World War II is drawing to a close, and the USS Reluctant, a cargo vessel, is spinning its wheels in a "backwater" section of the Pacific Ocean, far removed from the war. However, there's conflict aplenty on board between the ship's CO, the tyrannical Lieutenant Commander Morton (James Cagney) and Lieutenant Douglas "Doug" Roberts (Henry Fonda), the latter finding ways to protect the crew from the former. One of the targets for Morton's wrath is Ensign Frank Pulver (Jack Lemmon), who so successfully hides from his commanding officer that Roberts didn't even know he was onboard. Pulver has grand plans aplenty for pulling a fast one on Morton, none of which he ever goes through with, much to Roberts's annoyance. However, Fonda has ambitions beyond the Reluctant, as he wants to see combat before the war's over, and has repeatedly requested a transfer, much to Morton's ire, since it makes him look bad.
As World War II draws to an end, an officer fights for his men against a ruthless captain in a must-see dramedy. Henry Fonda (1905 - 1982) is no stranger to the INCspotlight by now, although I haven't had the chance to discuss his career in my reviews of Jezebel (1938) and The Lady Eve (1941). A true icon of Hollywood's golden years, the Nebraska-born Fonda originally aspired to a career in journalism, but changed his mind for reasons I wasn't able to track down. After trying out various part-time jobs, he joined the Omaha Community Playhouse, where family friend Dodie Brando (Marlon Brando's mother) suggested he try out for a part in You and I. Fonda became enraptured of the theater life and everything that went into it, and acting helped him get over his natural shyness. He moved to Massachusetts in 1928 to join the University Players, which Jimmy Stewart would join a few months later, and the two became friends and even roommates when they were both struggling for acting jobs. Although Fonda appeared on stage regularly throughout the late 1920s and early 1930s, including on Broadway, he was barely making enough to get by. Fonda's fortunes changed for the better in 1935, when he made his screen debut in Fox's The Farmer Takes a Wife, a role he'd already performed on Broadway. That same year, his starring role in RKO's I Dream Too Much earned him rave reviews, and he was now a bankable leading star, sharing the screen with or being directed by some of Hollywood's biggest names - You Only Live Once (1937) was directed by Fritz Lang, and Young Mr. Lincoln (1939) would be his first time working with John Ford. Ford would direct him in a number of other pictures, including The Grapes of Wrath (1940), for which Fonda nabbed a Best Actor nomination at the Academy Awards, as well as today's film, Mister Roberts. During World War, Fonda enlisted in the United States Navy, initially serving as Quartermaster on the USS Satterlee before transferring to Air Combat Intelligence. Young Mr. Lincoln (1939) The Grapes of Wrath (1940) After the war ended, Fonda completed his contract for Fox with seven more films, and then decided to a break from film acting and return to Broadway, starring in the 1948 play Mister Roberts, for which his performance would win him a Tony. He wouldn't return to the big screen until Warner Bros.'s film adaptation of the play, and even then, the studio was reluctant to cast Fonda - not only did they think he was too old for the part, but they feared his bankability as a leading man had gone down the tubes since he hadn't been in a movie for seven years. However, director John Ford insisted on Fonda, and Warner Bros. agreed. WARNING: Here be spoilers! Read further at your own risk! World War II is drawing to a close, and the USS Reluctant, a cargo vessel, is spinning its wheels in a "backwater" section of the Pacific Ocean, far removed from the war. However, there's conflict aplenty on board between the ship's CO, the tyrannical Lieutenant Commander Morton (James Cagney) and Lieutenant Douglas "Doug" Roberts (Henry Fonda), the latter finding ways to protect the crew from the former. One of the targets for Morton's wrath is Ensign Frank Pulver (Jack Lemmon), who so successfully hides from his commanding officer that Roberts didn't even know he was onboard. Pulver has grand plans aplenty for pulling a fast one on Morton, none of which he ever goes through with, much to Roberts's annoyance. However, Fonda has ambitions beyond the Reluctant, as he wants to see combat before the war's over, and has repeatedly requested a transfer, much to Morton's ire, since it makes him look bad. After a difficult mission, the crew is to be awarded shore leave, but Morton refuses to grant it unless Roberts tows the party line, demanding Roberts stop his rebellious antics as well as requesting transfers. For the sake of his shipmates, Roberts accepts, much to the shock and disappointment of the crew who looked up to him for his defiance. Then word reaches the ship that the Allies have won the war in the European theater, leaving only the Pacific Front - a fight Roberts fears he'll miss out on as well. He ends up chucking Morton's prize palm tree overboard, one of the most iconic scenes from the movie, leading to Morton blowing up at him and the crew learning the truth about Roberts's change of heart. In gratitude, they forge a transfer request approval for Roberts, getting him off the Reluctant after a heartwarming farewell. Despite the spoiler warning, I don't want to say too much about what happens next, but it's among the best film endings I've ever seen. Mister Roberts was something of a troubled production, thanks to John Ford acting like a total dick to everyone, even his old friend Henry Fonda. The two of them coming to blows at one point, and Ford would have thrown down with Cagney also, had Cagney not eagerly welcomed the opportunity, leading for Ford backing down. Ford and Fonda would never work together again after this, and the director's antics, alcoholism, and emergency gall bladder surgery got him booted from the movie, replaced by Mervyn LeRoy. (Both would be credited as directors upon the film's release.) However, Joshua Logan, the original author of the play, also did some directing on this film, as well as adapting it for film, although his directing contributions were uncredited. This did not, by the way, spell the end of Ford's career as a director, which continued for more than a decade and included The Searchers (1956) and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962), the latter of which is one of the best Westerns I've ever seen. There's a lot of first rate talent in this movie, and boy oh boy, do we see them in top form here. Henry Fonda brings a lot of warmth and geniality to his role as Roberts, which makes it easy to see why the men look up to him and respect him so much. Even when he's chiding Pulver for his unprofessionalism and unwillingness to follow through on any of his schemes, there's never any malice or contempt in the line delivery; it comes over as the brutal honesty Pulver needs to hear. As for Cagney, starring in his last film for Warner Bros, I've always been a huge fan of his work, and Morton is a great role for him. His character strikes the right kind of balance between comically blustery and intimidating. Jack Lemmon, in only being his sixth film, is also spectacular as a big-talking Ensign Pulver. His performance at the end is nothing less than masterful, in a scene that's a nearly-perfect textbook example of how to deliver the payoff for a character arc. (Cagney and Lemmon became friends during the production of this film, and remained so for the rest of their lives.) I also want to mention William Holden, in his last role before his death, who brings a delightful dignity to his performance as the ship's doctor. Mister Roberts is slightly more than two hours long, and for the most part, it makes the most of its running time largely on the strengths of its stars playing off each other. I remember this film more for the strength of the acting and the screenwriting, rather than any cinematic flourishes in its cinematography or editing (although the silence during the ending scene helps land the emotional gut-punch it delivers). That's not to say that any of that is bad - far from it. It simply takes a back seat to the acting in this film, and honestly, there's nothing wrong with that. (It's also appropriate, given the film's stage origins.) Some contemporary critics have complained that the film feels too uneven, a result of different directors working on the same production, but I don't recall ever having this reaction to the film any of the times I've seen it. Mister Roberts was a big financial and critical hit, not only winning Lemmon a much-deserved Oscar for his performance (and a BAFTA nomination), but the film also received Best Picture and Best Sound Design nominations. Screenwriters Frank S. Nugent and Joshua Logan also won a Writer's Guild of America Award for their screenplay. Logan would later co-write and direct a sequel to this film, Ensign Pulver (1964), with Robert Walker Jr. and Burl Ives replacing Lemmon and Cagney - and Jack Nicholson (yes, that Jack Nicholson) as the assistant director. Ensign Pulver fell well short from the original film, but this was a hard act to follow under the best of circumstances. As for me, while I haven't rewatched it as many times as I'd like to, I enjoy it every time I see it, and it's just such a pleasure watching a cast this good with such great characters and material to work with. It's been on my list to review for several years, and I'm glad to finally be able to write this one. Ensign Pulver (1964) If you're looking for a movie with strong characters, great acting, and top-quality writing, Mister Roberts is definitely one you'll want to see.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
About the INCspotlightThe INCspotlight, formerly hosted on the website Channel Awesome, now has a new home on my own website! Categories
All
Archives
November 2022
|