| Assault on a Queen | |
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 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Jack Donohue |
| Screenplay by | Rod Serling |
| Based on | Assault on a Queen byJack Finney |
| Produced by | William Goetz |
| Starring | Frank Sinatra Virna Lisi Tony Franciosa |
| Cinematography | William H. Daniels |
| Edited by | Archie Marshek |
| Music by | Duke Ellington Nathan Van Cleave |
Production companies | Seven Arts Productions Sinatra Enterprises |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 106 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $2.7 million (est. US/ Canada rentals)[1] |
Assault on a Queen is a 1966 Americanaction-adventure film directed byJack Donohue and starringFrank Sinatra andVirna Lisi. Based on a 1959 novel byJack Finney, it was adapted for the screen byRod Serling and released byParamount Pictures on June 15, 1966. The supporting cast featuresTony Franciosa andRichard Conte.
After a World War II-eraGerman submarine that has been missing for 20 years is retrieved in theBahamas by diver Mark Brittain, the wealthy Rosa Lucchesi and her partner Vic Rossiter, who have been searching for sunken Spanishgalleons, hire the submarine. Eric Lauffnauer, a U-boat officer during the war, devises a plan to stage a daring million-dollar heist aboard theBritish ocean linerRMS Queen Mary while the ship is crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Brittain returns the submarine to operational order with the assistance of his partner Linc and new man Moreno, a war hero and expert with engines.
Disguised as officers from a British submarine on a top-secret mission, Brittain, Rossiter and Lauffnauer bluff their way aboard theQueen Mary and threaten its captain with a torpedo attack if he or his crew refuse to comply with their demands to be granted access to the cash in the ship's safe. They reach the safe and stuff large bags full of cash. After trying to wrest a valuable ring from a lady's finger, Rossiter is shot and killed by a member of theQueen Mary's crew.
The two surviving men flee theQueen Mary and reach the submarine, but Brittain must abandon the stolen money when Lauffnauer prepares to dive the submarine without him. When aU.S. Coast Guard cutter in the vicinity comes to the ocean liner's aid, Lauffnauer wants to fire the submarine's torpedoes at it, but Brittain voices strong opposition. Lauffnauer draws a gun and a scuffle ensues in which Lauffnauer accidentally shoots his friend Moreno. Lauffnauer manages to fire the torpedoes but the Coast Guard men destroy them before they can reach the cutter. Brittain, Rosa and Linc dive off the submarine just before the cutter rams into it, killing Lauffnauer. The three remaining gang members survive, paddling a raft with no loot and headed for South America.
The U.S. Coast Guard cutter seen in the film was portrayed by the Miami-basedUSCGC Androscoggin (WHEC-68). TheUSCGC Minnetonka (WHEC-67) is also listed in the film's final credits, as it was shown in some scenes. At the time of filming,Minnetonka was homeported inLong Beach, California, close to Paramount's studio facilities in Hollywood.
Assault on a Queen was released onDVD andBlu-ray disc by Olive Films on March 27, 2012 inRegion 1widescreen.
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