''Sail a Crooked Ship'' is a 1961 American black-and-white comedy heist film starring

Robert Wagner Robert John Wagner Jr. (born February 10, 1930) is an American actor. He is known for starring in the television shows ''It Takes a Thief (1968 TV series), It Takes a Thief'' (1968–1970), ''Switch (American TV series), Switch'' (1975–1978), ...

, Dolores Hart, Carolyn Jones,

Frankie Avalon Francis Thomas Avallone (born September 18, 1940), better known as Frankie Avalon, is an American singer, actor and former teen idol. He had 31 charting U.S. ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' singles from 1958 to late 1962, including Record ...

Ernie Kovacs Ernest Edward Kovacs (January 23, 1919 – January 13, 1962) was an American comedian, actor, and writer. Kovacs's visually experimental and often spontaneous comedic style influenced numerous television comedy programs for years after his dea ...

and

Frank Gorshin Frank John Gorshin Jr. (April 5, 1933 – May 17, 2005) was an American actor, comedian and impressionist. He made many guest appearances on television variety and talk shows, including '' The Ed Sullivan Show'', '' Tonight Starring Steve Allen' ...

. It was directed by Irving Brecher and was based on the 1960 novel of the same name by

Nathaniel Benchley Nathaniel Goddard Benchley (November 13, 1915 – December 14, 1981) was an American author from Massachusetts. Early life Born in Newton, Massachusetts to a literary family, he was the son of Robert Benchley (1889–1945), a noted American wri ...

. ''Sail a Crooked Ship'' was Kovacs' last movie, released shortly before he was killed in a car crash. Hart's other 1961 film, ''

Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone ( 1181 – 3 October 1226), known as Francis of Assisi, was an Italians, Italian Mysticism, mystic, poet and Friar, Catholic friar who founded the religious order of the Franciscans. Inspired to lead a Chris ...

'', inspired her to retire from acting two years later and become a Roman Catholic nun.

Plot

When Gilbert Barrows (

) disobeys his boss and tries to refit an old

Liberty Ship Liberty ships were a ship class, class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Although British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost cons ...

for cargo use instead of scrapping it, he inadvertently puts it into the hands of a colorful group of crooks led by good-hearted screw-up Bugsy G. Fogelmeyer (

) and brainy sociopath George M. Wilson (

). The crooks plan to use the ship to make their getaway after they pull a

bank robbery Bank robbery is the criminal act of stealing from a bank, specifically while bank employees and customers are subjected to force, violence, or a threat of violence. This refers to robbery of a bank Branch (banking), branch or Bank teller, tel ...

in Boston, and they kidnap Barrows and his girlfriend Elinor Harrison ( Dolores Hart) – his boss's daughter – to prevent leaving any witnesses behind. With the help of Bugsy's nephew Rodney J. Fogelmeyer (

), Gilbert and Elinor manage to foil the crooks' plans by using Elinor's bra as a slingshot and attracting the Coast Guard.

Cast

as Gilbert Barrows * Dolores Hart as Elinor Harrison * Carolyn Jones as Virginia *

as Bugsy G. Foglemeyer alias "The Captain" *

as Ensign Rodney J. Foglemeyer *

as George M. Wilson * Jesse White as McDonald *

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 ...

as Nickels * Sid Tomack as Sammy * Guy Raymond as Helmut * Buck Kartalian as Finster * Wilton Graff as Simon J. Harrison * Marjorie Bennett as Mrs. Chowder

Production

The film was based on a novel published in 1960. The ''New York Times'' called it "slightly daffy". Producer Philip Barry thought the novel would make a good film. He pitched it to MGM for whom he had made '' The Mating Game'' but that studio passed. Barry went on to sign a three-picture deal at Columbia Studios.TIME LAG DAMPENS PRODUCER'S ZEAL: Philip Barry Jr. Has Many a Slip in Putting Idea on Film By MURRAY SCHUMACH Special to The New York Times. 11 May 1961: 41. In June 1960, Barry said his first film for Columbia would be ''Sail a Crooked Ship'' which he described as "''

Some Like It Hot ''Some Like It Hot'' is a 1959 American crime comedy film directed, produced and co-written by Billy Wilder. It stars Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, with George Raft, Pat O'Brien (actor), Pat O'Brien, Joe E. Brown, Joan Shawlee an ...

'' without drag". He hoped to star

Jack Lemmon John Uhler Lemmon III (February 8, 1925 – June 27, 2001) was an American actor. Considered proficient in both dramatic and comic roles, he was known for his anxious, middle-class everyman screen persona in comedy-drama films. He received num ...

and hired

William Bowers William Bowers (January 17, 1916 – March 27, 1987) was an American reporter, playwright, and screenwriter. He worked as a reporter in Long Beach, California and for ''Life Magazine, Life'' magazine, and specialized in writing Comedy Western, ...

to write the script. "I can't remember how many opinions were brought to bear on the script," said Barry later. "The ship has changed course quite a few times since I read the book." In January 1961, Ernie Kovacs was cast. Also that month Columbia announced the lead role would be played by Robert Wagner. He and then-wife Natalie Wood formed their own company, Rona Productions, which signed a three-picture deal with Columbia for Wagner's services. The first film was ''Sail a Crooked Ship'' and the second would be ''The Interns''. Wagner would get a percentage of the profits. (In the end, Wagner's marriage to Wood ended in 1961 and he only made the one film for Columbia). In March, it was announced the female leads would be

Joan Collins Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Awards, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primetime Emm ...

and Jean Seberg. These roles would end up being played by Carolyn Jones and Dolores Hart. Following the hijacking of the Portuguese ship ''Santa Maria'' the studio briefly considered renaming the film ''Steal a Crooked Ship'' to cash in. Barry wanted further work on the script but Bowers was on another project, so he hired other writers. (Bowers ended up not being credited at all.) Filming started April 1961 without a completed script. Barry said during the shoot, "basically we are in the same position as a play in New Haven with a third act that needs work before it gets to Broadway."

Reception

''Filmink'' argued "the movie would have been better off had Avalon played the lead rather than Wagner – Avalon’s youth and naivety would have suited the story better."

References

Notes

External links