Operation Pazifik

The only thing this film has going for it is catching all the great actors, at the start of their careers) that are in smaller roles as the sailors on board - James Farentino, a skinny James Coco, Larry Hagman, George Lindsay, Dick Gautier and even a young Jack Nicholson! OK Walter Matthau is worth watching in anything he does, but that is all. The rest of the film is another Josh Logan homo-erotic mess. Yes, it is. He seems to have spent more time on the scenes where the sailors get together and have fun dancing in their underwear, whacking each other on the butt, running around with no shirts and skimpy shorts and there is even a scene where one sailor, as they sit and listen to the radio, has one arm draped over another guys leg. The rest of the story is like the boat they are on - old, rusty and goes no where. The worst is Robert Walker(who should have kept the Jr after his name)who does his best to do a perfect Jack Lemmon impersonation and that gets irritating as you wonder why they didn't get Jack himself. He probably read the script.

Acceptance of 'Ensign Pulver' for what it is gets hampered by dumb Producer choice to cash in on 'Mr. Roberts.' In pacing and overall tone 'Ensign Pulver' has much in common with many WW2 themed light comedies made in the mid-1960's.

This movie is worth watching in our current era first with an understanding of what it meant to be at the time; a mildly distracting 90 minutes of celluloid. It's not bad really.

Second, the movie is worth watching by students of film/culture to note how moral ambiguity influenced 1960's Hollywood. In 'Mr. Roberts' Cagney has a great scene about why he hates 'college boys' yet there's nothing in the film that treats his character with sympathy.

In 'Ensign Pulver' it seems pains are taken to give the Captain a back story so he comes across as a scarred victim of an unfortunate childhood.

The film "Mr. Roberts" is a great movie with a terrific cast. It's a comedy but really much more...with some real depth. Inexplicably, the studio chose to make a sequel nearly a decade later...with a completely different cast and a different tone. You really wonder why they did this...as a sequel seemed unnecessary since the ending of "Mr. Roberts" was perfect for Ensign Pulver. Why make further adventures when they just aren't necessary?!

The film is very similar to the first in that the captain of the crappy supply ship is a tyrant...and an unfeeling one at that. He seems to hate the crew and they clearly hate him as well. The film is about how Pulver manages to break the spirit of his dreadful commanding officer.

"Ensign Pulver" is a very annoying film. On its own, it's actually a very good and funny movie. But as a sequel, well, it's a failure. My advice is to watch the film and pretend it's NOT a sequel but a film which stands on its own. In this context, it's actually quite good and enjoyable...and worth seeing.

While certainly not the movie of the year(or any year, for that matter), this follow-up to Mr. Roberts was a lot of fun to watch as an adolescent, and later as an adult. It is a totally different movie than Roberts, so don't expect the same caliber or even the same genre-it's just fun to watch! The dialogue is clever, though the characters maybe a little cardboard. Matthau is great as "Doc", Ives as the evil captain, and Walker as the grandiose-yet-cowardly, slingshot and marble carrying ensign. I enjoyed seeing the familiar faces of the many character actors whom you'll quickly recognize (if you are of sufficient age or TV exposure).

I have just purchased the VHS tape of this movie and I enjoyed it very much. Mainly for the performance of Robert Walker Jr.

I would like to point out that "Ensign Pulver" is not a remake of "Mister Roberts". Ensign Pulver is the same ship and same characters as Mr. Roberts only with different actors in the leads.

Burl Ives continues the role of Capt. first played by James Cagney. Robert Walker Jr. continues the role of Ensign Pulver first played by Jack Lemmon. Walter Matthau continues the role of Doc first played by William Powell.

Early in the movie, Doc notes that it has been only a few weeks since they found out about the death of Doug, Mr. Roberts(Henry Fonda). Pulver receives a package from someone who was on the ship where Mr. Roberts died. It is medical books that Mr. Roberts wanted Pulver to have because he knew he would like the dirty pictures.

This movie is much more of a comedy than "Roberts" and is alot of fun to watch.

Also in the crew you can spot George Lindsey, "Goober" from the Andy Griffith show, future TV game show host Peter Marshall, a skinny James Coco and a very young James Farentino.

Too bad this movie is not on DVD. Yet.