Mister Roberts (1955)

In the waning days of World War II, the United States Navy cargo ship Reluctant and her crew are stationed in the "backwater" areas of the Pacific Ocean. Trouble ensues when the crew members are granted liberty.

Directors:

John Ford, Mervyn LeRoy

Writers:

Frank S. Nugent (screenplay) (as Frank Nugent), Joshua Logan (screenplay)

Stars:

Henry Fonda, James Cagney, William Powell

Won 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Henry Fonda	...	Lt. j.g. Douglas A. Roberts
James Cagney	...	The Captain
William Powell	...	Doc
Jack Lemmon	...	Ensign Frank Thurlowe Pulver
Betsy Palmer	...	Lt. Ann Girard
Ward Bond	...	Chief Petty Officer Dowdy
Philip Carey	...	Mannion (as Phil Carey)
Nick Adams	...	Reber
Perry Lopez	...	Rodrigues
Ken Curtis	...	Dolan
Robert Roark	...	Insigna
Harry Carey Jr.	...	Stefanowski
Patrick Wayne	...	Bookser (as Pat Wayne)
Frank Aletter	...	Gerhart
Tige Andrews	...	Wiley (as Tiger Andrews)

Storyline

Mister Roberts is aboard a US cargo ship, working in the Pacific during the Second World War. He'd do anything to leave the quiet of the ship to join in the "action". Trouble is, the captain of the ship, is a bit of a tyrant, and isn't willing to sign Roberts' transfer requests. Also on board is Ensign Pulver, who avoids work as best he can, whilst living off the riches of his buying and selling. Roberts and the crew are in constant battle, even over the smallest of disagreements.

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Plot Keywords:

naval officer | tribe | tree | american | victory in europe day | 

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Taglines:

Warner Bros. happily bring to the screen the happiest play that ever played!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | War

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

The script contained a stunt in which a motorcycle goes off a pier, but the stuntman hired for it refused to do the stunt. So John Ford hired a bystander, a young Marine named Jack Lewis, who wasn't an experienced motorcyclist, but said, "Sure, I'll do it." The Marine Corps wouldn't let Ford pay Lewis the $700 he had offered, so Ford went into the nearby Hilton hotel and told the management that Lewis could drink in the bar on Ford's tab for the next year. Lewis went on to become an author ("Chosen Tales of Chosin;" "The Sandtrap Marines") and publisher of magazines ("Gun World") and trade paperbacks ("Gun Digest Book of Guns," etc.), but one who maintained friendships with many in the movie business, including numerous cowboy film stars.

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Goofs

Several mentions are made regarding the "Congressional Medal of Honor", this is not the correct title for the award. It is known as the Medal of Honor, and while it may be awarded by congress, it has also been awarded by presidents.

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Quotes

Lt. j.g. Douglas A. Roberts: We've got nothing to do with the war. Maybe that's why we're on this ship, cause we're not good enough to fight. Cause our glands don't secrete enough adrenaline, or our great-great-grandmothers were afraid of the dark or something.
Doc: What is it you want to be, Doug, a hero?
Lt. j.g. Douglas A. Roberts: Hero? Doc, you haven't heard a word I've said. Look, Doc, the war's way out there, and I'm here. Well, I don't want to be here, I wanna be out there. I'm sick and tired of being a lousy spectator.

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Crazy Credits

The seven top-billed actors listed in the opening credits are not listed with the other players in the end credits.

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Alternate Versions

Television and the standard VHS prints substitute a different march that is played over the loudspeakers during the scene where Henry Fonda is listening to the VE Day celebrations and throws the captain's palm tree overboard. Also eliminated is the voice-over of Fonda humming the march as he walks up the gang ladder leaving the scene.

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Connections

Referenced in Fedora (1978)

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Soundtracks

If I Could Be with You One Hour Tonight
(uncredited)
Music by James P. Johnson
Words by Henry Creamer
Published by Warner Bros. Inc. (ASCAP)
Sung, hummed and whistled by Jack Lemmon throughout film (uncredited)

User Reviews

Tremendous cast that deserves a wide-screen performance

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.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 July 1955 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mister Roberts

Filming Locations:

Naval Air Station Midway, Midway Islands

Box Office

Gross USA:

$21,200,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Orange Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (WarnerColor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1