Mister Roberts (1955)

Mister Roberts (1955)
In the late 1940’s-1950’s, many war movies were produced, which isn’t surprising considering World War 2 had just ended. 1955’s Mister Roberts is one of those war movies, but it takes on a different perspective. There are no battles, no gory deaths, or anything similar. Instead, we have a crew of 62 men spending almost a year on a battleship yearning for a little piece of the action. Essentially, this movie goes in detail about how life is on a warship away from battle. Story-wise, this isn’t the best Broadway adaptation as there were some clunky moments. The film mostly works thanks to the tremendous acting of the four leads: Henry Fonda, James Cagney, William Powell, and Jack Lemmon. The film also experienced behind-the-scenes drama that was almost interesting as the movie itself.



Mister Roberts has two credited directors: John Ford and Mervyn LeRoy. John Ford has long been known as a director no one gets along with. Ford often clashed with the actors on set with James Cagney being the main culprit. He famously told Cagney when they first met that they will clash on set….and clash they did. Ford left halfway through the project after an altercation with Fonda and emergency gallbladder surgery. LeRoy replaced Ford, and shot the remaining scenes the way Ford would have. In addition to these two directors, Joshua Logan is listed as an uncredited director. He was the director of the Broadway play that Fonda starred in and was brought in to assist with several key scenes.



Lt. (JG) Doug Roberts (Henry Fonda) is second-in-command on the cargo ship USS Reluctant which is stationed in the South Pacific. World War 2 is coming to an end. The European front has already been secured, and the Allies were well on their way to beating the Japanese. The thing is, Roberts and his crew has seen no action in the war and Roberts yearns to fight in the war. Roberts’s captain, Morton (James Cagney) refuses to transfer Roberts because he is his best cargo officer and is the bridge between the captain and the crew, plus Roberts helps with taking care of his palm tree. Along with the cynical and wise-cracking Doc (William Powell) and the jokester Ensign Pulver (Jack Lemmon), Roberts will do his best to see some action.



What is lacking regarding the script and the direction is made up by tremendous acting from four elite actors. This is Henry Fonda’s first role onscreen in eight years, and it seemed like he never left. This is his role, the one he was born for. Fonda knew that as he wanted to protect this film at all cost. Watching him James Cagney is a treat. Cagney and Fonda have great chemistry together. Just watch the constant battle of the wills. It is sad this was William Powell’s last role as the friendly Doc, but he rides into the sunset on a high note. For Jack Lemmon, his career was only beginning. It took me some time to get into his performance, but he eventually won me over. He holds his own with the other actors winning himself an Oscar for his role here.



Overall, I thought Mister Roberts was an enjoyable film. The movie could have played darker, but it is mostly a light-hearted film that can be witty at times. This movie is a showcase for acting, and we get four powerhouse performances. I also like how authentic the film tries to be. I knew people who served in the war, and they described life on a battleship can be similar to how it was portrayed in the play and movie. It isn’t the greatest war movie and I actually heard the play was better, but it is still worth a watch.



My Grade: B+

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