John Paul Jones, maître des mers

JOHN PAUL JONES is certainly a colorful film to look at, but the script is rather stately and dull when it should be tense and exciting and a lot of this may be due to the casting of ROBERT STACK in the title role. He cuts a handsome figure in his period costumes and is certainly a man who can speak forcefully on occasion, but he tends to wear the same solemn expression throughout. His outbursts of anger are sometimes hard to comprehend but he does get things done and everyone seems to bend to his will no matter what the circumstances are--that's the kind of hero he's depicted as being.

It's a handsome looking film with a capable cast including CHARLES COBURN as Benjamin Franklin and MARISA PAVAN as Jones' love interest in a rather colorless role. But BETTE DAVIS has fun with her brief scenes and actually brings a lively flavor to the film once she appears as Catherine the Great and falls under the spell of the man with a commanding presence.

It may not be accurate as history, but it's spectacular to watch in some of the lushest Technicolor from the '50s with a nice score by Max Steiner that gives the film a lift when it needs it. Under John Farrow's direction, the film is a bit talky at times but comes to life during the battle scenes. Farrow shares credit for the script with contributions from Ben Hecht and others.

Biopic about a notorious sea commandant , a 18th-century naval hero who became the prestigious leader of the American navy against the British Empire . This is tribute to the Revolutionary War naval hero filmed in big budget , spectacular scenes and great production design , though was pretty wooden and failed at box office . The career of Revolutionary War naval hero , John Paul Jones (Robert Stack) from his youth in Scotland through his service to Catherine the Great of Russia (Bette Davis) . It deals with his beginnings of his naval career as a cabin boy to the captaincy of his own ship . This came to an end, however, when John killed a member of his crew, a mutineer with a sword in a dispute , but because he would not be tried in an Admiral's Court, he felt compelled to flee to Fredericksburg, Province of Virginia, leaving his fortune behind . He went to Fredericksburg to arrange the affairs of his brother, who had died there without leaving any other family ; and about this time, in addition to his original surname, he assumed the surname of Jones . Later on , he greatly aids George Washington (John Crawford) and the American cause . With Benjamin Franklin's (Charles Coburn) help, he secures a ship from Louis XVI (Jean Pierre Aumont) and Marie Antoinette (Susana Canales) which he calls the Bonhomme Richard and ultimately meets the vaunted British battleship of the line, the Searapis, in one of the great naval battles of all time.

It's a passable historical drama story where the protagonist , Robert Stack , is acceptable . Stack striving mightily to be shipshape as Jones . It is an epic and moving tale , as the starring fights enemies , taking on the risks of sea battles to survive in a world surrounded by powerful forces . The picture contains interesting drama , a love history , colorful spectacle , historical events and sea battles have some flare , being filmed in Denia , Alicante , Spain . This historic movie was realized with import help from Spanish government delivering logistics , props , soldiers and many other things . Being a Spanish/American co-production by Suevia Films-Cesareo Gonzalez along with Samuel Bronston Production in his first movie in Spain where he produced monumental flicks such as ¨El Cid¨ , ¨55 days in Pekin¨ , ¨King of Kings¨ , ¨Circus World¨ and ¨The fall of the Roman Empire¨ . Very good support cast such as Macdonald Carey as Patrick Henry , Jean-Pierre Aumont as King Louis XVI , David Farrar as John Wilkes , Bruce Cabot as Gunner , Thomas Gomez as Hopkins , Peter Cushing as Capt. Richard Pearson and final film of Charles Coburn ; including cameo appearances from Bette Davis as Catherina The Great, the Russian empress , Eric Pohlmann as George III replaced George Sanders , and film debut of Mia Farrow , director's daughter and Maureen O'Sullivan . Rousing musical score by master Max Steiner , this would be the last time Max Steiner would compose a film score for a film featuring Bette Davis , he had written several scores for movies starring Davis, and had been her favorite composer . The picture was professionally directed by veteran filmmaker John Farrow , though with no originality , being his final film . However , this sometimes tedious , empty and overlong epic sank without a trace .

The motion picture was correctly based on historic events , these are the following : John Paul Jones (July 6, 1747 – July 18, 1792) was a Scottish sailor and the United States's first well-known naval fighter in the American Revolution. Although he made enemies among America's political elites, his actions in British waters during the Revolution earned him an international reputation which persists to this day. As such he is sometimes referred to as the "Father of the United States Navy" . He later served in the Imperial Russian Navy. During his engagement with HMS Serapis, Jones uttered, according to the later recollection of his first lieutenant, the legendary reply to a taunt about surrender from the British captain: "I have not yet begun to fight!"

I enjoyed the movie despite its historical inaccuracies, and okay action but that is what I expect and enjoy in old Hollywood movies especially when they were made in color. This movie caught my eye when I saw that it was a Robert Stack movie. Always an imposing figure. And then the added benefit of seeing the lovely Marisa Paven in color! She was Italian, so I must say, Che Bella Donna! Molto bene per me a guadarla a lei. (That is if my Italian is any good?!?). So, while my wife found it boring and quickly gave up on it, I found its slow pace with vivid color a welcome.

I have always believed that one of the reasons that John Paul Jones continues to be a fascinating figure is that we in America pride ourselves in that Horatio Alger tradition of the young man rising from humble circumstances to obtain wealth and prominence. Riches were not to be for Jones in his lifetime, but you can't fault the historical prominence he obtained as the spiritual if not the historical founder of the American Navy. And as the son of the gardener of a Scottish estate who ran away to see as a boy, his circumstances could hardly have been more humble.

Robert Stack makes a commanding John Paul Jones and he's a full blown hero in the tradition of the Samuel Eliot Morrison biography from which this film is adapted. There is a later book about him that came out a few years back written by Evan Thomas which presents Jones as the hero this film makes him out to be.

One thing that was overlooked is that it presents Jones as a man unlucky in love. Erin O'Brien-Moore and Marisa Pavan are the Virginia planter heiress and the French noblewoman who were the women in his life. I can assure you that there were many others, Jones was quite the ladies man, he never lacked for feminine companionship when on dry land.

Except for a cameo appearance as himself in Pepe, this film was the farewell role for Charles Coburn who played Benjamin Franklin who was Jones's biggest booster in the Continental Congress. He's good as the foxy philosopher Franklin was reputed to be. It is a factual error when you see him at Jones's death bed, Franklin had died a couple of years earlier in the USA. He also did not bring him the news of an offer of a commission in the Russian Navy under Queen Catherine the Great.

Bette Davis played Catherine the Great ever so briefly and I wish we got to see more of her. Jones did take command of her fleet and did defeat the Turks as per the film. It was the only time Jones showed what he could do as a naval strategist and he passed the test. His exploits with the Continental Navy were as a single ship in combat.

In vain Jones fought vigorously for a permanent Navy for the young United States. You see one of his opponents being John Adams. In an ironic twist of history when Adams got to be the second president of the United States and we were in an undeclared naval war with France, he got a Navy going in a hurry then. Our department of the Navy was founded during his administration, but John Paul Jones was a few years dead by then.

Despite some historical errors the film does present John Paul Jones as he would wish to be remembered. And this review is dedicated to the United States Navy, to the many men and women who have served and continue to serve in it, guided by the example of a fine fighting commander in John Paul Jones.

Essentially a biography in movie format, tells of the life of John Paul Jones, the man who put the U.S. Navy on the map during the American Revolution. It touches briefly on his early life, concentrating on his life in the colonies and what led him to go there after a career in the King's service. Movie also touches on the impact and standards that Jones imprinted on today's navy, and it is this element, among others, that makes this well worth watching. Stack (although taller than Jones's height of 5'4") is perfectly cast in the title role. Not to be overlooked either are Coburn's portrayal of Benjamin Franklin, Davis's of Catherine the Great, and Max Steiner's excellent musical score. Additional note: movie was produced by Samuel Bronston, who also produced and did a magnificent job on "El Cid." Whether one is looking for a movie about the Age Of Sail period or simply wants to learn about Jones, this is an excellent choice.