Special Sub-Topic: 'Mister Roberts' (1955) Click Here To Play: 'Mister Roberts' (1955)

Who plays the title character, Mister Roberts?

Henry Fonda. Fonda is Lieutenant Doug A. Roberts, a man of principle who desperately wants to go into combat so he can be of use to the war effort. It was Fonda's first role in seven years. Fonda's last major role was in 'On Golden Pond' 1982).

Here's an obscure one. It's mentioned, I think, only in the introductory material written on-screen after the credits. What is the name of the ship Mister Roberts serves on?

'The Reluctant'. It's 'The Reluctant' (perhaps an apt name for a cargo ship during wartime, since she's reluctant to go to battle), but the crew calls her with a mixture of affection and derision 'The Bucket.' I read that 'The Ghost' is the name of the actual ship the filming took place on.

The ship's surgeon (Doc as everyone calls him) is a world-weary but kindly man who listens patiently to the crew's far-fetched excuses to get out of work detail and then hands them an Aspirin. Who plays Doc?

William Powell. William Powell is most famous, perhaps, for his role in the 'Thin Man' series as Nick Charles, the tipsy but tough sleuth. In this movie, he serves as wise counsel and friend to Mister Roberts during his troubling bouts of conscience. This is his final screen appearance.

What scene does NOT take place in 'Mister Roberts?'

The officers have a poker game with an admiral on shore. No poker game takes place during the movie — but doesn't it sound like 'M*A*S*H' aside from that? The spying on the nurses' quarters, the fighting, the crazy pranks, the rebellion against unreasonable commanding officers, the drinking... War is hell.

Who throws the captain's prized potted palm overboard first?

Mister Roberts. Encouraged by FDR's VE-Day radio exhortation for continued battle against tyrants, Roberts marches smartly up to the radio deck and tosses the captain's palm into the ocean. The captain had been given it by an admiral for superior cargo delivery.

The captain is a little dictator who will not let the men have shore leave. Finally, Mister Roberts agrees to certain things so that the captain will allow them liberty. Of the following, which one does Mister Roberts NOT agree to do for the captain?

watch out for grumblers among the crew. Captain Morton does not ask Roberts to report on any dissenters in the crew's ranks. It's Mister Robert's own subordination he's worried about, and with his crooked deal, he thinks he has that situation under control.

Ensign Pulver has a guest coming to his room to drink some scotch. Unfortunately, the scotch Pulver promised was Roberts', and Roberts has wastefully given it away! So Doc and Roberts 'make' Pulver some more scotch. Of the following, which one is NOT one of the ingredients to their home-made brew?

sugar. Pulver (played by a young Jack Lemmon) is appalled that Roberts 'wasted' his scotch as a bribe — on a *man*. (Roberts wants the ship to go to a liberty port.) Pulver wants the scotch for a big blonde nurse. Unfortuantely, things don't go as planned... But that's not the fault of Roberts and Doc, who concoct a passable scotch from grain alcohol, Coke (for color), iodine (for taste), and hair tonic (for age). It sounds foul, but they seem to like it.

Ensign Pulver blows up a home-made firecracker on the ship. What room gets Pulver-ized?

the laundry room. Pulver is officer in charge of 'morale and laundry.' (Although he's been on ship for fourteen months, the captain has no idea who he is, because Pulver always hides when he sees the captain coming. When they finally do meet, Captain Morton has only one request: 'no starch in my pyjamas.') Pulver keeps all his contraband in the laundry room, and when the firecracker goes off, all his other materials are destroyed. Thus ends the idea of blowing up the captain's bunk.

'Mister Roberts' won one Academy Award at the ceremony in 1956. Which one was it?

Best Supporting Actor. Jack Lemmon won for his role as Ensign Pulver, the nervous, lazy ladies' man. It was a well-deserved win. I think Henry Fonda should have been at least nominated for Best Actor, but he wasn't. (The trophy went to Ernest Borgnine for 'Marty.') The film was nominated for Best Picture (and Best Sound), but didn't win. It could not have been nominated for Best Original Screenplay, because it was based on a play by Joshua Logan.

Who replaces Mister Roberts when he finally ships out?

Ensign Pulver. Ensign Pulver is made the new cargo officer, but he's no Mister Roberts, beaten down as he is by the captain's tyranny. Until one day, a certain piece of news gives him the resolve to march into the captain's quarters and declare... Well, I won't spoil it for you, just in case you haven't seen the film. But it's one of the great final scenes. Thanks for playing this quiz, and have a great day.