Keine Zeit für Heldentum (1955)

Keine Zeit für Heldentum: Directed by John Ford, Mervyn LeRoy, Joshua Logan. With Henry Fonda, James Cagney, William Powell, Jack Lemmon. In the waning days of World War II, the United States Navy cargo ship Reluctant and her crew are stationed in the “backwater” areas of the Pacific Ocean. Trouble ensues when the crew members are granted liberty.

“I recently saw u0026quot;Mister Robertsu0026quot; for the first time in a theater, part of a double-bill with u0026quot;Twelve Angry Menu0026quot;. The latter is one of my all-time favorite movies, but Iu0026#39;ve always had reservations about u0026quot;Mister Robertsu0026quot;, in large part, I think, because Iu0026#39;d always seen it in pan-and-scan on AMC instead of the original CinemaScope perspective of the original. Well, even on a movie screen, I think some of the scenes had to be chopped (or Mervyn LeRoy just liked including William Powellu0026#39;s shoe in a screen-shot, but not the rest of him) but I enjoyed this movie much more in a theater than on a TV screen. For one small example, Iu0026#39;d never noticed the detail of the warships passing by during the opening credits before.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe story of u0026quot;Mister Robertsu0026quot; is a bit melodramatic for my taste — after all, it started out on Broadway — but it doesnu0026#39;t matter because you have five huge headliners to carry it, all at different stages of their careers — William Powell in his last feature film; James Cagney, James Fonda, and Ward Bond in their mid-career phases (though Bond would be cut down too young in 1960); and Jack Lemmon in practically his first movie. There is an outstanding photo of these five actors singing together accompanied by Cagneyu0026#39;s guitar in the photo gallery. Anyway, Mister Roberts is a college-grad who felt a duty to be involved in WWII, but who had the bad luck to be assigned to a cargo ship that is never involved in combat duty. Whatu0026#39;s worse, the commanding officer is a petty Merchant Marine who got in the Navy because they needed anyone they could get, and he resents Mister Roberts and anyone else who he thinks looks down on him. Roberts shares a room with Ensign Pulver, not exactly a coward but someone whou0026#39;d be happy to go through the entire war without meeting his Captain. The shipu0026#39;s surgeon is played by William Powell with the same wit and facile mastery that he brought to the u0026quot;The Thin Manu0026quot; series decades earlier; but you can tell heu0026#39;s not Nick Charles because of his gray hair. Finally, the great Ward Bond is the top noncom in the cargo hold.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe movie depends on a lot of stereotypes that feel like crutches to me — sailors ogling women, sailors getting drunk, sailors going nuts on liberty, etc. The high points of the action involve the interaction of the headliners, or their solo moments. Jack Lemmonu0026#39;s outstanding (and Oscar-winning) performance established him as an up and coming star, and presaged his great work in u0026quot;The Apartmentu0026quot;, u0026quot;Some Like it Hotu0026quot;, u0026quot;The Days of Wine and Rosesu0026quot;, and the other masterpieces of his u0026quot;Earlyu0026quot; period. The final scene is one of the best in Lemmonu0026#39;s career.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI strongly recommend you find a way to see u0026quot;Mister Robertsu0026quot; in widescreen format. This is a movie, like u0026quot;Lawrence of Arabiau0026quot; or u0026quot;Anastasiau0026quot;, that is just ruined when presented full-screen.”