Tiens bon la barre matelot!

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 raw talent of comic Jerry Lewis, has rarely been equaled, but not often surpassed. He has entertained American audiences for decades. Today, his star power has become a present staple in France. Here, is one of his finer offerings. It's called " Don't Give up The Ship. " In this movie, Jerry plays John Paul Steckler the VII, who as fate would have it, is the Jr. Officer of the U.S.S. KornBlatt. Shortly before the end of WWII, he is ordered to sail the ship to the U.S. where the ship is to be decommissioned. Unfortunately, he is accidentally stranded on a Japanese held island and fails to report the loss of his ship. Now, years later, he is summoned to Washington, by Congressman Mandeville, (Gale Gordon) and Adm. Bludde (Robert Middleton) to explain where he last left his ship. This on the eve of his wedding. Only with the help of Ens. Benson (Dina Merrill) and Stan Wychinsky (Mickey Shaughnessy) can he hope to remember where the missing ship is. This film is one of Lewis's finest examples of true laughter in it's purest form. A Classic by any other name which has stood the test of time. ****

Jerry Lewis plays John Paul Steckler VII who has just got married to beautiful Prudence Trabert (Diana Spencer).The bliss doesn't last for too long.John happens to be a Navy officer and he was responsible for getting USS Kornblatt home after the WWII ended.USS Kornblatt is a battleship.John Paul Steckler (the seventh) has hard time remembering where he left the vessel.Now he has ten days to find it or he's in big trouble.He won't be having too much time for the honeymoon.He does get close to a woman but that woman isn't his wife.That woman is Ensign Rita Benson (Dina Merrill) who's there to help John Paul Steckler (the seventh) with his trouble.When Prudence finds out that the Ensign is a she and that they shared a cabin together in a train that means another trouble for John.This time marital.Norman Taurog's Don't Give Up the Ship (1959) gives the Jerry Lewis fans what they need; Laughs, lots of, lots of laughs.Jerry is surrounded in this movie with beautiful and talented ladies.Dina Merrill and Diana Spencer are both superb.Mickey Shaughnessy does the part of Stan Wychinski and he does it brilliantly.Robert Middleton is great as Bludde.There are lots of funny scenes in this movie.In one awfully funny one John is at the bottom of the sea diving with Stan.Oh man did I laugh! In another funny scene Jerry ends up in a wrestling ring.Jerry Lewis is the mastermind behind many classic movies.He may not have directed or written this one but he is there with his comedy.That's enough.His comic touch makes this movie something really special.Jerry's comedy is something very original, something you can't copy.Many have tried, many have failed.Some have gotten close maybe, but nobody can beat the original.

I must admit that I am not a huge fan of Jerry Lewis' films. While I've seen all the ones he did with Dean Martin, I have avoided his solo films because (in my opinion) he tended to overact and subtlety was NOT a concern. I think my view is colored by my having seen some of his very worst solo films first. It's hard to watch another Lewis outing after having seen (uggghh!) "Cracking Up" (1983)--a film so bad that it went straight to video and the only movie I've ever watched that made me physically ill (seriously). So, in fairness, I decided to watch a few of his earlier films to see if they are worth seeing.

While I would never say that "Don't Give Up The Ship" was no work of genius, it is a mostly pleasant little film. While Lewis DID occasionally mug and overplay things very badly, for the most part it's a decent little time-passer.

Lewis is a lieutenant in the Navy during the present day. He's just gotten married and is about to embark on his honeymoon when he is arrested and brought to account for a ship he apparently 'lost' back in 1945 when the war ended. Where exactly the boat got to is what the big-wigs want to find out--and it's inexplicable that a ship could be misplaced for a decade and a half until anyone noticed this! Much of the film consists of flashbacks of Lewis during the war (when he was an ensign) as well as his meetings with a psychiatrist (Dina Merrill) who tries to dig into the facts.

For the most part, there are no big laughs at all during this film--none. But, it also is pretty inoffensive as well--but could have been better had Lewis behaved like a relatively believable naval officer. As I said, his mugging and overplaying occasionally made the film tough viewing. But the film isn't bad in a mindless sort of way. Just turn off your brain and enjoy.

By the way, in the underwater diving scene near the end, note that Jerry is sweating--and you can see sweat dribbling off his arms. Yet, he is supposed to be under water! This is a particularly dumb portion of the film (with very a very fake looking shark and octopus). Try to look past this.

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.