MISTER ROBERTS

A comic variation on 'Mutiny on the Bounty' set during the closing days of World War Two with James Cagney as the Captain Bligh character and Henry Fonda as his Fletcher Christian. It was based on one of the longest running shows ever to play Broadway and Fonda was reprising his Tony award-winning role as "Mister Roberts". He's fine in the part but it's Cagney and, in a lesser role, Jack Lemmon who walk off with the picture and, in Lemmon's case, the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Despite location shooting in Hawaii, it's still very stagey and there are times you expect the sailors to burst into a chorus of 'There's Nothing Like a Dame', (Joshua Logan was in part responsible for both this and "South Pacific"). Still, its reputation as a classic has been justly earned and while it may be a tad on the obvious side, it's still very entertaining.