Don't Give Up the Ship

As with most of the old Jerry Lewis films, "Don't Give Up the Ship" was a very funny movie, rich in the old Jerry Lewis slapstick comedy. It was especially fun for me as I served aboard the ship used in the movie as the "USS Kornblatt". But, no, gentlemen, the trivia section here is incorrect as to the identity of that ship. It was NOT the USS STEMBEL (DD-644), a fleet Destroyer, but USS VAMMEN (DE-644), a Destroyer-Escort. That the "Kornblatt" was a DE was mentioned MANY times in the film. I'm certainly not trying to detract from the film, but merely trying to get my "old Home" some of the recognition she deserves. Sadly there is only one ship of her class that has been preserved as a museum ship anywhere in the country, USS SLATER.

I do not know where these people got their info.,but for all intents and purposes,it's wrong.The movie,(or most of it)was filmed aboard the USS Gregory DD802.I was aboard the Gregory when it was filmed and participated in the filming as an extra.At least I guess thats what you'd call me,as I was a member of the crew.I was a BTFN at the time.Jerry Lewis tossed a ball with members of the crew and crewmen on a tender tied up opposite us at the pier during breaks and lunch.This was in 1955or56 I think,and I was transferred to the USS Vammen DE644 in June of 1958.I may be off a little on my dates but my memory of the filming is not.I cannot understand why anyone would say they were at the filming when they were not,unless they filmed at more than one location.

Fred Williams

The destroyer USS Kornblatt has been missing since World War II and Congressman Gale Gordon wants to know where it is. It's several million dollars worth of taxpayer's money from Uncle Sam. The last guy in charge was a career Navy man who since World War II has risen from Ensign to Lieutenant John Paul Steckler VII played in every generation by Jerry Lewis.

Don't Give Up The Ship deals precisely with a guy who apparently did just that and can't find it now. In a brief prologue to the film we see how Jerry playing several members of his family served their country in a kind of homage to Alec Guinness in Kind Hearts and Coronets. Despite a Steckler serving in the Navy for seven generations, the USA still became a superpower.

As VJ Day was celebrated the USS Kornblatt was given orders to sail to San Diego and be decommissioned. Every other officer had enough points for discharge so command devolved on Jerry Lewis. The Kornblatt stopped at an island where Lewis was captured by some Japanese soldiers left there who weren't told the war was over. His men left him there, thinking he was killed. That was the last he saw of his ship.

With this renewed interest in the Kornblatt and Navy appropriations on the line, Admiral Robert Middleton has given Lewis a special assignment to find his lost destroyer. Aiding him is Ensign Dina Merrill from Naval Intelligence.

On top of everything else Jerry's planning to get married to Diana Spencer and the wedding has to be postponed. Diana's not understanding her beloved working in close quarters with Merrill. Romantic complications are the last thing Jerry needs.

I think Don't Give Up The Ship was one of Jerry Lewis's funniest solo films since breaking up with Dino. It's got a lot of good physical comedy that Lewis excelled at and many opportunities to overact outrageously and with gusto.

It's a must for Jerry Lewis fans.

The premise here isn't bad -- the Navy misplaces a destroyer escort and wants to hold somebody accountable, so they go after the nebbish-y officer least likely to put up a fight. If you work in a bureaucracy, you know the thinking is accurate. And the film is shot reasonably well. But the results are merely above average and not more, and that's mostly because like so many old movies, this one has a scope and production that belie the sitcom plotting.

Jerry Lewis is that officer. Now, when you're a kid, you don't understand why so many adults don't like him. But you get older and realize his constant rubberfaced mugging is neither clever not satisfying. It stands in place of actual performance. Worse, they cast Dina Merrill as his romantic interest. Now, Merrill was always a dry actress, but when paired up with Lewis, she comes across more manly than he does. A lot of potential actresses comes to mind that Lewis could play off of.

For instance, Suzanne Pleshette, who was in Lewis' often offensive The Geisha Boy the year before, could provided the motherly grounding necessary to make Lewis tolerable. But Merrill comes across more like an icy cheerleader who just wants to be one of the gang. It's not that she's bad -- because she's not -- but just that she's not particularly good.

There are some odd moments in the film, too, which doesn't often fit the tone. For instance, when Lewis' character is playing with "worry balls," is it supposed to parodying The Caine Mutiny? If so, the scene never does anything else with it. When he dives headfirst into the ocean bottom and later gets attacked by an octopus, it's slapstick to the point of being cartoonish. Yet, the bits about WW2 seem more melodramatic and not a little bit racist.

There are obvious comparisons of this movie to Blake Edwards' Operation Petticoat, a far superior film. If Blake Edwards had done this one, the script no doubt would have been tighter, but it also would be hard to imagine a craftsman like Edwards putting up with the sophomoric haminess of Jerry Lewis. After all, he worked with the great Peter Sellers.

I've always liked this film. It made me laugh when I first saw it as a youngster, and I got a bigger kick out of it as an adult. As a former Naval officer, I can appreciate some of the silliness that Jerry goes through in this movie; from "inheriting" his ship, to the naval bureaucracy.

Dina Merrill is great as Ensign Benson (I actually knew an Ensign Benson, and a Midshipman Shipman, but that's beside the point!) as is Mickey Shaugnessy as the Chief who helps him along (always listen to your Chief).

There's silliness galore, but it wouldn't be Jerry Lewis without it. Look for a nice homage/parody to the Caine Mutiny Courtmartial during the hearing scenes. Gail Gordon is at his ornery best in these scenes.

This is a lighthearted film that makes for an entertaining 90 minutes. Not a classic, but a lot of fun.