This article is about the movie. For the drug dealer, see Johnny Eng.
Onionhead
Theatrical release poster.
Directed by
Norman Taurog
Written by
Nelson Gidding
Based on
Onionhead (novel) by Weldon Hill
Produced by
Jules Schermer
Starring
Andy Griffith
Cinematography
Hal Rosson
Edited by
William H. Ziegler
Music by
David Buttolph
Production company
Warner Bros.
Release date
October 1, 1958 (1958-10-01) (U.S.)
Running time
111 minutes
Country
United States
Language
English
Budget
$960,000[1]
Box office
$2 million[2]
Onionhead is a 1958 American comedy drama film set on a U.S. Coast Guard ship during World War II, starring Andy Griffith and featuring Felicia Farr, Walter Matthau, Erin O'Brien, James Gregory, Joey Bishop, and Claude Akins.[3] It was directed by Norman Taurog and was written by Nelson Gidding and Weldon Hill from Hill's novel. Weldon Hill was the pseudonym of William R. Scott, a native Oklahoman who based the novel on his own World War II service in the Coast Guard.
Griffith had experienced success earlier in 1958 with his service comedy, No Time for Sergeants, and Onionhead was an attempt to cash in on that success. It was mistakenly marketed as an uproarious comedy, but it is actually a comedy-drama with some dark themes including theft and adultery. Onionhead was such a notorious flop that it drove Griffith into television, according to Griffith himself in a videotaped interview in the Archive of American Television.
^Michael A. Hoey, Elvis' Favorite Director: The Amazing 52-Film Career of Norman Taurog, Bear Manor Media 2013
^"Top Grossers of 1958". Variety. 7 January 1959. p. 48. Please note figures are for US and Canada only and are domestic rentals accruing to distributors as opposed to theatre gross
Onionhead is a 1958 American comedy drama film set on a U.S. Coast Guard ship during World War II, starring Andy Griffith and featuring Felicia Farr,...
(born ca. 1958) (Chinese: 伍少衡; Jyutping: ng5 siu3 hang4), also known as Onionhead (Chinese: 蔥頭; Jyutping: cung1 tau4) or Machinegun Johnny, is a Hong Kong-born...
Slimer, originally referred to as "Onionhead" and sometimes "the Mean Green Ghost" and "Ugly Little Spud", is a character from the Ghostbusters franchise...
Marineland Diver (uncredited) The Road to Denver (1955) - Man (uncredited) Onionhead (1958) - Minor Role (uncredited) The Buccaneer (1958) - Pirate (uncredited)...
is an International Yoga teacher, actress, model, and business woman. Onionhead (1958) as Sergeant Seated at Bar (uncredited) Bronco (1959, TV Series)...
Around the same time, he made Ride a Crooked Trail with Audie Murphy, and Onionhead (both 1958) starring Andy Griffith; the latter was a flop. Matthau and...
Gleason. He also portrayed a US Coast Guard sailor in the feature film Onionhead (1958). It was neither a critical nor a commercial success. In 1957, Griffith...
day, during preproduction, we were all sitting around talking about the Onionhead concept, and Ivan remarked that the character was sort of like Bluto in...
Window, The Guns of Fort Petticoat, The Left Handed Gun, Kathy O' and Onionhead. On television, Pryor portrayed Dr. William Beaumont in the "Who Search...
Barrymore. He signed a long term contract with the studio, appearing in Onionhead (1958). Danton starred in Tarawa Beachhead (1958) at Columbia, with co-star...
resulting in appearances in the 1958 films Darby's Rangers, Violent Road and Onionhead, and in episodes of the television Western series Colt .45, Cheyenne,...
Deep Six (1958) as Ski Krokowski The Naked and the Dead (1958) as Roth Onionhead (1958) as Sidney Gutsell Ocean's 11 (1960) as Mushy' O'Connors Pepe (1960)...
Blackburn Joe Dakota (1957) as Aaron Grant The Defiant Ones (1958) as Mack Onionhead (1958) as Poznicki Rio Bravo (1959) as Joe Burdette Bat Masterson (1959)...
Singles Sales. Music videos were shot for the songs "Peep My Words", "Onionhead", "Heartburn", "Boom Bye Yeah", "Monkey Barz" and "Slapboxing", which...
Story; CHiPs; and Murder, She Wrote. His film career included roles in Onionhead (1958), A Private's Affair (1959), In Enemy Country (1968), The Last Tycoon...
the Mirror Dr. Leon Karnes 1958 Ride a Crooked Trail Judge Kyle 1958 Onionhead Red Wildoe 1959 Gangster Story Jack Martin Also director 1960 Strangers...
Cantrell The First Texan Katherine Delaney 1957 3:10 to Yuma Emmy 1958 Onionhead Stella Papparonis 1960 Hell Bent for Leather Janet Gifford 1964 Kiss Me...
Bad Seed (1956) Toward the Unknown (1956) No Time for Sergeants (1958) Onionhead (1958) El Dorado (1966) "'Oz' cinematographer dies in Florida at age 93"...
Kate Henniger Episode: "Ghost Town" 1958 Violent Road Peg Lawrence 1958 Onionhead Snobbish Girl at Party (uncredited) 1958 Home Before Dark Cathy Bergner...
Williams, Broadway Producer 1957 The Sad Sack Private Stan Wenaslawsky 1958 Onionhead Harry 'Doc' O'Neal 1960 The Crowded Sky Louis Capelli 1960 Nervous Man...
entities that lacked human forms). The creature's original title was "The Onionhead Ghost", which the film crew dubbed him for the horrible odor he used to...
Global Information