Mister Roberts

UNDERTAKING SUCH A PROJECT such as this was a definite bit of risky business. Although the big screen adaptation of what began life as a novel and then on Broadway, it is the movie of Director John Ford that forever occupies the lion's share of our memories.

BOASTING OF THE outstanding cast of Henry Fonda, James Cagney, William Powell and young upstart Jack Lemmon, the film has the aura of a true All Star epic. Blending in near perfection, the major players are equally met in their efforts by the supporting actors including, but not limited to: Ward Bond, Lee Marvin, Betsy Palmer, Claude Akins, Nick Adams and Ken Curtis.

MUSTERING UP THE equivalence of the cast for this TV stage production, the roster included names that were at the top of their game and in demand at that time. Names such as: Robert Hayes, Charles Durning, Kevin Bacon, Marilu Henner and Howard Hessman.

THE PLAY WAS very faithful and closely paralleled the screenplay. As we remember, it was well received and did a good job of filling out the 100 minutes of airtime allotted to it by NBC.

OTHER THAN THE familiar story, this MISTER ROBERTS the unique distinction of being done live and going out that way; a format little used on Network TV since the dawning of the videotape era in 1958.

AND TO US, we'd truly enjoy seeing more of such experimental projects, how about you, Schultz?

I remember watching this version of Mister Roberts on tv, when it was first broadcast. It was basically presented as a teleplay, not a movie. The staging was done as if for the theater. I actually saw this version before ever seeing the Henry Fonda movie.

The acting is generally good; but, it's hard to take Robert Hays seriously after the Airplane films. You never quite believed him as the beloved officer. Also, Howard Hessman was a bit young for the Doc. Kevin Bacon was fine, but Pulver calls for great comedic timing and that's not Bacon's strongpoint.

This was a nice throwback to the early days of television, where you had the great theatrical shows, like Playhouse 90. But, after the motion picture, this never had a chance.

This live production was done in 1984, and was pretty good. The cast was not as great as the film's, but it was a fine production. The performances of Charles Durning as the Captain and Howard Hesseman as Doc were particularly memorable. Hesseman was, if possible, more laid back approaching Doc's character than Powell had been. Durning made the Captain more of a calculating sneak than Cagney did.

To fully explain my comment about Durning: in the film Cagney addresses the men after they have had their shore-leave. Cagney tells them they have been pretty smart getting him kicked out of port, but they will now pay for it by working twice as hard, and that Fonda will make sure of it. In the film Cagney adds that if Fonda does a good job he might get a promotion, and adds "You'd like that, wouldn't you Mr. Roberts!". The men get the impression that Roberts has sold them out for a promotion. But the scene is set so publicly, with Cagney and Fonda at quite a distance apart, that it looks like a spur of the moment action by the Captain. It does catch Fonda by surprise, but he controls his reaction quickly enough due to the pressures of the moment.

But in the television version, Durning adds a sly twist that is not in the film. He is not separated from Robert Hays like Cagney was from Fonda, and when he announces a possible promotion to an astonished Hays, Durning says (sotto voce), "Didn't expect THAT, did ya!" It was a nice added touch.

So was the handling of the "surprise attack" sequence. When the men are called out because of the Captain's siren, Durning is hearing the crew's names read as he tries to ferret out who threw off the palm tree. Cagney did the same in the film. When they reach Ensign Pulver's name, Cagney handled the line, "Pulver...Pulver...(his face breaking into a rare smile for the character with a trace of a laugh in his voice)...Pulver wouldn't have the guts." In the movie the line is given in the Captain's room on the bridge. In the play, the men have been running around. Pulver (Kevin Bacon), has been running in his shorts and life-belt about the ship's deck. Over the ship's intercom system, Pulver and the crew hear the Captain (Durning) saying the same line more fiercely and dismissively, "Pulver, Pulver wouldn't have the guts!" Bacon looks both surprised and hurt at being so unimportant to a man he pretends to wish to annoy.

This only shows the value of good productions of works of merit - one can reconsider the dialog of the work by the ways the actors present it.

I am a theater buff and a "Golden Age" TV fan.

This was LIVE theater. One shot, that was it, right or wrong. It was spectacular to say the least, and as far as I know, the last truly live theatrical production on TV.

If you have an opportunity to see a video of this production I urge you to do so. It has a lot to offer.