Mister Roberts (film)

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This article is about the 1955 film. For other uses, see Mister Roberts.

Mister Roberts
Movie poster of 1955's Mister Roberts
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 min.
Language	English
IMDb profile

Mister Roberts is a 1955 comedy-drama film directed by John Ford and stars Henry Fonda as Mister Roberts. The film was nominated for Best Picture and Best Sound, Recording Oscars; Jack Lemmon received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

1 Synopsis
2 Television and Sequels
3 Cast
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Synopsis

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, 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). Ford was replaced by LeRoy after difficulties with Fonda and a gall bladder attack that necessitated emergency surgery.

Henry Fonda wrote in his 1982 autobiography, My Life, he beleived 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.^[1] As it was , an AKL carried a much smaller crew that the USS VIRGO which Thomas Heggen served on during the war.^[2] 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).^[3]

[edit] Television and Sequels

The film was remade for television in 1984 as a live telecast, an extremely rare procedure for that period, and starred Robert Hays, Kevin Bacon, Charles Durning, Marilu Henner, Howard Hesseman, and Joe Pantoliano. The show was directed by Melvin Bernhardt. There was also a short-lived NBC television series in 1965, featuring Roger Smith, Steve Harmon and Richard X. Slattery.

Mister Roberts was followed by a film sequel, Ensign Pulver, in 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.

[edit] Cast

Cast	Character
Henry Fonda	Lt. (j.g.) Douglas A. 'Doug' Roberts
James Cagney	Captain Morton
William Powell	Lieutenant 'Doc'
Jack Lemmon	Ensign Frank Thurlowe Pulver
Betsy Palmer	Lt. Ann Girard
Ward Bond	Chief Boatswain's Mate Dowdy
Philip Carey	Mannion (billed as Phil Carey)
Nick Adams	Seaman Reber
Perry Lopez	Seaman Rodrigues
Ken Curtis	Yeoman 3rd Class Dolan
Robert Roark	Insignia
Harry Carey, Jr.	Stefanowski
Patrick Wayne	Bookser
Frank Aletter	Gerhart
Tige Andrews	Wiley
Martin Milner	Shore Patrol Ensign

[edit] References

^ Ramon Jackson (27 November 2007). Army FP/FS Vessels. Ships and Places. Retrieved on 2008-06-14.
^ Hugh M. Heckman (January 1979). "The Story and Memories of the USS VIRGO AKA-20 / AE-30, USS Virgo and Mr. Roberts". Sea Classics. Challenge Publications, Inc..
^ Gary P. Priolo (24 January 2008). Light Cargo Ship (AKL): AG-145 / AKL-14 Hewell. NavSource Naval History. Retrieved on 2008-06-15.

[edit] External links

Mister Roberts (1955 film) at the Internet Movie Database
Mister Roberts (1965 TV series) at the Internet Movie Database
Mister Roberts (1984 film) at the Internet Movie Database
Mister Roberts (play) at the Internet Broadway Database

v • d • e The films of John Ford

1910s	The Tornado • The Fighting Gringo • The Trail of Hate • The Scrapper • Cheyenne's Pal • The Soul Herder • Straight Shooting • The Secret Man • A Marked Man • Bucking Broadway • The Phantom Riders • Wild Women • Thieves' Gold • The Scarlet Drop • Hell Bent • A Woman's Fool • The Craving (with Francis Ford) • Three Mounted Men • Roped • The Fighting Brothers • A Fight for Love • Rustlers • Bare Fists • Gun Law • By Indian Post • The Gun Packer • Riders of Vengeance • The Last Outlaw • The Outcasts of Poker Flat • Ace of the Saddle • Rider of the Law • A Gun Fightin' Gentleman • Marked Men

1920s	The Prince of Avenue A • The Girl in Number 29 • Hitchin' Posts • Just Pals • The Big Punch • The Freeze-Out • The Wallop • Desperate Trails • Action • Sure Fire • Jackie • Little Miss Smiles • Silver Wings (with Edwin Carewe) • The Village Blacksmith • The Face on the Bar-Room Floor • Three Jumps Ahead • Cameo Kirby • North of Hudson Bay • Hoodman Blind • Hearts of Oak • Lightnin' • Kentucky Pride • Thank You • The Fighting Heart • The Shamrock Handicap • 3 Bad Men • Upstream • Four Sons • Napoleon's Barber • Strong Boy • The Black Watch

1930s	Men Without Women • Born Reckless • Up the River • Seas Beneath • The Brat • Arrowsmith • Airmail • Pilgrimage • Doctor Bull • The Lost Patrol • The World Moves On • Judge Priest • The Whole Town's Talking • The Informer • Steamboat Round the Bend • The Prisoner of Shark Island • Mary of Scotland • The Plough and the Stars • Wee Willie Winkie • The Hurricane • Four Men and a Prayer • Submarine Patrol • Stagecoach • Young Mr. Lincoln • Drums Along the Mohawk

1940s	The Grapes of Wrath • The Long Voyage Home • Tobacco Road • How Green Was My Valley • They Were Expendable • My Darling Clementine • The Fugitive • Fort Apache • 3 Godfathers • Pinky • She Wore a Yellow Ribbon

1950s	When Willie Comes Marching Home • Wagon Master • Rio Grande • The Quiet Man • What Price Glory? • The Sun Shines Bright • Mogambo • The Long Gray Line • Mister Roberts (with Mervyn LeRoy) • The Searchers • The Wings of Eagles • The Rising of the Moon • Gideon's Day The Last Hurrah • The Horse Soldiers

1960s	Sergeant Rutledge • Two Rode Together • The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance • How the West Was Won (with Henry Hathaway and George Marshall) • Donovan's Reef • Cheyenne Autumn • 7 Women

Television	"Fireside Theatre" (1949) • The Bamboo Cross (1955) • "Screen Directors Playhouse" (1955) • "Wagon Train" (1957-1965)

Productions	The Iron Horse (1924) • The Blue Eagle (1926) • Mother Machree (1928) • Hangman's House (1928) • Riley the Cop (1928) • Salute (1929) • Flesh (1932) • The Adventures of Marco Polo (1938) • Young Cassidy (1965)

Documentaries	Torpedo Squadron • Sex Hygiene (1942) • The Battle of Midway (1942) • December 7th (1943) • We Sail at Midnight (1943) • This Is Korea! (1951) • Korea (1959) • Chesty: A Tribute to a Legend (1976)

v • d • e

Films Directed by Mervyn LeRoy

Little Caesar (1931) • Five Star Final (1931) • Tonight or Never (1931) • Two Seconds (1932) • Three on a Match (1932) • I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932) • Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933) • Tugboat Annie (1933) • The World Changes (1933) • Anthony Adverse (1936) • Waterloo Bridge (1940) • Escape (1940) • Blossoms in the Dust (1941) • Random Harvest (1942) • Madame Curie (1943) • Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944) • The House I Live In (1945) • Without Reservations (1946) • Little Women (1949) • Quo Vadis (1951) • Million Dollar Mermaid (1952) • Mister Roberts (1955) • The Bad Seed (1956) • Toward the Unknown (1956) • No Time for Sergeants (1958) • The FBI Story (1959) • A Majority of One (1961) • Gypsy (1962)

v • d • e Joshua Logan

1930s	I Met My Love Again

1950s	Picnic · Bus Stop · Sayonara · South Pacific

1960s	Tall Story · Fanny · Ensign Pulver · Camelot · Paint Your Wagon

Screenplays	Mister Roberts

Mister Roberts (film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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[edit] Synopsis

[edit] Television and Sequels

[edit] Cast

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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