Don't Give Up the Ship

In this 1959 comedy, Jerry Lewis stars as Lieutenant John Paul Steckler VII, a well-meaning but hapless Navy officer tasked with finding his missing destroyer escort, the U.S.S. Kornblatt. With a $4 billion appropriation at stake and pressure from his superiors, Steckler must navigate a complex web of bureaucratic red tape to uncover the truth behind the ship's disappearance. Along the way, he teams up with Naval Intelligence operative Ensign Benson (Dina Merrill) to track down key witnesses and recover the lost vessel.