Mister Roberts (1955)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Directors:

John Ford
Mervyn LeRoy

Writers:

Frank S. Nugent (screenplay) and
Joshua Logan (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

30 July 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | War

Tagline:

All the Uproarious Fun of the Smash Broadway Play!

Plot:

Comedy-drama about life on a not particularly important ship of the US Navy during WW2.

Plot Keywords:

Tyrant | US Navy | Navy | Vomit | Extortion

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Henry Fonda	...	Lt. JG Douglas A. 'Doug' Roberts
James Cagney	...	Capt. Morton
William Powell	...	Lt. 'Doc'
Jack Lemmon	...	Ens. 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	...	Yeoman 3rd Class Dolan
Robert Roark	...	Insigna
Harry Carey Jr.	...	Stefanowski
Patrick Wayne	...	Bookser (as Pat Wayne)
Frank Aletter	...	Gerhart
Tige Andrews	...	Wiley (as Tiger Andrews)

Runtime:

123 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Warnercolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Canada:PG (Ontario) | UK:U | Australia:G | West Germany:12 (nf) | Canada:14A (video rating) | Finland:K-12 | USA:Approved (certificate #17195)

Filming Locations:

Honolulu, O'ahu, Hawaii, USA

Company:

Orange

Trivia:

Original director John Ford quit the production after getting into a fistfight with Henry Fonda over how he should play the title character. As Fonda had played Mister Roberts countless times on stage, he effectively won the argument. Ford was replaced by Mervyn LeRoy.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Camera shadow falls on Doc when he gets up to go to "check on hypochondriacs."

Quotes:

[last lines]
Ensign Pulver: Captain, it is I, Ensign Pulver, and I just threw your stinkin' palm tree overboard! Now what's all this crud about no movie tonight?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Magic Time: A Tribute to Jack Lemmon (2002) (V)

One of the best films of the 50s

Mister Roberts (1955) - CO-Directors: John Ford & Mervyn LeRoy Enough time had passed that Americans were able to laugh at some of the kookier aspects about military life and Hollywood provided just the right amount of seriousness and irreverence with this 1955 hit.

Henry Fonda gave one of his career making performances in this film as a lieutenant in the Navy who feels that the action of the war is passing him by. Instead of fighting the enemy, he's engaged in a battle of wills with off kilter superior officer James Cagney, who also turns in one of his mythic-making performances. The great William Powell is on board in one of his last roles as the friendly on board doctor. The late Jack Lemmon won an Academy Award for his supporting role of Ensign Pulver, a man who finally straightens his spine and takes macho Cagney on mano-a-mano. (Color)