''Ensign Pulver'' is a 1964 American

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film in

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and a sequel to the 1955 film '' Mister Roberts''. The film stars

Robert Walker Jr. Robert Hudson Walker Jr. (April 15, 1940 – December 5, 2019) was an American actor who appeared in films including ''Easy Rider'' (1969) and was a familiar presence on television in the 1960s and early 1970s. He became less active in lat ...

Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American musician, actor, and author with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his own rad ...

, Walter Matthau and Tommy Sands and features

Millie Perkins Millie Perkins (born May 12, 1938) is an American film and television actress known for her debut film role as Anne Frank in ''The Diary of Anne Frank'' (1959), and for her supporting actress roles in two 1966 Westerns, '' The Shooting'' and '' ...

, Larry Hagman,

Kay Medford Margaret Kathleen Regan (September 14, 1919 – April 10, 1980), better known as Kay Medford, was an American actress. For her performance as Rose Brice in the musical '' Funny Girl'' and the film adaptation of the same name, she was nominated ...

Peter Marshall Peter Marshall may refer to: Entertainment * Peter Marshall (entertainer) (born 1926), American game show host of ''The Hollywood Squares'', 1966–1981 * Peter Marshall (author, born 1939) (1939–1972), British novelist whose works include ''Th ...

Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. In many of his films, he played rebels against the social structure. He received numerous ...

Richard Gautier Richard Gautier (October 30, 1931 – January 13, 2017) was an American actor, comedian, singer, and caricaturist. He was known for his television roles as Hymie the Robot in the television series '' Get Smart'', and Robin Hood in the TV comedy ...

George Lindsey George Smith Lindsey (December 17, 1928 – May 6, 2012) was an American actor and stand-up comedian, best known for his role as Goober Pyle on ''The Andy Griffith Show'', ''Mayberry R.F.D.'' and his subsequent tenure on '' Hee-Haw''. Life and ...

James Farentino James Farentino (February 24, 1938 – January 24, 2012) was an American actor. He appeared in nearly 100 television, film, and stage roles, among them '' The Final Countdown'', ''Jesus of Nazareth'', and '' Dynasty''. Career Born in Brooklyn, N ...

and

James Coco James Emil Coco (March 21, 1930 – February 25, 1987) was an American stage and screen actor. He was the recipient of a Primetime Emmy Award, a Drama Desk Award and three Obie Awards, as well as nominations for a Tony Award, an Academy Award a ...

. The film was directed and co-written by Joshua Logan, who had directed and co-written the 1948 '' Mister Roberts'' stage play on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

,Steinberg, Jay S
"Ensign Pulver" (article)
on

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and also shot scenes for the 1955 film after director

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

fell ill. The story concerns the U.S.S. ''Reluctant'', a cargo ship in the waning days of World War II, which is at anchor beside a tropical island. The ship's captain is as much of a " Captain Bligh" as ever. Several of the film's events — such as attacking the Captain while he is watching a film, and one of the sailors trying to obtain compassionate leave to deal with a dying child — are taken from Thomas Heggen's original 1946 novel '' Mister Roberts''. The characters of Pulver, Doc and several crewmen return from the first film, but played by different actors.

Plot

U.S. Navy Ensign Frank Pulver (

) feels unappreciated, as usual. Even when he personally aims a sharp object into the hindquarters of the hated Captain Morton (

), the happy crew cannot imagine that the all-talk, no-action Pulver could be behind it. A poll to guess at the identity of the "ass-sassin" results in votes for almost everyone except Pulver, which he bitterly resents. Shipmates like Billings ( Larry Hagman), Insigna (

), Skouras (

) and Dolan (

) do not take Pulver seriously while despising the captain, who refuses to grant leave to a seaman named Bruno ( Tommy Sands) to attend his daughter's funeral back home. Doc ( Walter Matthau) is the only one aboard who believes in Pulver's potential at all. At sea for months at a time, Pulver is unable to indulge his greatest interest, women, until a company of nurses land on a nearby atoll. The head nurse (

) is pleased to meet him when Pulver introduces himself as a doctor serving on a destroyer, but young nurse Scotty (

) suspects the truth and a smitten Pulver confesses it to her, that he's no doctor and nothing more than a junior officer on "the worst ship in the Navy." Bruno becomes so deranged, he attempts to kill the captain. Pulver reluctantly intervenes, but the captain falls overboard, and is about to drown until Pulver lowers a life raft and dives in to save him. Separated from their ship, with the crew unaware for hours that they are missing, Pulver and Morton bicker aboard the raft. The ensign takes notes while the delusional captain reveals dark secrets about his past. In need of emergency surgery, Morton ends up owing his life yet again to Pulver, who follows Doc's instructions over a radio and removes the captain's appendix. Back aboard ship, Morton's natural tendencies resurface and he tries to return to his martinet ways. Although Pulver has the goods on him now he shows genuine compassion for the captain and convinces him to leave the ship for his own well-being. Morton takes his advice and departs, turning over command to the popular LaSeur ( Gerald S. O'Loughlin).

Cast

as Ensign Frank Pulver *

as Captain Morton * Walter Matthau as Doc * Tommy Sands as John X. Bruno *

as Nurse Scotty *

as Head Nurse * Larry Hagman as Billings *

as Carney * Joseph Marr as Yeoman Dowdy * Gerald S. O'Loughlin as LaSueur *

Diana Sands Diana Patricia Sands (August 22, 1934September 21, 1973) was an American actress, perhaps most known for her portrayal of Beneatha Younger, the sister of Sidney Poitier's character, Walter, in the original stage and film versions of Lorraine Han ...

as Mila * Robert Matek as Captain Donald "Stretch" Zimmer *

as Dolan *

Al Freeman Jr. Albert Cornelius Freeman Jr. (March 21, 1934 – August 9, 2012) was an American actor, director, and educator. A life member of The Actors Studio, Freeman appeared in a wide variety of plays, ranging from Leroi Jones' ''Slave/Toilet'' to Joe P ...

as Taru *

as Stefanowski *

as Lindstrom * Sal Papa as Gabrowski *

as Insigna *

as Skouras * Don Dorrell as Payne Cast notes *

Gavin MacLeod Gavin MacLeod () (born Allan George See; February 28, 1931 – May 29, 2021) was an American actor best known for his roles as news writer Murray Slaughter on ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' and ship's captain Merrill Stubing on ABC's '' The Love ...

has a bit part as a crewman

Production

''Ensign Pulver'' began production under the working title "Mr. Pulver and the Captain". Location scenes for the film were shot in

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and Acapulco,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. Actor Jack Nicholson took it upon himself to assist director Josh Logan with casting, becoming an informal "assistant producer." Logan, who hoped that the film would repeat the success of ''Mister Roberts'', recognized that it had fallen short of that mark, writing in his autobiography:

We thought we had everyone in the picture that anyone could ask for ... But we had left out the most important thing: the catalytic agent, Mister Roberts. And without him, the story falls into shreds. No one really cares about the others enough to create suspense as to the outcome.

In the original film, Jack Lemmon had won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Ensign Pulver, James Cagney had played the Captain,

William Powell William Horatio Powell (July 29, 1892 – March 5, 1984) was an American actor. A major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the '' Thin Man'' series based on the Nick and Nora Charles characters cr ...

was Doc, and

Henry Fonda Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor. He had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. He cultivated an everyman screen image in several films considered to be classics. Born and ra ...

portrayed Mister Roberts.

Paperback novelization

Concurrent with the release of the film, Dell Publishing issued a paperback novelization of the film by W. H. (William Henry) Manville, writing under the pseudonym he used for tie-in work, "Henry Williams."

Comic book adaption

* Dell Movie Classic: ''Ensign Pulver'' (August–October 1964)

References

Notes

External links

* * * * * {{Mister Roberts 1964 films 1960s war comedy-drama films American sequel films American war comedy-drama films Films scored by George Duning Films adapted into comics Films based on American novels Films directed by Joshua Logan Military humor in film Pacific War films Films about the United States Navy in World War II Warner Bros. films American World War II films 1960s English-language films 1960s American films