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 Author  Topic: Vote for "PT 109" DVD release on TCM site
Drew Cook

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Drew Cook  Posted on: May 18, 2007 - 5:11pm
Hey guys,

Don't know if you want to do this or not, but I just cast a vote for the 1963 film "PT 109" to be released on DVD over on the Turner Classic Movies website.

TCM has been instrumental in getting a lot of classic films released on DVD, and while some may argue "PT 109's" status as a "classic" film, I think all of us PT boat enthusiasts would welcome its long-delayed release on DVD.

Since it's a Warner Bros. film, hopefully they'll release it on a two-sided disc, containing both wide screen and full screen versions, as Warner Bros. has done with some of their past DVD releases.

To vote,

1. go to the TCM site at: http://www.tcm.com/index.jsp

2. Type PT 109 in the search box at the top

3. Click on PT 109 under title matches

4. Go to the home video vote section on the right and vote.

Thanks for voting, and maybe we'll see a DVD release of "PT 109" in the near future.


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David Waples

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of David Waples  Posted on: May 18, 2007 - 9:07pm
Okay, I voted. I saw that movie as a kid and loved it. I still do to this day even though the book was better and the movie's not accurate. If they release it I hope it's wide screen.

So do you think Warren Beatty would have made a better Jack Kennedy in the movie? That was Jackie's request. I guess we'll never know.

Dave

David Waples

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Frank J Andruss Sr

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Frank J Andruss Sr   Send Email To Frank J Andruss Sr Posted on: May 18, 2007 - 9:37pm
Many of us cut our teeth on PT Boats seeing the Movie PT 109. As a young Kid in 1967 my Dad said I should watch it and I can remember asking him what a PT Boat was. After the Movie was over, I asked my Dad to buy me a PT Boat and he said No, but flipped me .50 cents. I took that money down to Edwards Drug Store found the PT 109 Boat, ran home and slapped it together with Glue and no Paint. It sat on my dresser for the longest time. Who would have known then that today PT Boats remain my passion and I would meet and become friends with Crewmembers from PT 109. The Movie still remains one of my all time favorite, right up there with They Were Expendable. I never really gave it any thought about Warren Beatty playing the part as Cliff Robertson did such an outstanding job in my book. PT 109 still ranks right up there as the single reason why the public can relate to PT Boats.


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David Waples

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of David Waples  Posted on: May 18, 2007 - 10:14pm
Frank,
Did any of the crew members you talked to ever give you an indication about the color of the boat? I'm also waivering on the port depth charge issue. So many questions I may never find the answer to.
Dave

David Waples

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Drew Cook

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Drew Cook  Posted on: May 19, 2007 - 3:28pm
Warren Beatty would have been a very interesting choice to play JFK in "PT 109," for several reasons. He was exactly the right age (26) in 1962-63, when the film was being made, and many people who knew both JFK and Beatty at the time remarked they were very much alike in many ways -- particularly with the ladies.

Just for the heck of it, I checked the Internet Movie Data Base (IMDB) for publicity photos of the young Warren Beatty, and in one, he is a close match for JFK at 26 -- particularly the big shock of hair up front.

From what I've read, Beatty admired JFK and wanted to play the part, but a combination of what Beatty thought was a lousy script, and his personal dislike of Brian Foy, the movie's producer, prevented him from signing on.

I wonder, if Beatty had been cast, would they have shown him bare-chested in the film? Although Cliff Robertson (who did a fine job, but was more than ten years older during the filming than JFK was in 1943) took a shirtless publicity photo recreating the famous JFK-in-the-cockpit picture, he's not shown without a shirt during the entire film, in keeping with the overall reverential tone where JFK was concerned.

Interesting to speculate what would have been, in regards to Beatty as JFK.

I've also read that Peter Fonda, who was age-appropriate at the time and resembled JFK at 26, was considered, as well as "77 Sunset Strip" TV show actors Roger Smith and Ed "Kookie" Byrnes.




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Frank J Andruss Sr

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Frank J Andruss Sr   Send Email To Frank J Andruss Sr Posted on: May 19, 2007 - 10:06pm
Dave:
When I had met Motor Mac Gerard Zinser in 1993, we had a brief discussion on the sinking of PT 109, but did not touch on the subject of boat colors until several years after. Zinser remembers the boat being green, but what shade he could not say. He also remembers the boat having depth charges, but later changed that claim in other conversations. As recently as last year, I had found out that Maurice Kowal was in fact very much alive. He had been an original crewmember of PT 109, being injured early on. He was taken off the boat before the crash, later being a crewmember of Kennedy's second boat PT 59.

Mr. Kowal invited me to his home in which I had a wonderful visit. He had always been a bit miffed that Zinser was being billed as the last survivor of PT 109, when in fact he was very much alive. During my visit, I had touched on the subject of depth charges and the color of PT 109. Kowal said he did not think the 109 had depth charges, but later changed his mind saying he felt the boat might have had 2 of them up forward of the torpedoes. As far as color, he remembers the boat being grey when he reported for duty, but felt it might have been painted green at some point before he was injured. In my opinion I think that part of their memory had been fogged over time, so I am really not sure if they were guessing or not. Both men offered much in the way of patrols and other interesting facets of their time spent with kennedy and Crew so listening to them was one of my biggest thrills. One of my proudest moments was when Mr. Zinser mailed me his dress blue uniform to use in my Exhibits, and flying him in from Florida to sit in another of my Exhibits and meet my guests.

Finding out that Mr. Kowal was alive and well also remains one of the highlights of my life. Meeting him and remaining friends was a dream come true. I still call him 2 or 3 times per month.


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Drew Cook

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Drew Cook  Posted on: Jul 14, 2007 - 7:00am
Just found out that the young Peter Fonda was also considered for the role of JFK in "PT 109," even to the point of doing screen tests.

This makes sense, as at the time the film was made, Fonda was a very close physical match, in both build and looks, to JFK at 26.


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Jeff Sherry

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Jeff Sherry  Posted on: Jul 23, 2007 - 8:09pm
As Frank said, I cut my teeth on the movie "PT-109" and built the Revelle model about 5 times as a kid. My Dad Bill was on the 342 in Ron 24 and our very own NW PA Governor Ray Shafer was a PT officer. Dad alawys says "Me and Ray and JFK".
I LOVE the movie and will vote for it to come our on DVD. Its almost two movies. The first half is kind of corny..I hate to say that...but the stuff after the collision is different somehow....maybe just me.
Jeff Sherry


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Jeff Sherry

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Jeff Sherry  Posted on: Jul 23, 2007 - 8:21pm
I was wondering, does anyone know how/where they filmed the collision scenes? I take it it was done in a studio pool but how did they do the overhead shot? Anyone know?


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Drew Cook

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Drew Cook  Posted on: Jul 24, 2007 - 8:01am
I'm pretty sure from the looks of it that all the collision and nighttime scenes that follow were filmed in the studio tank, with a partial, full-sized prop of the Amagiri's bow for the overhead shot of it slicing through a full-sized prop 109.

I've always thought someone should have written a book on the making of the movie "PT 109." Cliff Robertson, Ty Hardin, Robert Blake, Robert Culp, are still with us, of course, and I'm sure others connected with the film are too, but many have passed away.

Although it would take a lot of long and difficult research, since the filming took place 45 years ago, it would be an interesting project. If I didn't have to work at other things for a living, I'd do it myself!

What do you think, guys? "The Making of 'PT 109' - A Presidential Legend on Film."

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