ChicDragon It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

verovalera1976 This movie is really a good one, with great actors that we know already. The story of a crew of navy men during the WW 2 on the Pacific Ocean that try to have fun but the captain of the ship doesn't want to hear a thing. Lt. Roberts, played by Fonda, tries to convince his superior to give them the chance to have a permission for 24 hours. Pulver, played by Lemmon, is a real troublemaker and a man who desperately wants to meet the girls on shore. Roberts tries as well to join the front because he's tired of boredom. As the movie goes through the end, a tragic event makes the crew and especially Pulver astonished by reading the letter of a friend of his. Frustated, Pulver finishes the job where Roberts started....

a666333 When one looks at the blue chip cast, the director and the basic setting, one feels that it cannot be bad and it could be something unique and special. Unfortunately, it falls well short of the high expectations. Paying tribute to the those who toiled in far-from-combat logistical assignments in WW2 was no doubt appreciated by the many who served in that capacity. At the same time, it makes it more difficult to find suspenseful plot material. That can be compensated for with human interactions and great acting. We don't quite get that either. There just is not much to the plot here. In a way, that is part of the point. These characters lives are not interesting and so they make small things into big things. They are trapped, have no other choice and have to create a facsimile of excitement where there is none. Yes, that point is made but it is not enough to sustain a full film and at times, it seems to stretch believability. It could have been a solid subplot in a film that included a lot more. But obviously, they wanted to drive that point home relentlessly even if you were ready for much more. Many scenes drag and again that might be to reinforce the point that these lives are not interesting. At times, the acting, especially Henry Fonda is like a sleep walk. Anything but exciting and not noteworthy either. You see what I am doing here, i.e. making the same point about the film, over and over again. Just as the movie does with its point. None of the other actors stand out. Cagney is the most inherently skillful of the bunch but his character is limited in scope so it is not the best example of his work. Powell is good but has little to do. He comes across as old and tired (again, is that the point?) I've never been big on Jack Lemon but he has had his great moments such as in "The Apartment" and "Missing". Why he received an academy award for this is beyond me. He is quite irritating here and not in a good way. The best picture nomination is a big stretch. Was 1955 really such a weak year? Were people in awe of the cast and John Ford and so eager to give tribute to the supporting cast in WW2? It is a full colour Cinemascope production but those features are NOT powerfully used here. After all, that would make the lives of these people seem interesting!

gavin6942 A comedy-drama about life on a not particularly important ship of the US Navy during World War II...Henry Fonda makes a solid leader (I mean, gee, he played Abraham Lincoln) on board a ship with a selfish, almost hermit-like captain (played effortlessly by James Cagney -- some of his best work, albeit in a small role). Who better to be the anchor on this ship of men lost at sea (figuratively)? And Jack Lemmon... oh my. He really lets his hair down here. He has some great roles throughout his career, but here he just goes the full way to perfection. How does such a character survive on such a stressful ship? Who knows? But he is the perfect comedy relief in what is otherwise too tense of a story.

writers_reign As someone remarked here it's not always possible to revisit a film you watched several years ago and extract the same full measure of enjoyment out of it because the alchemy of the years between is inclined to tarnish it but Mr. Roberts for the most part does retain its luminescence so that what you originally rated 10/10 has slipped to perhaps 8 or 9. Much has been made of the fact that John Ford was the original director and this is evident by the likes of Ward Bond, Harry Carey Jnr and Duke Wayne's son, Patrick in supporting roles, all three having strong connections to Ford and while they don't necessarily enhance the film neither do they impair it. It's very much an actor's movie and it's especially rewarding to see three of the finest of the Old Guard - Hank Fonda, Jimmy Cagney and Bill Powell, handing the torch on to the best of the next generation in Jack Lemon. All have - and make the best of - outstanding moments and though difficult to select one out of the four for me Bill Powell just shades it by the tiniest margin. With acting of this calibre it's immaterial who directed what segment and what really matters is what's on screen and now, thankfully, DVD.