Review of Mister Roberts (1955) by Alan S — 03 Mar 2008
This was a hit broadway stage play brought to cinema. I never saw the stage play so I can't compare but I can make this comment. As a general rule of thumb stage comedies tend to be more intelligent and less dependent on big sight gags and prat falls and this movie is no exception!
What a wonderful bit of casting. The interaction of these characters is an absolute joy! Everybody deserves a rave. Fonda's quite suffering hero, William Powell's wise and worldly ship's doctor, James Cagney's over the top captain and of course Jack Lemmon in his breakout role as Ensign Pulver the scheming lovable nitwit!
This movie made a star out of Lemmon and no wonder. To hold your own let alone shine in an ensemble play rounded out with such formidable talent was quite a feat!This movie does have it's share of sight gasgs and pratfalls to be sure but the real strength of this comedy is characterizations, interactions and dialogue which all pull together make us care about these people, which in turn frees us up to believe the story no matter where it takes us.
This movie is great fun and good family viewing and a definite classic!
This review of Mister Roberts (1955) was written by Alan S on 03 Mar 2008.
Mister Roberts has generally received very positive reviews.
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