Minesweeper

Minesweeper is a product of the Paramount B picture unit where producers William Pine and William Thomas did things on an Assembly line basis to provide second features for Paramount's big budget items like the films Cecil B. DeMille did. They got the best training because William Pine served as an associate producer with DeMille for years before branching out on his own.

A cursory list of their credits show that their early films either starred Richard Arlen, Chester Morris or both. Minesweeper stars Arlen as a former Navy officer who deserted because of a gambling problem and who comes back to enlist under an alias as a seaman when World War II breaks out.

Arlen and Russell Hayden have a friendly rivalry for Jean Parker who is the niece of CPO Guinn Williams who lives with Parker and her mother/his sister Emma Dunn. Both Arlen and Hayden get assigned to, what else, duty on a Minesweeper.

Discovering this film was a bit of a revelation since the only well known film dealing with a minesweeper is The Caine Mutiny. But the action in that film takes place years into World War II when the USS Caine was sweeping mines away from landing areas. This minesweeper is dealing with them right outside San Diego harbor.

Arlen enlists in the navy to redeem himself and as this is a B film about a romantic triangle I think you can figure out how this will end.

Robert Mitchum has a tiny bit in this film and Mitchum completists might want to check this out. As it is Minesweeper is a curiosity flag waving film of the times.

The version I saw on TV was very dark, even with exterior scenes or were they also shot in the studio? And with poor sound so either a poor copy, many around it seems, or the film has degraded over the many years.

Not as good as expected as we could have done with seeing more of the training and more mine sweeping work. There was no explanation as to how the sweeping was actually organised, a serrated cable between two boats? This film probably did the job at the time as a flag waver and it would have been an acceptable offering in 1943.

One of the poorer film made during the war as a morale booster.

Unlike most war movies, you'll find no real "battles" being fought in "Minesweeper." For that, I actually give it some credit. It pays tribute to the crew of minesweepers - those who helped take care of Japanese mines laid at the mouths of US harbours. That's not especially glamorous, so I applaud whoever decided to make this movie. It's an important job, and not all the honour should go to those who are face to face in combat with the enemy.

The star of this is Richard Arlen. He plays an officer who deserted from the Navy years before, and then re-enlists under an assumed identity once Pearl Harbour is attacked. So part of the movie is spent wondering whether he's going to get caught. The dangers of this type of service are well documented, and there's a tragic incident as the movie nears its end. The cast is decent enough.

The basic problem with this is that it spends far too much time emphasizing the somewhat unbelievable romance the develops between "Tennessee Smith" (as Arlen's character was known) and Mary (Jean Parker.) Given that Mary was apparently already almost engaged when Tennessee showed up, I found it rather difficult to accept that she'd get caught in this romantic triangle, and I thought it weakened the movie.

This certainly isn't a high profile war picture, nor does it appear to have had much of a budget. It's not bad; it's an appropriate tribute. I just wish it had stayed a bit more focused on those to whom it was paying tribute and to the service they were offering. (4/10)

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

"Minesweeper" is a somewhat melodramatic but interesting World War II drama that has a pretty good story and that also takes a look at one of the less familiar aspects of the war. There are also some moments of real suspense and tension. The print that aired recently was unfortunately not very good, so viewing it involves accepting some distractions, but it has a number of points of interest to compensate.

Richard Arlen stars as a naval officer who had deserted a few years before the war, but who finds himself drawn back to the Navy when the war breaks out. Helped by a friendly family, he assumes a new identity and re-enlists under his new name. Throughout the action that follows, he is faced with numerous dangerous missions, while also living in constant fear that his true identity will be discovered. He also finds himself involved in romantic complications. It all builds up to a climactic sequence of events that, while rather melodramatic, is action-packed and rather surprising.

Arlen's ship is a minesweeper, and the film incorporates some interesting details on the job that such ships had to do in keeping shipping lanes and harbors free of mines. The hazards involved also lead to some rather tense moments of drama.

The movie is not too long, and moves fairly quickly. It should hold some interest for most fans of old war movies.