Minesweeper

Early B-movie WWII movies were foten hard to watch and not worth the time. Having said that, they do give our historical view of what everyone was thinking at the beginning of the WWII.

Notable as it was one of the only U. S. Naval movies about minesweepers, but it didn't go over much of the detail of daily naval duties. The diving was interesting but not much detail either.

Perhaps my score of 4 is a bit generous. All I know is that this isn't the sort of film I'd heartily recommend, as it's pretty dull and pretty cheap.

The film begins with Richard Arlen traveling the rails. He's a hobo with a secret--and a very patriotic hobo at that. It's just after Pearl Harbor and Arlen has a fight with his fellow 'bos about the war and volunteering. Soon, Arlen meets up with Guinn Williams (in one of his better roles) and the two go off to volunteer with the US Navy. Williams was a retired navy man and Arlen seems to have some knowledge of the navy BUT he also has a secret. What it is and why he's posing as someone else is something you'll have to see for yourself---if you care.

The film is only occasionally entertaining, but to me finding out Arlen's secret wasn't worth time I invested in this WWII propaganda film. Aside from Williams' nice part, the rest of the cast just seemed pretty dull and the story was, at best, lackluster--showing the earmarks of a B-movie produced by a third-rate studio.

Although this is an old in-theater movie, not television, this is the kind of thing Frank Loyd Wright had in mind when he said "television is chewing gum for the eyes."

If you're looking for a captivating war movie watch Twelve O'Clock High. This movie is exactly what it was intended to be: a short movie before the main feature back in the days when there were news reels, cartoons, and "warm-up movies" before the main feature showcased box office stars of the day.

I won't bother restating the plot, plenty of other people have summarized that. I'll simply say was a fine way to kill an hour on a lazy Sunday morning.

PS-Another entertainingly corny performance by well-known character-actor Guinn "Big Boy" Williams

From the man that would have brought you the Navy Way came a film that, towards the end of the second world war, seemed determined to get those young men in army or navy uniforms to fight for their countries.

So, the story of a deserting Navy captain with a gambling problem who decides to join the troops again, even as a lowly minesweeper and seaman, is perfectly politically correct for the blossoming of the US involvement in the world's biggest monetary conflict to date a.k.a. WWII.

It's obnoxious. The storyline is predictable. The characters are caricatured. People, including myself, are always ready to shoot on Micael Bay's awful Pearl Harbour, but that is nothing more than a film like Minesweeper with a much bigger budget. In the end, it's all about God, country, killing those Japs, and if you die, you die a hero, and everyone is proud of you, cos you were a good kid.

But what can you do? The film isn't laughable, and it's made in a straight forward way that means no harm. As a product of its times and indoctrinations, it can be forgiven, but as a poor film, it cannot.

This is the story of a man who tries to make amends for past misdeeds in the service by reenlisting under another name, and whose experience in the service gives him an edge in the disarming of water mines.

It is a well written story, with interesting characters all around, including the minor ones. Everything is very believable, not just by film standards, but by normal standards.

However, I gave this only a ranking of 6, which is still above average, because for me it was painful viewing. It is not because of a bad story, but because it shows the pain involved with gambling addiction in a true light, which means it will be difficult to watch. This is still quality work, and if you aren't afraid of the pain, this may be the film for you.