Movie and TV Presidents: Cliff Robertson as JFK in PT109

May 28, 2018 01:52

PT 109 was a movie that hit theatres in June of 1963, during the third year of John F. Kennedy's presidency. It told the story of Kennedy as an officer of the United States Navy in command of Motor Torpedo Boat PT-109 during the Pacific War of World War II. The film was adapted by Vincent Flaherty and Howard Sheehan from the book PT 109: John F. Kennedy in World War II by Robert J. Donovan. The screenplay was written by Robert L. Breen. Cliff Robertson stars as Kennedy, and other actors include Ty Hardin, James Gregory, Robert Culp, and Grant Williams. This was the first commercial theatrical film about a sitting United States President released while he was still in office. It was released five months before Kennedy was assassinated.



The story begins in August of 1942, as American forces are fighting the Japanese in the Pacific. U.S. Navy Lieutenant, junior grade John F. Kennedy (Robertson) uses his family's influence to get himself assigned to the fighting in the Solomon Islands in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Kennedy lobbies for command of a PT boat, and is assigned to the "109", a badly damaged boat in need of repair and overhaul. Commander C.R. Ritchie (James Gregory) views the young and inexperienced Kennedy as a lightweight and a spoiled prima donna, but his enthusiasm to build a crew and refurbish the 109 to operational status eventually earns Ritchie's grudging respect. The crew includes Kennedy's executive officer, Ensign Leonard J. Thom (Ty Hardin), and sailors "Bucky" Harris (Robert Blake) and Edmund Drewitch (Norman Fell).

On one mission, the PT 109 is sent to evacuate paramarines after their Raid on Choiseul. Kennedy successfully takes aboard the survivors, but barely gets out of range of Japanese mortars before running out of fuel. The tide starts to carry the boat back toward the island. Kennedy, his crew, and the rescued Marines face the prospect of a desperate fight for their lives, but in the nick of time another PT boat arrives and tows the 109 to safety. The crew's next mission is less successful. While on patrol on a dark, moonless night in August 1943, a Japanese destroyer suddenly appears out of the darkness, rams and slices the 109 in two, killing two of the crew of 13. Kennedy survives the collision and searches for survivors, despite injuring his back. When Kennedy and his men are presumed dead by nearby allies, Kennedy leads the survivors in swimming to a deserted island, while himself towing a badly burned crewman.

As morale declines and several of the men appear to give up hope, Kennedy swims out into the channel the next night hoping another PT boat will come by. He does so night after night and eventually Kennedy encounters two natives and gives them a carved message on a coconut. They take it to an Australian coast-watcher instead of the Japanese. The coast-watcher sends more natives to the island who take Kennedy with them, and the coast-watcher arranges for a rescue. Afterward, Kennedy is eligible to transfer back to the U.S., but is assigned command of another PT boat that has been modified as a gunboat, PT 59, and elects to remain.

JFK's father, Joseph Kennedy, had been a Hollywood producer and was once the head of the RKO studio. He used his influence to negotiate the film rights to Donovan's biography. The film was made under the "personal supervision" of Warner's head of production, Jack L. Warner and the White House sent Alvin Cluster, a wartime friend of Kennedy's, who was also his former commanding officer, as well as a PT boat commander, to act as a liaison between Warners and the White House for the film.

The White House was given full approval of casting and other aspects of the film. Among other actors considered for the lead were Peter Fonda, Warren Beatty (Jacqueline Kennedy's choice); Jeffrey Hunter (who had just finished playing Jesus Christ in King of Kings) and Warner Bros Television contract stars Edd Byrnes, Peter Brown, Chad Everett, and Roger Smith. Kennedy personally selected Robertson after viewing the screen tests. Robertson met with Kennedy and Kennedy gave Robertson three conditions for the film: (1) that it be historically accurate; (2) that profits go to the survivors of PT 109 and their families, and (3) that Kennedy had the final choice of lead actor.

Robertson was nearly forty years old at the time the film was made. Alvin Cluster later told Robertson, "the President picked you not only because you were a fine actor but because you're young looking, yet mature enough so that the world won't get the idea the President was being played by a parking lot attendant or something". Actor Edd Byrnes (who played the part of Kookie in the show "77 Sunset Strip") wrote in his autobiography Kookie, No More, that he was told "President John F. Kennedy didn't want to be played by 'Kookie'". Kennedy also vetoed Raoul Walsh as the director of the film, because he didn't like the film "Marines Let's Go", which Walsh directed. The original director was Lewis Milestone, who had previously filmed All Quiet on the Western Front, A Walk in the Sun, and Pork Chop Hill. Milestone left the production because he disliked the script and because the studio was unhappy with cost overruns during Milestone's time as director. Milestone was replaced by Leslie Martinson, a television director with little experience making films.

Much of the movie was filmed at Little Palm Island (formerly Little Munson Island), now a resort in the Florida Keys. Power and fresh water were run out to the island for the film, allowing the resort to be built years later. When the set was being built for the film, this sparked rumors that another U.S. invasion of Cuba was in the works.

No 80 foot Elco PT Boats in operational condition could be found for the movie, as almost all had been destroyed at the end of World War II. Former WW II era USAAF 85' crash boats were converted to resemble the 80' Elco PT boats. American AT-6 Texan training planes stood in for Japanese Zeroes. U.S. Navy support also included a Landing Ship Tank, as well as the destroyer USS Saufley, and smaller vessels such as landing craft and motor whaleboats from nearby Naval Station Key West.

After seeing the film, President Kennedy called PT 109 a "good product," but he worried about the length of the film at 2 hours and 20 minutes. He said, "It's just a question of whether there’s too much of it".

PT 109 received a lukewarm response at the time of its release, although Robertson received good reviews. Here is an excerpt from the movie:

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movies, john f. kennedy

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