STACK #261 July 2026

FEATURE MOVIE

THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER STILL HOLDS COURSE!

Before Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck, Chris Pine, and John Krasinski answered the call, Alec Baldwin was the first actor to step into the shoes ofTom Clancy's legendary CIA analyst Jack Ryan. Words Bob J

Tom Clancy's "Ryanverse" extends far beyond Jack Ryan. The interconnected universe includes 12 original Jack Ryan novels written by Clancy, five co-authored novels, more than a dozen continuation novels by other writers, the Jack Ryan Jr. book series, the John Clark spin-off novel and film Without Remorse , and the tactical military video game franchise Rainbow Six. Together, the books, films, TV series, and games have kept the Ryanverse expanding for more than 40 years. The Ryanverse is bigger than you think

• The Hunt for Red October is out Jul 29

been deployed to chase down and destroy their own submarine. The U.S. National Security Officer gives Ryan just three days to confirm his theory before the U.S. Navy is ordered to locate and destroy Red October . Ryan immediately sets out to rendezvous with an aircraft carrier to make a hazardous mid-ocean transfer onto the U.S. submarine Dallas in an attempt to somehow contact Ramius. Director John McTiernan ( Predator and Die Hard ) had signed up Austrian actor Klaus Maria Brandauer ( Never Say Never Again ) to play the rogue Soviet sub commander Marko Ramius, but two weeks into production Brandauer had to drop out due to a prior commitment. Ironically Sean Connery now took on the role, needing only one day of rehearsal. The Hunt for Red October was an instant success, with a world box office of over $200 million and three Academy Award nominations, winning one for 'Best Sound Effects Editing'.

Original poster art

T he Hunt for Red October is an engrossing and exciting battle of wits movie based on Tom Clancy's best-selling 1984 debut novel. when nuclear war tensions between the U.S. and Soviet Union were high. Producer Mace Neufeld, having purchased the rights to the book, hawked it around the Hollywood studios, but none were interested in making a movie that had such complicated technical jargon and political content. However, 18 months later Neufeld finally managed to get the project off the ground by convincing a Paramount executive to read the novel and see for himself how cinematic it could be. The film is set in 1984, when the Soviet Union launches its experimental superior Typhoon class ballistic missile nuclear submarine, the Red October . The prototype submarine is fitted with a revolutionary Caterpillar Drive that allows it to run silently, making it

virtually undetectable as a first strike weapon. Veteran commander Marko Ramius (Sean Connery) is the most respected man in the Soviet Navy. Having trained most of the officers in the fleet, he's now been given control of Red October . But Ramius doesn't follow his orders and secretly kills the Soviet political officer onboard, making it look like an accident. Now using false orders, he tells his crew that they are to conduct missile drills off the United States east coast. When the submarine suddenly disappears, the entire Soviet navy mobilises to swiftly locate its whereabouts in the vast North Atlantic. The Soviets now inform their American counterparts that Ramius is a madman who intends to aim nuclear missiles at New York or Washington and asks the U.S. Navy to help them track down and destroy Red October .

Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, and Scott Glenn

Enter CIA analyst and former Marine Jack Ryan (Alec Baldwin), who is also a specialist in marine warfare. Having previously met Ramius he now has serious doubts about the Soviet's motive. He tells his superior Admiral Greer (James Earl Jones) that he believes Ramius is actually attempting to defect and bring his submarine along with him and his crew. The Pentagon is understandably concerned that there is a very real threat of an attack on the U.S. now that the entire Russian Navy has

The faces of Jack Ryan

Alec Baldwin

Harrison Ford

Ben Affleck

Chris Pine

John Krasinski

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