Mister Roberts

source: Mister Roberts

Trailer—Mister Roberts

Mister Roberts

I know this movie is a revered favorite of most film fans, but in my opinion, it has a fatal flaw. Although it tries very hard to blend pathos and humor, the humor seems to fall into two distinct categories. There is the witty, sometimes hilarious humor that we see between Mr Roberts, Ensign Pulver, Doc, and especially The Captain. Then there is the slob humor we get from the crew, as well as all other enlisted personnel in the movie. I was in the service, and I am certain that most of the morons depicted in this movie, would never be allowed to serve. I don't mind a little moronic humor (I even like the Bowery Boys), but this almost amounts to class warfare. I'm not totally knocking the movie. There are a number of genuinely touching scenes worth seeing, and some of the comedy is priceless, but I think they could have toned down the stereotypes and improved the product.

I was back from combat in Europe when I saw "Mr. Roberts" on the stage. The dialogue rang true; it had the flavor of the rough speech of military men. This was lacking in the cleaned-up film version. On the stage, the men of The Reluctant often hinted at scatological tidbits with which all servicemen were familiar, and the audience had a lot of former seamen and soldiers in it, accompanied by their dates. I often heard male laughter, then whispering which was followed by female laughter. One more thing: The scenes with drunken sailors were believable in the stage production - not so in the film. Whoever did the voice coaching for the movie had no idea of how drunks talk. Having said all of this, I must add that I enjoyed the movie. Watching the four master actors - Fonda, Powell, Cagney and Lemmon - was pure delight. Jack Lemmon received an Oscar for his portrayal of Ensign Pulver in the film and Larry Blyden was just as good in the stage part.

I only saw this once and it was quite awhile ago but I remember being very disappointed for two main reasons: (1) - I got it because I wanted to see a good comedy and it wasn't very funny; (2) the great cast of James Cagney, Henry Fonda, Jack Lemmon, William Powell, Betsy Palmer and Ward Bond made me anticipate a super movie. Well, the drama in here - particularly at the end - was it far more pronounced and effective than the comedy was throughout the 123 minutes. The story started slowly and got better as it went along, finishing strong but overall, with a cast like this, it should have been much better. If you are looking for a lot of laughs, you'll be disappointed. If you want more of drama and like the slowness of '50s films, you'll probably like it.

The combination of William Powell, in his last role, Henry Fonda, and Jack Lemmon is enough of a pull. But to have James Cagney as the nasty and overbearing captain is nirvana. The film needed more female influence, and Betsy Palmer supplies that to a degree, but she is given nothing much to work with. The end result, though, is great, and the actors show they have the timing and the grace to carry this one through magnificently.

Mister Roberts (1955) - CO-Directors: John Ford & Mervyn LeRoy Enough time had passed that Americans were able to laugh at some of the kookier aspects about military life and Hollywood provided just the right amount of seriousness and irreverence with this 1955 hit. Henry Fonda gave one of his career making performances in this film as a lieutenant in the Navy who feels that the action of the war is passing him by. Instead of fighting the enemy, he's engaged in a battle of wills with off kilter superior officer James Cagney, who also turns in one of his mythic-making performances. The great William Powell is on board in one of his last roles as the friendly on board doctor. The late Jack Lemmon won an Academy Award for his supporting role of Ensign Pulver, a man who finally straightens his spine and takes macho Cagney on mano-a-mano. (Color)

Mister Roberts is a very personal film for me. This is the first i vividly remember watching with my father. Lt Douglas Roberts is a cargo officer on a cargo ship dubbed "The Bucket". Mister Roberts feels that war in the Pacific is passing him by. An all-star cast and crew adopt this novel and play. Henry Fonda (Grapes of Wrath, On Golden Pond) reprises his role from the play as Roberts. Henry Fonda must clash heads with the captain played by the great James Cagney (Angles with Dirty Faces, Yankee Doodle Dandy). They are joined by William Powell (My Man Godfrey), Betsy Palmer, Ward Bond (It's a Wonderful Life, My Darling Clementine) and Jack Lemmon (Odd Couple, Some Like it Hot). This is Jack Lemmon's first academy award winning performance. This is a movie is filled with humor and drama. This is movie is a great enjoyment. Naturally some things are different from the play and book. This is a great movie to add to your collection.