PT 109 (Warner Bros.) (1963)

‘SEK’ Himself Cliff Robertson stars as the young Lt. (j.g.) John F. Kennedy in “PT 109,” the stirring Warner Bros. adventure drama opening AeaicoeNte at the Theatre. Kennedy skippered the 109 for four months in 1943, until she was rammed and sunk by a Japanese destroyer in the Solomon Islands. The heroic lieutenant led his men on a four-mile swim to an uninhabited island, towing one crew member who was too badly injured to swim. “PT 109,” in Technicolor and Panavision, was filmed under the personal supervision of Jack L. Warner. Mat 1-C Still No. 870/JFK5 Kennedy's PT Boat Veterans Like Service Record Compiled By Personnel Associated With ‘PT 109’ 2 Island Naval Bases’ Carefully Built, Just As Carefully Wrecked For PT 109° Film wars are not only expensive to wage, but difficult and exacting to mount. For “PT 109,” the Technicolor Panavision adventure drama opening ........ at the Theatre, no stock footage was to be used. So a whopping military budget was allocated, and an army of technicians set to work. Tiny Munson Island, off Key West, was transformed under the broiling Florida sun into the Pacific naval bases of Tulagi and Rendova. The harbor was dredged, and tons of explosives were brought in. Meanwhile, back at shipyards in Miami, a whole fleet of PT boats was under construction since modern sea warfare has made the hardy little craft obsolete. Existing Air Force rescue boats were stripped to their hulls and new superstructures of the right kind imposed. As_ this went on, the huge Warner Bros. prop shop in Burbank, Cal., was manufacturing the mass of guns, torpedos and torpedo tubes to be used. When all was ready, a crew of actors chosen, in part, because of Filmic ‘War’ In Warner Bros.’ ‘PT 109" Required Great Cost, Skill, Experience A well-done battle scene in an action-packed movie is one audiences are most likely to remember. But it is also one of the most complex and costly, and it takes a lot of doing to make look genuine. That requirement did not faze Warner Bros. in regard to “PT 109,” which opens at the Theatre, through the filmic re-creation of Pres. Kennedy’s wartime exploits abounds in battle scenes. Under the personal supervision of Jack L. Warner, whatever talent, skill, experience and money was necessary to render the adventure drama authentic was provided. The result amounted to putting on a real war. For example, fast planes with the markings of Japanese Zeros make repeated attacks on a fleet of PT boats. One boat sinks. Its crew jumps into the sea. Co-stars Ty Hardin, James Gregory, Robert Culp and Grant Williams, as well as supporting players, knew just how to execute such a scene. They had military experience and drew on it. But producer Bryan Foy, director Leslie H. Martinson and special effects man Ralph Webb had to back them up completely to make it look genuine. In another scene star Cliff Rob Skipper Pilots The Wounded ertson, portraying Lt. (j.g.) J. F. Kennedy, races along a pier to the PT boat he commands, the 109. Bombs barely miss him, explode in nearby water. He is drenched by the high gush that follows. A section of pier is blown up just as he passes. The star leaps into the cockpit of his boat. As he does a tool dock goes up in flames, endangering him and the 109. It was fast, it looked real and it took experience. Robertson military experience was turned loose, and most of what had been built was carefully and dramatically destroyed, at the right cinematic moment. Cliff Robertson stars in the role of Lt. (j.g.) J. F. Kennedy, whose heroic story “PT 109” tells. ‘Kennedy Men’ On Screen The real-life enlisted men who served under Lt. (j.g.) J. F. Kennedy in World War II had no fault to find with the military qualifications of their screen counterparts in “PT 109” when they attended filming-sessions of the big-scale Warner Bros. drama which opens AE TU Wo de aunees Theatre. Four ex-Kennedy crew members — George “Barney” Ross, Gerard Zinzer, John Maguire and Leon Drawdy — and Alvin Cluster, JFK’s old PT squadron commander who was technical adviser on the film, all agreed that the acting crew chosen for “PT 109” was extremely well-qualified to appear in a realistic, action motion picture dealing with JFK’s wartime exploits. a ne ner Here are the service-records of some of the men in “PT 109,” the Technicolor Panavision adventure film made under the personal supervision of Jack L. Warner and _ produced by Bryan Foy: The star—Cliff Robertson was a seaman on a transport bombed near the Phillipines, later served on merchant ships in the same Pacific area as Kennedy himself. Co-stars — Ty Hardin served in the Korean War with the Army Signal Corps and is still a captain in the reserve; Grant Williams saw combat action as an Air Force staff sergeant in Korea; James Gregory was chief yeoman in the 3rd Amphibious Force in Guam, Saipan, Tinian and Okinawa. Supporting players—John Ward was a lieutenant, j.g., and a flyer aboard the Naval aircraft carrier USS Livermore; Glenn Sipes was an aviation electrician’s mate in the Navy for four years; William Douglas spent two years in the Army f Intelligence Corps; Clyde Howdy eee ee ww wee The crew of PT 109, commanded by Lt. (j.g.) John F. Kennedy, is shown here as they appear in the Warner Bros. presentation of “PT 109,” opening ........ at the Theatre: (L. to R., front row) Evan McCord as Harold Marney, Sam Reese as Andrew Kirsey, David Whorf as Raymond Albert; (L. to R., back row) Ty Hardin as Ensign Leonard Thom, Sam Gilman as Ray Starkey, Robert Blake as “Bucky” Harris, Biff Elliott as Edgar Mauer, John Ward as John Maguire and Cliff Robertson, starring as Kennedy. “PT 109” recounts the adventures of Kennedy and his crew during the four months that led up to the ramming and sinking of the patrol-torpedo boat by a Japanese destroyer. The film, produced under the personal supervision of Jack L. Warner, was lensed in Technicolor and Panavision. Grant Williams and James Gregory ee ee ee woe was a submarine sailor in the Pacific; James McCallion served with the Army in the China-Burma-India Theatre; Robert Blake was in the Army in Alaska; Sam Gilman was a staff sergeant with the Army in Europe; and Biff Elliot was with the 34th Infantry in Africa and Italy. There were veterans, too, behind the scenes of “PT 109.” Director Leslie H. Martinson was an Army sergeant at Guadalcanal and Richard had that experience. are also co-starred. Heroic Tale Of JFK In W.W. II On Screen In Warner's PT 109° On an early August morning in 1943, a Japanese destroyer rammed and sank an American PT boat in the Solomon Islands, leaving its crew for dead in a sea covered with flaming fuel. The skipper of the boat was a handsome Navy lieutenant (j.g.) from Boston. His name was John Fitzgerald Kennedy. For 30 hours, he was in the water, helping survivors ashore and trying to find aid. The story of that boat, its crew and its skipper, who became President of the United States—truly one of the great adventure tales of World War [l—was put into a book, “PT 109,” by Washington newsman Robert J. Donovan. It became one of the top best sellers of recent years. + Now, in Technicolor and Panavision, the whole heroic tale is brought to the screen in Warner Bros. new “PT 109,” made under the personal supervision of Jack L. Warner, produced by Bryan Foy and directed by Leslie H. Martinson from a screenplay by Richard L. Breen. The film opens at the Theatre. Cliff Robertson is starred as Lt. Kennedy, and Ty Hardin, James Gregory, Robert Culp and Grant Williams are co-starred. For Robertson, the Kennedy role is the big break of his career. he has long been recognized as an actor of unusual ability but was little known to the general public. The assignment to portray a living president, however, has given his career that much-needed push and made _ his name known throughout the world. To prepare the actor read many books, studied much newsreel footage and acquainted himself in other ececeer vee AL LOG seevnevevese L. Breen, who wrote the screenplay, saw service as a Navy officer. ‘PT 109° Co-Star Ty Hardin Really Applies Pres. Kennedy's Physical-Fitness Program Ty Hardin, who portrays Kennedy’s executive officer during World War II in the new Warner Bros. action-drama, “PT 109,” is one of the most spirited boosters of the president’s physicalfitness program. In fact it was his 6 feet, 2 inches build and his athletic prowess that helped win him the important co-star role of sturdy Ensign Leonard Thom, second in command on a tough little patroltorpedo boat that made history in the 1943 Solomon Islands campaign. The story of that boat, its plucky crew, and its skipper who became President of the United States, is recounted in “PT 109,” major Technicolor-Panavision release made under he personal supervaion of Jack<L. Warner, precident. (<a of Warner Bros. Directed by Leslie H. Martinson and _ produced by Bryan Foy, “PT 109” opens ...... at themes tat ones Theatre. Cliff Robertson is starred as Lt. (j.g.) J. F. Kennedy. In addition to Hardin, James Gregory, Robert Culp and Grant Williams are co-starred. To Ty Hardin physical-fitness is more than a set of exercises—it’s a way of life. He plays football, baseball, tennis and golf, he skiis and swims, he rides horseback. “Whether you’re an actor, a businessman or a schoolboy, you must have a regular exercise program,” says Hardin, who begins each day with three sets of 30 pushups among other setting-up exercises. “You must find time for exercise to avoid illness. So much more is possible for the well-conditioned person. “T also like competitive sports,” Hardin continues. “I want to keep myself competitive in a competitive world. It is not that I like to beat others but that I want to improve Mat 2-F_ Still No. 870/73 ‘PT 109° Co-Star Ty Hardin co-stars with Cliff Robertson, who portrays Lt. Following an attack by Japanese planes, Cliff Robertson, starring as Lt. (j.g.) John F. Kennedy, strides across the deck of the LST bringing him to the South Pacific and his assignment as a PT boat skipper in this scene from “PT 109,” the Warner Bros. adventure drama opening at the Theatre. The stirring film, produced under the personal supervision of Jack L. Warner, co-stars Ty Hardin, James Gregory, Robert Culp and Grant Williams and covers Kennedy from his arrival through the ramming and sinking of the 109 by a Japanese destroyer during World War II. Mat 2-D_ Still No. 870/22 eee ce ee oe © AL TEI «6 wwe we wwe ways with Kennedy, the man. But he deliberately avoided imitation, especially the famous Harvard accent. As for the matter of politics vis-avis himself and his subject, Robertson answers this way: “I’ve never discussed my politics before and don’t believe I should start now. I have great respect for President Kennedy and am honored that I was picked to portray him in ‘PT 109°.” myself. By participating in athletics with others I also avoid becoming too self-centered as an actor.” That Hardin is serious about physical-fitness is demonstrated by the fund he is building out of private earnings from his film and television appearances. He regularly sets aside a portion for the purpose of establishing Boys’ Clubs in various places to help youngsters keep fit. (j.g-) John F. Kennedy, in “PT 109,” the action-packed Warner Bros. adventure drama opening eis ACEC! saree islaudys Theatre. Hardin plays Ensign Leonard J. Thom, Kennedy’s executive officer aboard the 109, in the film which was produced under the personal supervision of Jack L. Warner. Mat 1-E coe ee Still No. 870/627 PAGE 7