Mister Roberts

Mister Roberts occasionally feels stiff and constrained, though the superb cast works to keep things lively. The inactive side of America's fighting force is spotlighted in this movie, which stars Henry Fonda as a World War II naval officer trying to keep up the morale of his bored, overworked cargo ship crew. Mister Roberts survives the test of time by concentrating on characters rather than action. Though tame compared with the stories of real-life enlisted men, the movie isn't exactly politically correct. One of its most memorable characters, Ensign Pulver (an Oscar-winning performance by Jack Lemmon), is a coward who schemes to seduce a visiting nurse with homemade Scotch. But he's an immature young man who grows considerably by the end of the movie.

Fonda, who won a Tony award for playing Roberts on Broadway, was never better than he is here, bringing heart and strength to the title role. Lemmon, Cagney, and William Powell (in his final screen role as the ship's philosophical doctor) give some of the strongest performances of their respective careers. As with most of the greatest comedies, this one has a serious side. The ending, with its one-two punch combining tragic news with a great belly laugh, is one that viewers won't soon forget. The adult subject matter and humor will appeal mainly to teens and parents.