The Hunt for Red October (film) James Earl Jones in the United States Army. Baldwin and Glenn spent time on a "Los Angeles"-class submarine. Baldwin was trained to drive an attack submarine. Some extras portraying the "Dallas" crew were serving submariners, including the pilot of the DSRV, Lt Cmdr George Billy, commander of the DSRV. Submariners from San Diego were cast as extras because it was easier to hire them than to train actors. Crew from , including Lt Mark Draxton, took leave to participate in filming. According to an article in "Sea Classics", at least two sailors from the Atlantic Fleet-based "Dallas" took leave and
The Hunt for Red October novel as "the most satisfactory novel of a sea chase since C.S. Forester perfected the form". Due to an extensive marketing campaign by the Naval Institute Press for their first published work of fiction, which was initially aimed on the military, the book sold 45,000 copies by March 1985. Clancy said in a 1991 interview: “I thought we’d sell maybe five thousand or ten thousand hardcovers and that would be the end of it. I never really thought about making money.” After Reagan's endorsement, "The Hunt for Red October" topped the national bestseller lists, particularly "The New York Times". It