The summary and note for this entry were completed with participation from the AFI Academic Network. Summary was written by participant Dane Heiss, a student at Oregon State University, with Jon Lewis as academic advisor.

A 24 Jul 1980 HR news item announced that John Frankenheimer contracted with Lorimar, Inc. to direct the picture, but the deal was contingent on both the approval of the film’s budget and cooperation from the United States Department of Defense. As reported in a 29 Sep 1982 Var news item, Frankenheimer sued Lorimar for nearly $4.5 million in a breach of contract lawsuit, claiming that the production company refused to let him direct or produce the film. Their denial was not related to military approval or budgetary concerns. In May 1979, Lorimar hired Frankenheimer to develop the novel Destinies and agreed to offer him a role in a similarly budgeted picture if they decided to pass on the project. After presenting Frankenheimer with An Officer and a Gentleman as a “suitable alternative” to Destinies, Lorimar backed out of the agreement and Frankenheimer claimed entitlement to compensation and damages as well as a percentage of the film’s profits.
       According to a 26 Nov 1982 LAT article, writer Douglas Day Stewart’s script for An Officer and a Gentleman was autobiographical. Stewart, who was one of four naval officers that escorted the first battalion of Marines to Vietnam in 1962, spent time in the Philippine Islands and attended a naval academy in Pensacola, FL. He told LAT that although the character “Zack Mayo” was “a tougher guy than I was,” the film’s narrative reflected “all the components of my experience,” including the phenomenon of young women searching for husbands at the academy. Stewart noted that the original script was written with a naval cadet as its protagonist, but the character was changed to a pilot to make the story “’more romantic.’” LAT stated that Stewart completed the script in 1979, but no studio expressed interest until Donald Simpson, then president of production of Paramount Pictures, took the project under his wing and acted as a “mentor” to Stewart.
       A 30 Sep 1982 Rolling Stone article reported that director Taylor Hackford brought the script to Simpson’s attention six years after it was written. While Hackford was working at Paramount on an original screenplay for his second film as a director, threats of a Directors Guild strike forced him to put the project on hold. Anticipating the strike, Paramount offered Hackford a number of properties that were ready for production, but Hackford was not interested in their suggestions and presented Simpson with An Officer and a Gentleman. Aside from appreciating the story, Simpson saw potential in the script because it was owned by Lorimar, which had a distribution deal with Paramount and was “phasing out of feature films,” making them eager to unload properties. As reported in a 2 Mar 1981 DV news item, Lorimar, previously an independent company, had contracted with Paramount Pictures for both financing and distribution of eight films. According to Var, An Officer and a Gentleman was the first Lorimar film to be financially backed by Paramount after the deal was negotiated.
       While Hackford liked the script, he told Rolling Stone that he was initially ambivalent about directing the picture because of his political beliefs. In the 1960s, he worked for the Peace Corps. in Bolivia and felt hesitant to make a film “’that was a fairly positive statement about the armed forces.’” Although Hackford concluded that it is necessary for governments to maintain militaries and the film had a legitimate message, he noted that the story focused more on personal relationships than politics.
       As reported in various contemporary sources, including LAT and a 2 Aug 1982 New York news item, the U.S. Navy was uncooperative with the filmmakers and attempted to sabotage the production. Stewart told LAT that Hackford was persuaded to question the legitimacy of his script after meeting with military advisors, who contended the account was “’a total lie.’” Although the film was initially scheduled for principal photography in Pensacola, as reported in a 24 Jul 1980 HR news item, the Navy prevented the filmmakers’ use of their facilities and the production relocated to former army bases near Port Townsend, WA. During the shoot, the filmmakers discovered that military personnel were “officially” prohibited from associating with the production. However, Stewart reported, many “did so covertly” because they wanted to make sure the film was accurate. According to New York, the Navy refused Hackford’s request to film planes from their aerobatic squadron, the Blue Angels, so he arranged to portray them with Canadian Snowbirds. Shortly before the shoot, however, Canada withdrew their cooperation because of pressure from the U.S. military. In the Philippines, Hackford attempted to cast off-duty naval workers as extras, but his efforts were thwarted by a threatening memo circulated around the base which implied that cooperation with the production was impermissible. The Navy also prohibited the filmmakers from using their “plane-crash simulators,” but Hackford told New York that he was able to create the same effects for much less money.
       As reported in DV on 14 Jul 1981, the Navy opposed the film because of its perceived inaccuracy and “strong language.” A military spokesman expressed concern that the film would have a negative impact on recruitment and might frighten the mothers of potential enlistees. Hackford told Rolling Stone that the military “’hated the portrayal of the father… and suggested we make him a modern chief who does community work a couple nights a week.” Furthermore, according to Hackford, the military denied that their recruits were interested in pursuing sexual relationships with the women who flocked to the bases looking for lovers and husbands, as portrayed in the film.
       A 10 Apr 1981 HR news item reported that principal photography was set to begin 20 Apr 1981 in Port Townsend and, on 14 Jul 1981, a DV article reported that the film had recently concluded an eight-week shoot. Fort Worden was noted as a primary location. Rolling Stone stated that despite a grueling, forty-three day shooting schedule and a tight budget of $7.5 million, the film was completed on time in anticipation of the Directors Guild strike; however, the union did not stage a walkout as planned.
       As noted in Rolling Stone, the film was initially rated X (no one under seventeen years of age admitted) by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) because of its love scene. Although Hackford claimed that he intentionally made the love-making “sweet” by avoiding filmic conventions such as soft-focus and “dissolve-to-music technique,” the MPAA found the character “Paula Pokrifki’s” position on top of Zack during sex, and her “undulating,” salacious. They also objected to the length of the scene, which was composed of two shots. After Hackford issued an appeal to the MPAA, actress Debra Winger mentioned her disbelief about the X-rating to the press and the director received an onslaught of publicity about the controversy. Hackford told Rolling Stone that he decided to edit the scene and drop the appeal because he felt audiences would be disappointed by the film if they viewed it expecting an X-rated picture. The director said that he used the existing footage of the scene, but made it shorter and “’went in optically above Debra’s waist to take out the – quote – objectionable part.’”
       According to Rolling Stone, the role of “Sgt. Emil Foley” was conceived as a white man, but the filmmakers had trouble filling the role with an actor who portrayed the character’s “bravura.” Hackford noted that actor Louis Gossett Jr. impressed them because he “’played the role as it was written’” and no lines were rewritten “’to make the character black.’” In order to maintain the emotional distance from the cast, Gossett had independent accommodations during the shoot and refrained from socializing with his colleagues.
       After the film previewed successfully in Toronto, Canada, and New Orleans, LA, Paramount’s then president of distribution and advertising, Frank Mancuso, decided to release the film three months early, positioning it with summer blockbusters. As noted in a 17 Aug 1982 NYT article, Mancuso’s “gamble” was rewarded. Despite mixed reviews, the picture grossed $3,329,896 million by its second weekend and showed a $25,000 increase in ticket sales after the first week. The film opened in 346 theaters, which was intentionally moderate enough to allow “room to build.” According to NYT, Paramount took the unusual steps of promoting the film with a “double-image” advertisement, which was discouraged by experts because it emphasized the “soft,” love-story of the film, and of setting the opening date on a Wednesday. Mancuso told NYT that audience interest was a result of intensively screening the film, which generated word of mouth. Mancuso noted: “’When we opened it on Wednesday, we saw Wednesday and Thursday being like extra previews.’” A 24 Aug 1992 issue of HR published a profit statement from Paramount which showed that the film grossed a net profit of $33,759,292 by 25 Mar 1989.
       A 26 Jan 1983 DV news item announced that Lorimar and Paramount intended to produce a video series entitled Sgt. Foley as a spin-off of the film, starring Gossett Jr., but the project was never realized.
       While the character portrayed by Debra Winger is spelled “Paula Pokrifki” in the end credits, the last names of her parents are spelled “Pokrifiki.” According to the original script, the correct spelling is “Pokrifki.”
       The film received the following Academy Award nominations: Actress in a Leading Role, Film Editing, Music (Original Score), and Writing (Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen). Gossett Jr. won an Academy Award for Actor in a Supporting Role and Jack Nitzsche, Buffy Sainte-Marie and Will Jennings won in the category of Music (Original Song) for “Up Where We Belong.”
       The end credits include the following acknowledgements: “Special thanks to Art Kulman of the Washington State Dept. of Commerce & Economic Development, Fort Worden State Park, Gus Gustafson, Brent Shirley, and the people of Port Townsend, Washington.”