Best Movies by Farr
In the Navy Part 1
The film’s other star roves through the sub fluidly, never allowing the viewer a breath of escape or boredom.
This continuing series on films relating
to our most precious resource, the earth’s water, has to include
the rich sub-genre of navy movies. Throughout history, sea power has
shaped the power of nations in wartime and in peace.
Over the years, a slew of outstanding navy-themed films have furnished
us with a variety of salty celluloid adventures worth catching.
My first
installment follows:
Mutiny On The Bounty (1935): In late 18th
century Great Britain, sadistic Captain Bligh (Charles Laughton) commands
the HMS Bounty on a long voyage to Tahiti. When Bligh’s cruelty
to his crew goes beyond reasonable limits, second-in-command Fletcher
Christian (Gable) faces the fateful decision of whether to seize control
of the ship. MGM’s adaptation
of the famous Nordhoff/Hall book is given top shelf treatment here, with
a sneering Laughton the definitive Bligh, and the studio’s biggest
star, Gable, playing Christian with gusto (and, notably, without either
a British accent or his trademark mustache). But never mind — this
is still grand, sweeping entertainment, suitable for the whole family.
And Laughton is truly brilliant.
They Were Expendable (1945): This is the story of the PT boats in the
tough, early days of World War II in the Pacific. Skipper John Brickley
(Montgomery) and his right hand man, Rusty Ryan (Wayne), have difficulty
convincing the navy brass of the PTs’ value to the war effort.
They must work to prove it, and do. Eventually, these nimble craft will
play a vital role in turning the tide in the Pacific, allowing General
MacArthur to fulfill his famous promise to return there in glory. Director
John Ford delivers a powerful human tale of faith and hope sustained
during the darkest days of the war for the Allies. Montgomery (father
of Elizabeth from TV’s “Bewitched,” and an actual decorated
PT boat captain) is superb as the embattled but stoic Brickley, and the
Duke is also in fine form as Ryan. Donna Reed makes for a bewitching
love interest as the nurse who falls for Rusty. One of Ford’s more
under-exposed gems.
The Caine Mutiny (1954): Based on Herman Wouk’s sprawling novel,
this film centers on the neurotic, inflexible Captain Queeg (Humphrey
Bogart), a career naval officer whose men relieve him of command when
Queeg supposedly falters in guiding his ship through a perilous typhoon.
Once on terra firma, Queeg ensures the men get court-martialed for mutiny,
and as the trial progresses, the sad truth is gradually revealed. But
is justice really done? Edward Dmytryk’s stunning production remains
one of our best war films and (incidentally) courtroom dramas. A trio
of outstanding performances distinguish it: an Oscar-nominated Bogart
in one of his best turns as the embattled Queeg; Jose Ferrer, who almost
steals the picture as whip-smart defense lawyer Barney Greenwald; and
finally, Fred MacMurray, poignant in the unsympathetic part of a cowardly
Lieutenant. All hands on deck for this one.
Mister Roberts (1955): Adapted from Joshua Logan’s Broadway hit,
this service drama tells of Lt. Doug Roberts (Henry Fonda), an officer
on a WWII cargo ship, desperate to see action, who instead has to cope
with irascible, by-the-book Captain Morton (Cagney). Roberts is frustrated
by life aboard the SS “Reluctant,” but thankfully Ensign
Pulver (Jack Lemmon) — “in charge of laundry and morale” — is
on board to provide him and the crew with much-needed laughs and sympathy.
Returning to the big screen after an eight-year absence, Fonda successfully
recreated his indelible stage role in “Mister Roberts” under
the initial direction of John Ford, replaced by Mervyn LeRoy when Ford
and Fonda literally came to blows just weeks into shooting! Young Lemmon
must have been humbled by the cast line-up for this film: Fonda, Cagney,
and the legendary William Powell (as a philosophical ship doctor) all
on the same boat! Yet his manic energy was ideal for Pulver, winning
Lemmon that year’s Best Supporting Actor Oscar. Also notable as
Powell’s last screen appearance.
Das Boot (1981): Chronicling one German U-Boat’s perilous search-and-destroy
mission as the tide has turned toward the Allied cause in the Second
War, Wolfgang Peterson’s brilliant “Das Boot” has a
claustrophobic immediacy. We observe the tense faces of young, inexperienced
men doing their duty, most of whom realize that even if they cheat death,
Germany’s defeat is inevitable. Originally a 210-minute German
mini-series edited down to feature length, “Boot” is haunting
and works as an anti-war piece precisely because it is seen from the
losing side. German actor Jurgen Prochnow turns in an intense portrayal
of the boat’s desperate captain. The film’s other star—director
Peterson’s camera—roves through the sub fluidly, never allowing
the viewer a breath of escape or boredom.
Check in next time for my second batch of high-ranking Navy films on
DVD, and till then, smooth sailing.
For more ideas on great movies on DVD
visit www.bestmoviesbyfarr.com
