Mister Roberts

Mister Roberts
Movie poster by Bill Gold
Directed by	John Ford Mervyn LeRoy
Produced by	Leland Hayward
Written by	Thomas Heggen (novel, play) Joshua Logan (play, screenplay) Frank S. Nugent
Starring	Henry Fonda James Cagney William Powell Jack Lemmon
Music by	Franz Waxman
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	July 30, 1955
Running time	123 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Mister Roberts is a 1955 comedy-drama film directed by John Ford and starring Henry Fonda as Mister Roberts. Based on the 1946 novel and 1948 Broadway play, the film was nominated for Best Picture and Best Sound, Recording Oscars; Jack Lemmon received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Background

Fonda was not the original choice to star in the film version -- Warner Bros. was considering William Holden or Marlon Brando for the lead role. Fonda was only hired because director John Ford insisted on it; the studio thought Fonda had been on stage and off the screen so long that he was no longer a movie box office draw.

Also featured were James Cagney as Captain Morton, William Powell (in his last feature film) as "Doc", Jack Lemmon as Ensign Pulver (for which he won his first Academy Award, Best Supporting Actor), Betsy Palmer, Ward Bond, Philip Carey, Nick Adams, Ken Curtis, Harry Carey, Jr. and Martin Milner. The screenplay was written by Joshua Logan and Frank S. Nugent.

The movie was directed by John Ford, Mervyn LeRoy and Joshua Logan (uncredited). While directing the film, Ford had personality conflicts with actors Henry Fonda and James Cagney.^[1] When Ford met Cagney at the airport, the director warned that they would "tangle asses," which caught Cagney by surprise. Cagney later said: "I would have kicked his brains out. He was so goddamned mean to everybody. He was truly a nasty old man."^[2] The next day, Cagney was slightly late on set, and Ford became incensed. Cagney cut short the imminent tirade, saying "When I started this picture, you said that we would tangle asses before this was over. I'm ready now – are you?" Ford walked away and he and Cagney had no further conflicts on the set.^[2]

Nevertheless, Ford was replaced by LeRoy after difficulties with Fonda and a gall bladder attack that necessitated emergency surgery. Since this news of LeRoy shooting some of the movie, it has been widely speculated which scenes in the picture were that of LeRoy. Jack Lemmon shined some light on this issue within his commentary of the DVD. "Mervyn LeRoy would watch all of the rushes that Ford had shot prior to his temporary departure and decided to shoot them the way John Ford would have shot 'em."

The DVD release of this film includes an audio commentary of Jack Lemmon years before he died. In the commentary he reveals some stories of his experience making the film and his views on acting. During the production of the film, Jack Lemmon started a long-time friendship with Cagney until Cagney's death in 1986. Their first introduction is as funny as the film itself. Prior to his appearance in his first film years before Mister Roberts he started off in live television. In one particular performance, Jack Lemmon decided to play his character differently. In his brainstorming he decided to play the character left-handed, which is opposite of his own way of movement. With much practice, he pulled off the performance without anyone noticing the change. This change even fooled Lemmon's wife at the time. A few years went by and Jack met Cagney on their way to Midway Island to film Mister Roberts. They introduced each other and Cagney chimed in "Are you still fooling people into believing you're left handed?" They had a great laugh and a strong friendship endured ever since. As Lemmon exclaimed, this was an example of James Cagney's ability to observe human behavior for his acting.

Henry Fonda wrote in his 1982 autobiography, My Life, he believed as good as the movie is, the play is even better. The film was William Powell's last movie, although he died decades later, in 1984. Powell was offered many chances to return to the screen but refused, apparently believing that 35 years of film acting was enough.

The vessel which played the role of USS Reluctant ("the Bucket") in the movie was in fact a light cargo vessel or AKL which was not even a USN vessel at all in WWII. It was actually a US Army FS class cargo vessel several of which were transferred to the Navy after WWII ended.^[3] As it was, an AKL carried a much smaller crew than the USS Virgo which Thomas Heggen served on during the war.^[4] In the movie, Mr. Roberts says to Doc that there are "65 men" aboard which would have been far too many for an AKL. Also, the crew when going below to their berthing compartment are shown in the movie to be descending into the cargo hold. It is also reported that the Navy ship that was used to film the exterior scenes in the movie was USS Hewell (AKL-14).^[5]

Television and Sequels

The film was the basis of a 1965 television series of the same name, and was remade for television in 1984 as a live telecast.

Mister Roberts was followed by a film sequel, Ensign Pulver (1964), with Robert Walker Jr. taking over the Lemmon role. It also starred Burl Ives as Captain Morton, Walter Matthau, Larry Hagman, and Jack Nicholson. Many of the incidents in the film's screenplay came out of Heggan's original book.

Cast

References

1. ^ Warren, Doug; Cagney, James (1986). Cagney: The Authorized Biography (Mass Market ed.). New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-90207-7. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Warren, page 191
3. ^ Ramon Jackson (27 November 2007). "Army FP/FS Vessels". Ships and Places. http://adams.patriot.net/~eastlnd2/rj/fs/fs.htm. Retrieved 2008-06-14. 
4. ^ Hugh M. Heckman (January 1979). "The Story and Memories of the USS VIRGO AKA-20 / AE-30, USS Virgo and Mr. Roberts" (^{[dead link]}). Sea Classics (Challenge Publications, Inc.). http://www.uss-virgo.com/roberts_wacky.htm. Retrieved 2008-06-14. 
5. ^ Gary P. Priolo (24 January 2008). "Light Cargo Ship (AKL): AG-145 / AKL-14 Hewell". NavSource Naval History. http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/49/49145.htm. Retrieved 2008-06-15. 

Bibliography

• Warren, Doug; Cagney, James (1986). Cagney: The Authorized Biography (Mass Market ed.). New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-90207-7. 

External links

• Mister Roberts (1955 film) at the Internet Movie Database