The Frogmen (1951)

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The Frogmen is a 1951 American black-and-white World War II drama film distributed by Twentieth Century-Fox, produced by Samuel G. Engel, directed by Lloyd Bacon and starring Richard Widmark, Dana Andrews and Gary Merrill. The plot is based on the divers of the United States Navy Underwater Demolition Team, popularly known as "frogmen", against the Japanese Army and naval forces. It was the first film about scuba diving and became a popular cultural hit.

Production

The Underwater Demolition Team has been deployed since World War II for reconnaissance duties, clearing underwater obstacles planted by the enemy, executing advance landings on beaches and launching underwater attacks on enemy ships. The team was the forerunner of the Navy SEALs.

Producer Paul Short of Allied Artists protested the use of the title The Frogmen by Twentieth Century-Fox, asserting that he had established prior claim to it. Eventually, Short dropped his claim and Twentieth Century-Fox was allowed to use the title. Several major studios were interested in producing films about the Underwater Demolition Team, but only Twentieth Century-Fox obtained an exclusive guarantee of cooperation from the U.S. Navy.

Henry Hathaway was originally set to direct the film, which was to feature Millard Mitchell in a starring role. Richard Conte was also originally set to play Pete Vincent, while Jack Elam was first cast as Sleepy and Craig Hill was set to play Lt. J. G. Franklin. Assistant director Dick Mayberry briefly substituted for director Lloyd Bacon when Bacon fell ill with influenza.

The filming of the submarine sequence took place on the deck of USS Kleinsmith while the ship was near Key West, Florida on January 11, 1951. Much of the boat and high-speed transport scenes were shot between January 15 and February 6 from the deck of Kleinsmith while the ship was near Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. USS Taconic (AGC-17) appears as the command ship.

Producer Samuel Engel wrote an original story titled "Frogmen in Korea" as a sequel 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 (Lawrence), James Whitmore (Flannigan) and Richard Arlen (Vincent).

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