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.

I was back from combat in Europe when I saw "Mr. Roberts" on the stage. The dialogue rang true; it had the flavor of the rough speech of military men. This was lacking in the cleaned-up film version. On the stage, the men of The Reluctant often hinted at scatological tidbits with which all servicemen were familiar, and the audience had a lot of former seamen and soldiers in it, accompanied by their dates. I often heard male laughter, then whispering which was followed by female laughter. One more thing: The scenes with drunken sailors were believable in the stage production - not so in the film. Whoever did the voice coaching for the movie had no idea of how drunks talk. Having said all of this, I must add that I enjoyed the movie. Watching the four master actors - Fonda, Powell, Cagney and Lemmon - was pure delight. Jack Lemmon received an Oscar for his portrayal of Ensign Pulver in the film and Larry Blyden was just as good in the stage part.

I recently saw "Mister Roberts" for the first time in a theater, part of a double-bill with "Twelve Angry Men". The latter is one of my all-time favorite movies, but I've always had reservations about "Mister Roberts", in large part, I think, because I'd always seen it in pan-and-scan on AMC instead of the original CinemaScope perspective of the original. Well, even on a movie screen, I think some of the scenes had to be chopped (or Mervyn LeRoy just liked including William Powell's shoe in a screen-shot, but not the rest of him) but I enjoyed this movie much more in a theater than on a TV screen. For one small example, I'd never noticed the detail of the warships passing by during the opening credits before.

The story of "Mister Roberts" is a bit melodramatic for my taste -- after all, it started out on Broadway -- but it doesn't matter because you have five huge headliners to carry it, all at different stages of their careers -- William Powell in his last feature film; James Cagney, James Fonda, and Ward Bond in their mid-career phases (though Bond would be cut down too young in 1960); and Jack Lemmon in practically his first movie. There is an outstanding photo of these five actors singing together accompanied by Cagney's guitar in the photo gallery. Anyway, Mister Roberts is a college-grad who felt a duty to be involved in WWII, but who had the bad luck to be assigned to a cargo ship that is never involved in combat duty. What's worse, the commanding officer is a petty Merchant Marine who got in the Navy because they needed anyone they could get, and he resents Mister Roberts and anyone else who he thinks looks down on him. Roberts shares a room with Ensign Pulver, not exactly a coward but someone who'd be happy to go through the entire war without meeting his Captain. The ship's surgeon is played by William Powell with the same wit and facile mastery that he brought to the "The Thin Man" series decades earlier; but you can tell he's not Nick Charles because of his gray hair. Finally, the great Ward Bond is the top noncom in the cargo hold.

The movie depends on a lot of stereotypes that feel like crutches to me -- sailors ogling women, sailors getting drunk, sailors going nuts on liberty, etc. The high points of the action involve the interaction of the headliners, or their solo moments. Jack Lemmon's outstanding (and Oscar-winning) performance established him as an up and coming star, and presaged his great work in "The Apartment", "Some Like it Hot", "The Days of Wine and Roses", and the other masterpieces of his "Early" period. The final scene is one of the best in Lemmon's career.

I strongly recommend you find a way to see "Mister Roberts" in widescreen format. This is a movie, like "Lawrence of Arabia" or "Anastasia", that is just ruined when presented full-screen.

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.

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.