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 Author  Topic: PT BOAT MOVIES
  TED WALTHER

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of TED WALTHER   Send Email To TED WALTHER Posted on: Jul 25, 2015 - 10:18pm
While "They Were Expendable" covers RON 3's early efforts and
"PT 109" covers you know who, I can't understand why another movie was never made. The books of Hugh Cave and Basil Heatter were out there since the1940's, why they were never made into a screen play I don't know. Maybe they were and just lost in the Hollywood machine. I am and have always been a big James Garner fan and he would have been perfect as a PT Boat Skipper. I really think Hollywood dropped the ball here, especially, when you research how many World War Two movies were made in the 1960's. I have always thought there should be a "PT BOAT Trilogy or Quadrogy" spanning New Guinea, Europe(Med and D-Day), and the Philippines. Yes, James Garner would have been perfect, my two favorite Garner movies are Up Periscope and Grand Prix and The Americanization of Emily, but I have seen all his work. I don't really know if there is a James Garner type actor out there today, but if there is, he should be cast in a PT BOAT movie.
Take care,
TED


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Will Day

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Will Day   Send Email To Will Day Posted on: Jul 26, 2015 - 10:56am
Where were you when I was trying to sell my WOODEN WARRIORS script - lol

Will

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bubbletop409

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of bubbletop409  Posted on: Jul 26, 2015 - 11:53am
They couldn't even get six REAL PT's to make TWE, and not one to make the 109 movie. I do agree though that more movies about the boats would have been a worthy and welcome project, however the lack of hulls would all ways be a major stumbling block.

There certainly were many good stories and events that could have been re-told.

Larry
62 Bel-Air
260 Eagle EXP
79 Cole TR-2

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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 26, 2015 - 12:34pm
Yeah, Ted, I hear ya, but...of course, the problem would've been getting the boats for the filming.

As Larry said, they couldn't even scrape up ONE real PT for the filming of "PT 109," and Warner Bros. had to (if I correctly remember the press coverage on the filming back in the day) outbid Castro's Cuba to purchase the three (and only three) 85' Air-Sea Rescue boats they used and converted to look like 80' Elcos.

Those converted 85-footers looked pretty good, but I'm sure It cost Warner Bros. the proverbial arm and a leg to work them up for the movie, so the major costs involved would always be an issue .

There were ersatz PTs in "In Harm's Way" and "MacArthur," (briefly), but they really didn't didn't look much like real MTBs

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  TED WALTHER

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of TED WALTHER   Send Email To TED WALTHER Posted on: Jul 26, 2015 - 12:51pm
Larry;
They did have six real PT Boats in TWE. PTs 98, 100, 101, 102, 139, 141(LT. John Iles was Skipper at the time), and 315 all RON 4 boats.

Also, in the Tyrone Powers/Dana Andrews movie Crash Dive(1943) PTs 62, 63, 64, and 65, were used in the filming, again at the time they were assigned to RON 4 Tyrone Powers boat in the movie is actually PT 62(Jack Duncan's boat With numbers removed). PT 62 had a different style of gun shielding/depression shielding, it was flat faced, not the usual 77' Elco shielding. So, at this stage of her life, she is easily identifiable.
here is the link to a previous discussion:
http://www.ptboatforum.com/cgi-bin/MB2/netboardr.cgi?fid=102&cid=101&tid=3372&sc=20&pg=1&x=0

Take care,
TED


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Will Day

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Will Day   Send Email To Will Day Posted on: Jul 26, 2015 - 6:07pm
The boats used (briefly) in "MacArthur" were PTF-20 and PTF-21.

Will

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bubbletop409

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of bubbletop409  Posted on: Jul 26, 2015 - 8:26pm
Quote:

Larry;
They did have six real PT Boats in TWE. PTs 98, 100, 101, 102, 139, 141(LT. John Iles was Skipper at the time), and 315 all RON 4 boats.

Also, in the Tyrone Powers/Dana Andrews movie Crash Dive(1943) PTs 62, 63, 64, and 65, were used in the filming, again at the time they were assigned to RON 4 Tyrone Powers boat in the movie is actually PT 62(Jack Duncan's boat With numbers removed). PT 62 had a different style of gun shielding/depression shielding, it was flat faced, not the usual 77' Elco shielding. So, at this stage of her life, she is easily identifiable.
here is the link to a previous discussion:
http://www.ptboatforum.com/cgi-bin/MB2/netboardr.cgi?fid=102&cid=101&tid=3372&sc=20&pg=1&x=0

Take care,
TED





Ted

I know the six TWE boats were indeed real PT's, I was being factious, as in my mind the Huckins were nothing more than training boats. That's why I emphasized REAL in my statement. Just my humble opinion.

Larry

Larry
62 Bel-Air
260 Eagle EXP
79 Cole TR-2

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Deep Vee Forever

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message   Posted on: Jul 27, 2015 - 8:38pm
Hi, Ted-

I have to agree with you- I think it's a shame that more PT movies haven't been made. I think that a remake of the movie about THAT boat should be made, not only to correct all the historical inaccuracies that the original movie had, but to tell the story of PT life as it really was- gritty, hot, sticky, back-breaking work, carried out by everyday heroes, against daunting odds, from primitive bases, with minimal support, and even less in effective firepower and supply logistics. Especially in the first half of the Pacific War.

Given today's multi-million dollar studio budgets, advanced special effects and computer modeling, it seems that now would be the time for a taut, serious look at the Solomons offensive and the challenges faced by the so-called "Hooligan Navy" against a desperate, determined, and deluded foe.

On the question of modern actors who'd make good PT skippers?

Hmmm... Robert Downey, Jr., or Colin Hanks might make a great PT base commander.

Maybe Chis Hemsworth, as Lenny Thom? The problem is, all the actors I can think of right off the bat are too old to play PT skippers in their mid to late twenties. You'd probably have to cast relatively unknown actors, and the Skipper Who Shall Not Be Named would be a huge casting risk for a major studio.

Randy

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Frank Andruss

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Frank Andruss   Send Email To Frank Andruss Posted on: Jul 28, 2015 - 2:51am
In regards to the boats, we must not forget that we have a working boat in Portland, one almost ready in New Orleans, and another being completed in Ohio, that s a pretty darn good batting average in my book. As far as unknown actors, take the movie hit "Fury", about the crew of a Sherman Tank. One well known actor Brad Pitt, but the other guys in the tank, who all played good parts, I never even saw before. A move about PT BOATS could certainly be done, but the main thing is interest , would Hollywood be interested in such a script? To us PT BOAT NUTS, we would think so, but again we go back to, who even knows what a PT BOAT is. Someone would have to come up with a script, or a story line of interest. The people to press would be Gary Sinese, or Ton Hanks.


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  TED WALTHER

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of TED WALTHER   Send Email To TED WALTHER Posted on: Jul 28, 2015 - 7:02am
Frank;
I agree, it would be quite a daunting task for us PT BOAT NUTS, but daunting tasks have been done before. Hanks and Sinese are good selections to approach, so is Clint Eastwood and Michael Bay. Anyone who is a stickler for realism. One or two restored boats, with todays CGI technology can be made into two or three squadrons. but to do something like this, I would prefer PT 48 be one of those boats, because this time if its to be done correctly, PT 48 is a must.
Take care
TED


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