At the time of its 1948 Broadway premiere, Joshua Logan's adaptation of Thomas Heggen's novel about an idealistic lieutenant on a navy cargo ship in the Pacific during WWII, who does battle with his tyrannical captain while seeking transfer to combat duty, still had a real sense of immediacy. Even in 1955, when John Ford directed the feature film version, many still had vivid memories of their own service. But by the time of this 1984 NBC Live Theater production, Mister Roberts had a distinctly antiquated feel, which has only increased in the ensuing quarter-century. As successful as Mister Roberts was during its original New York theater run, the property hasn't fared terribly well onscreen in general. Ford's take was both heavy-handed and stagy, with James Cagney coarsely stentorian as the captain and Henry Fonda (repeating his stage role) stiff and affected, although Jack Lemmon deservedly won an Oscar for his energetic performance as the hapless Ensign Pulver. The 1984 television revival has some virtues: it's looser than the film, is faithful to the original text (a few transitional passages and swear words have been excised), and boasts two solid turns: Charles Durning is gruffly imposing as the captain, and Howard Hesseman nicely laidback as the ship's doctor. But overall the production lacks energy, and neither Robert Hays as Roberts, nor Kevin Bacon as Pulver rise above the bland (it's no wonder that the audience reaction seems fairly tepid). Featuring mid-'80s-TV video and audio qualities (i.e., hardly state-of-the-art), DVD extras include a background essay and cast filmograpies. A decent if ultimately lackluster version of a minor American classic, this is an optional purchase. (F. Swietek)
Mister Roberts
Acorn, 113 min., not rated, DVD: $24.99 December 22, 2008
Mister Roberts
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