Mister Roberts

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.

This film is a Classic, with a capital C! You have a great story, a great cast, laughs, tears and a dose of reality. How can you go wrong with Henry Fonda, James Cagney, William Powell and Jack Lemmon?

What always struck me about this film was its realism. I spent some time on an auxiliary ship in the navy, and it's not glamorous. This film perfectly captures the life aboard non-combatant ships. They provide a vital service, but rarely get recognized for it. It also demonstrates what real leadership is. The main duty of an officer is to provide leadership and to see to the welfare of his troops. Mr Roberts is a shining example of a great officer.

The film also shows that the enemy isn't always on the other ship. I have seen captains like Cagney's, and you often spent more time defending your crew from those skippers, than you did from the opposing force. As Mr Roberts said, "....I know in wartime they scrape the bottom of the barrel...", well, they sometimes scrape that barrel in peacetime.

There's a great blend of comedy and drama throughout; but, just when you are feeling good, it delivers a punch to the gut. This is life as it is, not an idealized world.

Sign on board for a tour of duty with this film. You'll be glad you did.

The cast and story of "Mister Roberts" are both of high quality, and they fit together well to produce one of the best war movies to be set in the Second World War. It effectively and thoughtfully presents many facets of military life - from boredom to conflict, from slapstick to sadness - without resorting to any labored or overblown material.

The cast is excellent in its own right, and the main characters are ideally matched with their roles. Henry Fonda could be no better in portraying Roberts in all his interactions with the other characters, Jack Lemmon is always entertaining as Pulver, and in Doc, William Powell gets the kind of role he played better than anyone. James Cagney is flawless as the sometimes small-minded captain, bringing out his shortcomings, yet also allowing you to understand why the character is like that.

Most of the settings work well, and they help to create a believable atmosphere of navy life. The running confrontations with the palm tree and the letters are well-conceived, and they are also used effectively, getting a lot of material out of them without stretching things too far. "Mr. Roberts" communicates some worthwhile ideas while remaining enjoyable, and provides good entertainment and comedy without avoiding the realities in the characters' lives.

"Mister Roberts," released in 1955 and directed by John Ford and Mervyn LeRoy, is a great film adaptation of the hit Broadway play by Thomas Heggen and Joshua Logan. Lieutenant Douglas Roberts (Henry Fonda), a cargo officer stationed on the weary cargo ship the USS Reluctant in the spring of 1945, is BORED. Roberts yearns for a transfer to a combat vessel. The problem is, he needs the approval of the captain (James Cagney), and the captain, though obligated to send Roberts' requests for transfer as written, exercises his discretion to stamp every letter "disapproved". The brass would never go over the head of a captain who disapproves of a transfer. The captain does this not because he realizes Roberts' importance to the ship, but instead because he is a small mean petty man.

The captain grew up poor and this did not teach him empathy for his fellow man when he climbed out of poverty and became an officer. Instead he just learned to be the ultimate bully. He denies the crew privileges because he can, but he is always interested in schmoozing superior officers whom he deems as important. In the words of "Philadelphia Story", In spite of the fact that somebody's up from the bottom, he can still be quite a heel. "

The crew idolizes Roberts because he is constantly antagonizing their tormenter. But then one day the Captain holds the crew's much deserved and much needed liberty for ransom - Roberts has to stop writing requests for transfers and act like he is toadying to the captain from now on and moreso keep this arrangement secret - and Roberts has to choose.

Because the film is about boredom during wartime, it would be easy for this film to be - well - boring, but to its credit it is not. This is because of all of the small scenes involving the four leads and the outstanding cast. Henry Fonda starred as Mr. Roberts onstage, and it is said he actually directed parts of it after John Ford walked off. William Powell makes his last film appearance as the ship's surgeon, "Doc", and he has some scenes that have that wily and humorous Powell greatness while delivering words of wisdom or a recipe for fake Scotch. Jack Lemmon won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as Ensign Pulver, a slimy little weasel and wannabe womanizer who has potential.

I'd recommend this even if you are not particularly fond of war films - I'm not and I enjoyed it a great deal.

Take a run down cargo ship with a motley crew, throw in a pacific island paradise and sign on board four of the biggest Hollywood heavyweights ever, then you are bound to have winning motion picture which stands the test of time.

Henry Fonda re-creates his Broadway role as Lt.Douglas Roberts a navy cargo officer, desperately aching to be transfered from what is nothing more than a floating warehouse, to a destroyer and a chance to get into the fighting.

James Cagney in what is arguably the best of his later roles, plays the selfish and ambitious Captain, who knows that Roberts' work is the key to his own success. With this motive in mind he blocks all of Roberts' requests and makes his life as miserable as possible into the bargain.

It is this story line that provides most of the drama albeit played with a touch of comic frivolity. The true comedy however is provided by Jack Lemmon as the good natured but lazy Ensign, Frank Thurlough Pulver.

Lemmon was a relative newcomer to the movies but none of that seemed evident in his performance. He held his own against three of the best in the business and was awarded an Oscar for his efforts.

However, the highlight of this film for me is the great William Powell as the aging and quick witted Doc.. His comic timing and sophisticated presence was an invaluable asset to any film he made and Mister Roberts is no exception.

Whether he is wise cracking with the crew at sick call or making illegal scotch with his shipmates, Powell steals every scene in which he appears. My personal favourite is when he is called to the captains cabin....ON THE DOUBLE, and he is seen casually strolling slowly and carefree smoking a cigarette, almost as if he was on the Park Avenue of the 1930's where he had made his name.

Cagney's scenes with Lemmon are hilarious. He was a considerate actor and at times you can almost feel the space that he gave Lemmon in order for him to shine. Also the scene in which Fonda confronts Cagney, to ensure the crews liberty, is expertly acted. A must see on the newly released DVD (with commentary by Jack Lemmon himself) is a clip from a 1955 Ed Sullivan show where Fonda and Cagney re-create the scene live and the acting cannot be faulted.

In more than just plot, this film has high points and low points. The high point was the welcome celluloid return of Henry Fonda after an absence of eight years whilst he played Mister Roberts on the New York stage. The low point being, that this was to be William Powell's final movie venture. He had retired in 1953 after How to Marry a Millionaire, but was lured back for "Roberts" by an overwhelming script. But this was to be a final return and I think as swan songs go William Powell indeed had the best.

It was also a troubled production with two directors and constant fall outs with Fonda over the adaptation. To Fonda, Mister Roberts was a work of art he didn't want to see defaced, and he argued bitterly over changes from the original format. Yet the theatre going public and the cinema going public were two different species and the changes were needed.

They must have found the right balance however because we are presented with a flawless motion picture with equal amounts of drama and humour, happiness and sadness and anger and goodwill. This film has the ability to touch everyone on at least one level.

A must-see film with unequaled performances. Recommended.