clearing underwater obstacles planted by the enemy, advance landings on beaches, and offensive underwater attacks on enemy ships; they were the forerunners of the

Navy SEALs The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main functions are conducting sm ...

. At the

24th Academy Awards The 24th Academy Awards were held on March 20, 1952, honoring the films of 1951. The ceremony was hosted by Danny Kaye. ''An American in Paris'' and '' A Place in the Sun'' each received six Oscars, splitting Best Picture and Best Director, r ...

for films from 1951, the film was nominated for Best Cinematography (Black-and-White) for Norbert Brodine and Best Screenplay (Motion Picture Story) for

Oscar Millard Oscar Millard (March 1, 1908 – December 7, 1990) was an English writer who published two books set in Belgium before finding success in Hollywood as a screenwriter. Author In 1936 Millard published a biography of Adolphe Max, who had been ...

. However, the award for Cinematography went to '' A Place in the Sun'' ( William C. Mellor) while the Story award went to ''

Seven Days to Noon ''Seven Days to Noon'' is a 1950 British drama/thriller film directed by John and Roy Boulting. Paul Dehn and James Bernard won the Academy Award for Best Story for their work on the film. Plot In 1950, the British Prime Minister receives ...

'' ( Paul Dehn and James Bernard).

Plot

During

, Navy Lt. Cmdr. John Lawrence (

), a strict disciplinarian, is put in charge of Underwater Demolition Team 4 after its former leader, Lt. Cmdr. Jack Cassidy, is killed in action. The unit's men are distrustful of the professionally aloof Lawrence, and the relationship immediately takes a turn for the worse when they brawl with sailors aboard their

transport ship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable land troops directly on shore, typicall ...

. The ship's captain, Lt. Cmdr. Pete Vincent (

), understands the natural resentment the elite UDT men feel over the death of Cassidy, which they have transferred to Lawrence, and offers to go easy on the team at captain's mast. The "by-the-book" Lawrence, however, elects to hold his own mast and disciplines the entire team just before a dangerous reconnaissance mission to ascertain the safest landing beach during an upcoming invasion of a Japanese-held island. Lawrence is scornfully perceived as afraid when he splits up the

platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may rang ...

and puts team executive officer Lt. Klinger in charge of a diversion to the more dangerous beach, where the main landing is scheduled. During the mission, Lawrence cuts his leg on

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and ...

, and the diversionary section's pick-up boat receives a direct hit from artillery during pick-up operations, killing Klinger and most of his men. Lawrence sees that two

, including Chief Jake Flannigan (

), are still in the water, but rather than risk loss of the information already gathered, orders a rescue boat launched and continues back to the transport. The rescue succeeds in recovering the two swimmers, but Lawrence's apparently cowardly action increases the unit's ill will toward him. An embittered Flannigan and some of the others request transfer to another unit, but Lawrence insists that they first complete the next day's mission to clear the new landing site for the invasion. The next morning, Lawrence, who is sick with coral poisoning, does not reveal his illness when he puts Flannigan in charge of the mission and stays behind. Convinced now that Lawrence is a coward, the men angrily but efficiently complete their task, although "Pappy" Creighton ( Jeffrey Hunter), whose brother is a

U.S. Marine The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through com ...

, sneaks onto the beach with Flannigan to leave a sign "welcoming" the Marines. Creighton is shot after the prank, but Flannigan tows him to the pick-up boat. Back on the ship, Creighton is put in traction because of the bullets in his spine, and Flannigan confesses to Lawrence that the prank caused Creighton's injuries. Lawrence furiously upbraids Flannigan for giving in to the prank, and soon all of the men request transfers. While Lawrence is discussing the transfer requests with Vincent, a

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...

hits the ship but does not detonate. Lawrence volunteers to disarm the torpedo, which has lodged in the

sick bay A sick bay is a compartment in a ship, or a section of another organisation, such as a school or college, used for medical purposes. The sick bay contains the ship's medicine chest, which may be divided into separate cabinets, such as a refrigera ...

next to Creighton's bed, and with Flannigan's help, succeeds. Soon after, Lawrence receives orders to blow up a Japanese

submarine pen A submarine pen (''U-Boot-Bunker'' in German) is a type of submarine base that acts as a bunker to protect submarines from air attack. The term is generally applied to submarine bases constructed during World War II, particularly in Germany and ...

, and tells the men that although it will be their last mission together, he is proud to have served with them. Although Flannigan voices disdain that Lawrence will again dodge dangerous duty, Lawrence leads the mission, which is discovered when one of the men accidentally trips a signal wire. Japanese sentries shoot at the men as they plant the charges, and Lawrence is stabbed in hand-to-hand combat with a Japanese diver. He orders Flannigan to leave him behind, but Flannigan tows him to safety. The mission is a success, and soon Lawrence is recuperating beside Creighton. Finally won over by Lawrence's bravery, the men show their acceptance of him by asking him to sign the

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this r ...

they have drawn of Cassidy to present to his widow.

Cast

as Lt. Cmdr. John Lawrence *

as Chief Jake Flannigan *

as Lt. Cmdr. Pete Vincent * Jeffrey Hunter as "Pappy" Creighton *

Warren Stevens Warren Albert Stevens (November 2, 1919 – March 27, 2012) was an American stage, screen, and television actor. Early life and career Born in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, Stevens entered the United States Naval Academy in 1937 but was medical ...

as Ralph Hodges *

Robert Wagner Robert John Wagner Jr. (born February 10, 1930) is an American actor of stage, screen, and television. He is known for starring in the television shows '' It Takes a Thief'' (1968–1970), ''Switch'' (1975–1978), and '' Hart to Hart'' (1979� ...

as Lt. (jg) Franklin *

Harvey Lembeck Harvey Lembeck (April 15, 1923 – January 5, 1982) was an American comedic actor best remembered for his role as Cpl. Rocco Barbella on ''The Phil Silvers Show'' (a.k.a. ''Sgt. Bilko'', a.k.a. ''You'll Never Get Rich'') in the late 1950s, and a ...

as Marvin W. "Canarsie" Mikowsky * Robert Rockwell as Lt. Bill Doyle *

Henry Slate Henry Sonken (July 15, 1910 – August 11, 1996) was an American film, television and theatre actor. He was known for his appearances in the films ''Miss Sadie Thompson'', ''Loan Shark'', ''Hey Boy! Hey Girl!'', ''Somebody Loves Me'' and ''Rock ...

as "Sleepy"

Production

Producer Paul Short of Allied Artists protested the use of the title ''The Frogmen'' by

Twentieth Century-Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

, asserting that he had established prior claim to it. Eventually, Short dropped his claim and Twentieth Century-Fox was allowed to use the title. Short's production was never made. Several major studios were interested in producing films about the Underwater Demolition Teams, but only Twentieth Century-Fox obtained an exclusive guarantee of cooperation from the U.S. Navy. Henry Hathaway, one of the studio's most well received directors, was originally set to direct the film, which was to feature

Millard Mitchell Millard Mitchell (August 14, 1903 – October 13, 1953) was an American character actor whose credits include roughly 30 feature films and two television appearances. He appeared as a bit player in eight films between 1931 and 1936. Mitchell ...

in a starring role.

Richard Conte Nicholas Peter Conte (March 24, 1910 – April 15, 1975), known professionally as Richard Conte, was an American actor. He appeared in more than 100 films from the 1940s through 1970s, including '' I'll Cry Tomorrow'', ''Ocean's 11'', and ''Th ...

was also originally set to play "Pete Vincent", while

Jack Elam William Scott "Jack" Elam (November 13, 1920 – October 20, 2003) was an American film and television actor best known for his numerous roles as villains in Western films and, later in his career, comedies (sometimes spoofing his villainou ...

was first cast as "Sleepy", and Craig Hill was set to play "Lt. J. G. Franklin". Assistant director Dick Mayberry briefly filled in for director Lloyd Bacon when Bacon fell ill with influenza. Producer Sam Engel wrote an original story, titled "Frogmen in Korea", as an intended follow-up to ''The Frogmen'', but the project soon dissolved. A one-hour television remake of ''The Frogmen'', titled ''Deep Water'', was broadcast in May 1957 on the ''20th Century-Fox Hour''. The program was directed by Roy Del Ruth and starred

Ralph Meeker Ralph Meeker (born Ralph Rathgeber; November 21, 1920 August 5, 1988) was an American film, stage, and television actor. He first rose to prominence for his roles in the Broadway productions of '' Mister Roberts'' (1948–1951) and ''Picnic'' ...

(Lawrence), James Whitmore (Flannigan), and

Richard Arlen Richard Arlen (born Sylvanus Richard Mattimore, September 1, 1899 – March 28, 1976) was an American actor of film and television. Biography Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Arlen attended the University of Pennsylvania. He served in Canada as a ...

(Vincent). Because working conditions for ''The Frogmen'' were deemed too "riotous" for women, all female roles were written out of the screenplay and none appeared in the completed film.

Jack Warden Jack Warden (born John Warden Lebzelter Jr.; September 18, 1920July 19, 2006) was an American character actor of film and television. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for ''Shampoo'' (1975) and '' Heaven Can Wait' ...

makes an uncredited appearance in the beginning of the film as a crew member of the transport ship. Co-star

, in the role of the captain of UDT-4's transport ship, delivers the line of dialog, "Looks like you've got what amounts to a legal mutiny on your hands", that is virtually identical to a line that he spoke two years earlier in the World War II Army Air Force drama ''

Twelve O'Clock High ''Twelve O'Clock High'' is a 1949 American war film about aircrews in the United States Army's Eighth Air Force, who flew daylight bombing missions against Germany and Occupied France during the early days of American involvement in World War II ...

''. The filming of the submarine sequence took place on the deck of USS ''Kleinsmith'' (APD-134) while the ship was off Key West, FL on 11 January 1951. Much of the boat and high-speed transport scenes were shot between 15 January and 6 February 1951 from the deck of ''Kleinsmith'', while the ship was off St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.U.S.S. Kleinsmith deck log entries, National Archives and Records Administration. USS ''Taconic'' (AGC-17) appeared as the command ship. As spoken in dialog, the submarine's name sounds like "USS Jackass 259", but is actually "USS Jack SS-259". The real USS ''Jack'' (SS-259) was not actually used in the film, as it was out of commission at the time. Many United States Navy SEALs have cited this film as their inspiration for joining the SEAL Teams, including

Richard Marcinko Richard Marcinko (November 21, 1940 – December 25, 2021) was a U.S. Navy SEAL commander and Vietnam War veteran. He was the first commanding officer of SEAL Team Six. After retiring from the United States Navy, he became an author, radio talk ...

(the first Commanding Officer of

SEAL Team Six The Naval Special Warfare Development Group (NSWDG), abbreviated as DEVGRU ("Development Group") and commonly known as SEAL Team Six, is the United States Navy component of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). The unit is often referre ...

and

Red Cell Red Teams or Red Cells are United States government terms for the National Security Co-ordination Team (NSCT). These teams or units are designed to test the effectiveness of American tactics or personnel. In 1984, Red Cell was formed after Rich ...

), the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...

recipient Michael E. Thornton, and Dennis Chalker.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Frogmen, The 1950 films 1950 war films American war films Films about the United States Navy in World War II Underwater action films Films shot in the United States Virgin Islands 20th Century Fox films Films directed by Lloyd Bacon Films scored by Cyril J. Mockridge American black-and-white films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films

Plot

Cast

Production

See also

References

External links