Ensign Pulver (1964)

Life becomes so harried after Ensign Pulver's prank, he and the Captain are swept off deck during a storm, ending up on a tropical island, a group of ship wrecked nurses, dancing natives and 1 very big case of appendicitis.

Director:

Joshua Logan

Writers:

Thomas Heggen (based on a play by), Joshua Logan (based on a play by),

Stars:

Robert Walker Jr., Burl Ives, Walter Matthau

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Walker Jr.	...	Ensign Pulver (as Robert Walker)
Burl Ives	...	Captain
Walter Matthau	...	Doc
Tommy Sands	...	Bruno
Millie Perkins	...	Scotty
Kay Medford	...	Head Nurse
Larry Hagman	...	Billings
Peter Marshall	...	Carney (as Peter L. Marshall)
Joseph Marr	...	Dowdy
Gerald S. O'Loughlin	...	LaSueur (as Gerald O'Loughlin)
Diana Sands	...	Mila
Robert Matek	...	Stretch
Jack Nicholson	...	Dolan
Al Freeman Jr.	...	Taru
Richard Gautier	...	Stefanowski

Storyline

1945, on an old cargo ship somewhere deep in the Pacific ocean: Captain Morton strives to become commander, so he demands the maximum quality of work from his crew, without granting them any freedom or favors - ignoring that they're thousand of miles away from the front. In one word: he drives his crew crazy. They are near mutiny, but no-one dares to do the first step. Until Ensign Pulver plays a prank on the captain that triggers fatal consequences...

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Plot Keywords:

slingshot | military | homoerotic | u.s. navy | radio | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 July 1964 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dos Fracos Não Reza a História

Filming Locations:

Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

First movie role for Larry Hagman.

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Goofs

After Burl Ives falls overboard, Ensign Pulver releases a rubber raft to assist in the Captain's rescue. When the raft falls into the water, it obviously falls upside down, however, in the next shot it appears that the raft is upright and all of the equipment is still aboard.

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Quotes

LaSueur: [the crew goes wild when liberty is announced] What the hell is happening?
Doc: Metamorphosis! Vegetables are turning into men!

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Connections

Follows Mister Roberts (1955)

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Soundtracks

"Oh My Darling, Clementine"
(uncredited)
Usually attributed to Percy Montrose
Sung by the captain when under 'anaesthetic'

User Reviews

Making this sequel was really going overboard

If ever there was a great movie that did NOT cry out for a sequel, it was "Mister Roberts," with its gruff, poignant, perfect ending. A bad sequel like "Ensign Pulver" is particularly disappointing.

The setting here is the same as in the earlier classic -- a scroungy old Navy vessel on the fringes of the Pacific Theater late in World War II. This movie is built around Ensign Frank Pulver, the sidekick of Mister Roberts in the original movie. Unfortunately, Robert Walker Jr., who plays Pulver here, can't match the original screen Pulver, Jack Lemmon. It's almost like they're playing different people.

That's the main problem, I think, too much tinkering with familiar characters. The focus of "Mister Roberts" was the battle of wits and wills between the idealistic Roberts (Henry Fonda) and the embittered captain (James Cagney). But in this film, the captain (now played by Burl Ives) finds himself psychoanalyzed by Pulver. Cagney's captain was hard to like but easy to understand, while Ives' version is as complicated as a Tennessee Williams character.

And how about Doc? In "Mister Roberts," he was portrayed by an older actor, William Powell, in one of his last roles. A counterpoint to the captain, Doc was a man who had grown wise, not cynical, with age. Walter Matthau, though a fine actor, is a much younger Doc in this one, and one who's not particularly wise. He's just another madcap guy in a madcap crew.

"Mister Roberts" had a lot of wonderful laughs, but ultimately it was dead serious about World War II. If you've seen it, you know what I mean. But in "Ensign Pulver," the greatest conflict in history is just an excuse for humdrum hijinks. It's really too bad.