JFileChooser problem - it will not display

Question

I have read the tutorial on JFileChoosers and understand the basics, however, my application will simply not display a File Chooser. I select the menu option "open file" and the command prompt window just spews out dozens of garbage. The code is below if there are any FileChooser "Pros" out there. The FileChooser is selected for loading in the actioPerformed method. Thanks for any assistance.
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import javax.swing.event.*;
import javax.swing.border.*;
import java.io.*;
import java.util.*;
import javax.swing.JFileChooser;
import javax.swing.filechooser.*;
public class DissertationInterface extends JFrame implements ActionListener
     private JPanel onePanel, twoPanel, bottomPanel;
       private JButton quit,search;
       private JMenuBar TheMenu;
       private JMenu menu1, submenu;
     private JMenuItem menuItem1;
     private JFileChooser fc;          //FILE CHOOSER
       private BorderLayout layout;
       //Canvas that images should be drew on
       //drawTheImages Dti;
       //Instances of other classes
     //DatabaseComms2 db2 = new DatabaseComms2();
     //Configuration cF = new Configuration();
       public DissertationInterface()
            setTitle("Find My Pics - University Application") ;
            layout = new BorderLayout();          
            Container container = getContentPane();
            container.setLayout(layout);
            //Dti = new drawTheImages();
          //container.add(Dti);
            quit = new JButton("Quit");
            search = new JButton("Search");
            TheMenu = new JMenuBar();
            setJMenuBar(TheMenu);
            //FILE CHOOSER
            JFileChooser fc = new JFileChooser();     
            fc.setFileSelectionMode(JFileChooser.FILES_AND_DIRECTORIES);
            //First menu option = "File";
            menu1 = new JMenu("File");
          TheMenu.add(menu1);
            //Add an option to the Menu Item
            menuItem1 = new JMenuItem("OPEN FILE",KeyEvent.VK_T);
        menuItem1.setAccelerator(KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(
        KeyEvent.VK_1, ActionEvent.ALT_MASK));
          menu1.add(menuItem1);
          menuItem1.addActionListener(this);          //action listener for Open file option
            //CREATE 3 PANELS
            onePanel = new JPanel();
            onePanel.setBackground(Color.blue);
            onePanel.setLayout(new FlowLayout(FlowLayout.CENTER, 200, 400)) ;
            twoPanel = new JPanel();
            twoPanel.setBackground(Color.red);
            twoPanel.setLayout(new GridLayout(5,2,5,5));
            bottomPanel = new JPanel();
            bottomPanel.setBackground(Color.yellow);
            bottomPanel.setLayout(new FlowLayout(FlowLayout.CENTER,10,10));
          //ADD COMPONENTS TO THE PANELS
            //Add the menu bar and it's items to twoPanel
          twoPanel.add(TheMenu, BorderLayout.NORTH);
          twoPanel.setAlignmentY(LEFT_ALIGNMENT);
            bottomPanel.add(quit);
            quit.addActionListener(this);          //action listener for button
            bottomPanel.add(search);
            search.addActionListener(this);          //action listener for button
            //ADD PANELS TO THE WINDOWS
            container.add(onePanel, BorderLayout.CENTER);
            container.add(twoPanel,BorderLayout.NORTH);            
            container.add(bottomPanel, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
            //setSize(350,350);
            setVisible(true);
          }//END OF CONSTRUCTOR
        public void leaveWindow()
             this.dispose() ;
        public static void main(String args[])
        DissertationInterface DI = new DissertationInterface();
        DI.setVisible(true);
        //Display the window.
        DI.setSize(450, 260);
        DI.setVisible(true);
        DI.pack();
     }//End of main method
     protected void processWindowEvent(WindowEvent e)
            super.processWindowEvent(e);
            if(e.getID()== WindowEvent.WINDOW_CLOSING)
                  System.exit(0);
          }//End of processWindowEvent
//method to resolve button clicks etc
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
          //PROBLEM IS HERE !!!!!!! - why won't the file dialogue box open
          if(e.getActionCommand().equals("OPEN"))
               int returnVal = fc.showOpenDialog(DissertationInterface.this);
             else if(e.getActionCommand().equals("Quit"))
                  //closeDialog();
                  System.out.println("User interface exited");
                  System.exit(1);
                  leaveWindow();
          else if(e.getActionCommand().equals("Search"))
                  //pass params to database                                 
             }//end of else if
} //end of method ActionPerformed
}//End of class DissertationInterface

Answer 1

I have done as stated, code compiles/executes but when I select the open file option on my GUI, the command prompt window freezes and no dialogue box is displayed!!!!