Linbeymusol Wonderful character development!

Harockerce What a beautiful movie!

Ameriatch One of the best films i have seen

BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See

riogarhed Not everything in the film version of "Mr. Roberts" avoided the redolence of the mid-1950s--particularly the cornball aspects of a lot of "service comedy" then. Still."Mister Roberts" was made when World War II was not a distant memory, and some fidelity to that remembered collective experience is respected even in the vein of comedy. "Ensign Pulver" is perhaps not much more broad, but it is much more crude and is no longer interested in capturing the sensibility of the period in which it is set. Instead it panders to the period in which it was made, as if to say the gold standard of comedy then was found on TV in "Get Smart" and "Batman." In short, its sensibility was what was then called Camp. This is understandable except for the fact that the director and collaborator on the original material, Joshua Logan, directed "Ensign Pulver" and should have had a stake in staying true to the impulses behind the creation of this story and these characters. After all, Henry Fonda, having spent years as Mr. Roberts onstage, fought his old pal John Ford (and got a punch in the mouth for it) during the early filming of "Mister Roberts" in order to uphold the integrity of Logan's vision. But Logan himself in "Ensign Pulver" seems to have thrown that integrity overboard with the blessed palm tree.

fluna1030 OK, OK ! So I have heard that Ensign Pulver did not match up to Mr. Roberts. Nevertheless, I still found Ensign Pulver to be entertaining as well as funny. Ensign Pulver takes place at the near end of World War II, with a boat crew ready to throw it's captain overboard just to have some "breathing room" & some liberties. Just when the crew is about to blow a gasket, along comes Ensign Pulver with a "spiked" projectile & sling-shot with the captains name on it! As if things couldn't get worse, the captain is washed overboard during a storm....and of all persons, Ensign Pulver goes after him.....& ends up saving the crabby (later on with "frogjuice" very crocked & mellow)captains life. As I said in the beginning, there have been many things said about this movie......that it wasn't worth being a sequel to Mr. Roberts & the mediocre cast. In my opinion (for what it's worth), I found Ensign Pulver to be "more" entertaining & not as serious.....more funny & human. As of this writing, I have yet to see this movie in CinemaScope.....as it was originally released. Also, the cast in Ensign Pulver is much better & funnier. Enjoy!!

march9hare We remember the hype about this film : "You'll be Pulver-ized with laughter!!!" Umm. . .NOT!! This seadog of a movie has none of the wit or pathos of "Mister Roberts", it's progenitor. Burl Ives does his level best to save this loser, but his efforts are torpedoed by Robert Walker Jr as Pulver, a pale imitation of Jack Lemmon. For our money, Walker was at his best as a barely recognizable hippie in "Easy Rider", or possibly as a product demonstrator in toy commercials for Milton-Bradley, but never, ever as a junior officer in the Navy. Or the Army either, for that matter. This film was billed as a comedy/drama, but fails miserably as either. The jokes aren't funny, and the alleged drama is hopelessly contrived, such as when Walker and Ives, mortal enemies, are adrift together in a small boat. Oh, can't you just reach out and touch the tension? This movie is essentially an endurance test, and should be required viewing for prospective telemarketers. You, on the other hand, should avoid it at all costs.

mack-29 I have just purchased the VHS tape of this movie and I enjoyed it very much. Mainly for the performance of Robert Walker Jr.I would like to point out that "Ensign Pulver" is not a remake of "Mister Roberts". Ensign Pulver is the same ship and same characters as Mr. Roberts only with different actors in the leads.Burl Ives continues the role of Capt. first played by James Cagney. Robert Walker Jr. continues the role of Ensign Pulver first played by Jack Lemmon. Walter Matthau continues the role of Doc first played by William Powell.Early in the movie, Doc notes that it has been only a few weeks since they found out about the death of Doug, Mr. Roberts(Henry Fonda). Pulver receives a package from someone who was on the ship where Mr. Roberts died. It is medical books that Mr. Roberts wanted Pulver to have because he knew he would like the dirty pictures.This movie is much more of a comedy than "Roberts" and is alot of fun to watch.Also in the crew you can spot George Lindsey, "Goober" from the Andy Griffith show, future TV game show host Peter Marshall, a skinny James Coco and a very young James Farentino.Too bad this movie is not on DVD. Yet.