PT 109 (Warner Bros.) (1963)

Famous PT's Return From History Robertson Faced An Actor's Top Challenge For Fresh Fighting Role In PT107 Jn ‘PT 109°—Portraying A Living President Twenty years ago, President John F. Kennedy was Lt. (j.g.) John F. Kennedy, skipper of a PT boat on active duty in the Solomon Islands. Twenty years ago, the U. S. Navy had approximately 600 plucky little PT-boats harassing the Japanese in the South Pacific. However, since 1943 more than a few changes have taken place in naval theory and practice—and PT’s no longer figure in the Navy’s plans, so none were operational when Warner Bros. set about filming the multi-million dollar production of “PT 109,” which opens ....at the ..... Theatre. The company, therefore, built its own little navy of PT boats for the adventure drama, starring Cliff Robertson as Lt. Kennedy, which was filmed under the personal supervision of Jack L. Warner. The boats were designed by art director Leo K. Kuter, working from original plans for PT Boat 109. The 109 had been built by the Elco Naval Division of the Electric Boat (Company. Kuter also obtained a Navy pb*to of the 109 being loaded aboard a transport at Norfolk, Va., on August 6, 1942, en route to the Pacific. Using the hulls of surplus Air Force rescue boats, the new PT’s included every feature of the actual PT boats. Reconditioned 1,500-HP Packard motors were installed. All the armament, including torpedo tubes, 50-calibre and 20-millimeter guns, was built by Warner Bros. at its studios. The work was carried out with wartime urgency to meet the target date for duty before the cameras. The action depicted in “PT 109” occurred in the Solomon Islands between April and August, 1943. It includes the bombing of the LST which was bringing Lt. Kennedy to the South Pacific to take command of a PT boat, the aerial bombing and strafing of the naval bases at Tulagi and Rendova, the rescue of a group of Marines trapped on a Japaneseheld island by Kennedy and _ the crew of the 109, and the events of the fateful August morning when Kennedy skippered his boat into battle against Japanese ships and was rammed by the destroyer Amagiri. Ty Hardin, James Gregory, Robert Culp and Grant Williams co-star in “PT 109,” which was produced by Bryan Foy in Technicolor and Panavision and directed by Leslie H. Martinson. Star And His Model Cliff Robertson, who stars as Lt. John F. Kennedy, skipper of the patrol-torpedo boat which was rammed and sunk by a Japanese destroyer during World War II in the Solomon Islands, holds a model of the historic boat. Warner Bros. had to build its own fleet of the boats, no longer used by the Navy, for its TechnicolorPanavision presentation of “PT 109,” opening ........ at the Dh ster ete Ea Gsere Theatre. Ty Hardin, James Gregory, Robert Culp and Grant Williams are co-starred in the stirring account of the heroic skipper and his crew. The adventure drama, filmed under the personal supervision of Jack L. Warner, was produced by Bryan Foy and directed by Leslie H. Martinson from a sereen play based on a best-selling book. Mat 1-A_ Still No. 870/603 Order this 5-column mat free-of-charge now from: — Robertson Loves TV, It’s So Good To Him Cliff Robertson is one motion picture star who refuses to indulge in the popular past-time of blasting TV. He’s convinced that his TV acting opportunities were what won him the coveted role of Lt. (j.g.) John F. Kennedy in “PT 109,” the Warner Bros. adventure drama opening..... at Nese siciiels Theatre. Originally brought to Hollywood from Broadway for motion pictures, Robertson observes, “I could easily have been forgotten. However, television came to my rescue. I received excellent dramatic roles which kept my name alive with the public and gave me some reputation in the business as an actor.” Among Robertson’s 100 TV dramas are “Days of Wine and Roses” and “The Two Worlds of Charlie Gordon,” for which he won Emmy nominations as best TV actor of the year. But his best television roles have generally been re-created by others on screen. Jack Lemmon won an Academy Award nomination for his work in Robertson’s role in the motion picture version of “Days of Wine and Roses,” released by Warner Bros. Paul Newman also won an Oscar nomination for his performance in the title role of “The Hustler,” a role Robertson had played in the original TV drama called “Goodbye, Johnny.” Recently, Robertson won critical acclaim for his portrayal in “The Two Worlds of Charlie Gordon,” but he took out insurance that the movie version did not go to another star— he purchased the screen rights before the drama was even presented on TV. Coincidentally, the story of the PT 109 was originally a “Navy Log” TV episode However, the focal role of Lt. Kennedy that time was played by John Baer, who along with 100 other aspirants lost out to Robertson when the top part was cast for “PT 109,” the Technicolor-Panavision release filmed under the personal supervision of Jack L. Warner, president of Warner Bros. An actor who would attempt to portray a living President of The United States on the screen has the proverbial “two strikes” against him. But he is also accepting a rare challenge as a per former according to Cliff Robertson, who stars as Lt. (j.g.) John F. Kennedy in “PT 109,” the Warner Bros. adventure drama PONE vice. et ee at the .. tact eae Theatre. Because “PT 109” deals with Lt. Kennedy’s exploits as a PTboat commander in the South Pacific during World War II, Robert son, in accepting the risk of being the first actor to portray a living president on film, is convinced he has the unique opportunity of meeting the challenge of winning his audience by the honesty of his work. “Audiences will be prejudiced. Having followed the president in the newspapers—and, more particularly, having seen him on television—they quite naturally feel they know the man. It is almost like playing a member of everybody’s family,” suggests Robertson. “Normally, the audience doesn’t know the character being portrayed and comes to see the actor in an objective frame of mind. What I tried PT Crew Watches PT Crew In Action Five members of the original PT 109 crew watched their screen counterparts in action during the filming of “PT 109,” the Warner Bros. adventure drama_ opening Spe es atvthel ah wos « «aks Theatre. Lt. Alvin Cluster, USN (Ret.), George “Barney” Ross, Gerard Zinser, John Maguire and Leon Drowdy—portrayed, respectively, by Grant Williams, Robert Culp, William Douglas, John Ward and Clyde Howdy — all were visitors to the film’s location site. One crew member who did not visit was the lieutenant (j-g-) who once commanded the 109—John F. Kennedy. Cliff Robertson stars as Lt. Kennedy in “PT 109,” filmed under the personal supervision of Jack L. Warner. Story-in-pictures mat available free! Campaign Plan Manager Warner Bros. Pictures 666 Fifth Ave., New York 19, N. Y. “PT 109,” a Warner Bros. motion picture presentation in Technicolor and Panavision, excitingly recreates the dramatic combat adventures of President John F. Kennedy as a young PT-boat commander in the South Pacific during World War Il. Cliff Robertson stars in the coveted role of Lt. (j.g.) Kennedy. The action epic about the President’s heroic exploits in the battle for the Solomon Islands was made under the personal supervision of Jack L. Warner. Ty Hardin, James Gregory, Robert Culp and Grant Williams are costarred in “PT 109,” produced by Bryan Foy and directed by Leslie H. Martinson. Lt. (j.g.) John F. Kennedy (CLIFF ROBERTSON) arriving at Tulagi to report for combat duty as a PT-boat commander is welcomed to the South Pacific by a Japanese bombing attack (1) and races for the gun emplacements with Ensign Leonard Thom (TY HARDIN). Kennedy proudly takes over his first command, the PT 109, and is given one week to put the ailing boat in shape. A confident and determined Kennedy whips ship and crew into shape and starts making combat patrols. Week after week, PT 109 seeks out the enemy. In the pre-dawn darkness of August 2, 1943, PT 109 and other boats of its squadron roar out to stop the Japanese PAGE 8 attempt to land at Vila. Operating without light or radar, the 109 cuts across the bow of a speeding Japanese destroyer, the Amigiri. A fearful collision (2) slices the PT-boat in half, killing two men and flinging the rest into the water. Despite an injury to his back, Kennedy swims through flaming waters to rescue seriously injured crewmen and leads the group to temporary haven on Plum Island, four miles away. He tows one badly burned crewman the full distance (3) by grasping his life-jacket strap in his teeth. That night, Kennedy swims miles out to sea with a lantern hoping to attract a passing PTboat. Unsuccessful, he returns in the morning near collapse. He moves his men to another island in search of food and better concealment. When friendly natives discover them, he sends his famous “coconut message,” and they return to take him to an Australian coast-watcher who notifies the U.S. Navy by radio. Despite his condition, Kennedy insists on directing the PT-boat rescue party to his marooned men (4). Now eligible for transfer home, Kennedy refuses and takes command of PT 59, a war-weary craft much in need of work. In three days he has the job completed, takes the helm (5) and heads out to open sea. to do was make my portrayal so honest that any first reactions of the audience will be overcome by the performance.” Robertson’s idea of an honest performance is not to give an imitation of the president. The native Californian didn’t attempt the famous Harvard accent. Robertson’s speech, in fact, is non-regional. Although the actor did spend much time looking at newsreels of the president and reading many books and articles about him, it was not his intention to become a carbon copy. “T wasn’t trying to ape the external mannerisms of the president,” Robertson explains. “I believe audiences would be distracted if I had done an imitation of him. It would be different if the film were about a president no longer living. Then the public would be reminded of some of the lovable traits of a man they had known in the past. “T didn’t want this to be a stereo typed film hero,” Robertson adds. “Some of the young Navy lieutenant’s frailties are also shown. But when his boat was cut in two, Lt. Kennedy was a man of action. He struck out to help his men and himself. I believe this was a turning point in his life.” Filmed in Panavision and Technicolor under Jack L. Warner’s personal supervision, “PT 109” is based on Robert J. Donovan’s book, one of the top best-sellers of recent years. Bryan Foy produced the film, which Leslie H. Martinson directed from a script by Richard Breen. Ty Hardin, James Gregory, Robert Culp and Grant Williams are costarred in “PT 109,” which was lensed by three-time Academy Awardwinner Robert Surtees.