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Ensign Pulver

October 15, 2023

Ensign Pulver is a 1964 American Technicolor film in Panavision and a sequel to the 1955 film Mister Roberts. The film stars Robert Walker Jr., Burl Ives, Walter Matthau and Tommy Sands and features Millie Perkins, Larry Hagman, Kay Medford, Peter Marshall, Jack Nicholson, Richard Gautier, George Lindsey, James Farentino and James Coco.[2]

Ensign Pulver
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJoshua Logan
Screenplay byPeter S. Feibleman
Joshua Logan
Based onMister Roberts
by Thomas Heggen
Produced byJoshua Logan
StarringRobert Walker Jr.
Burl Ives
Walter Matthau
Larry Hagman
CinematographyCharles Lawton Jr.
Edited byWilliam H. Reynolds
Music byGeorge Duning
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • November 25, 1964 (1964-11-25) (US)
Running time
104 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box officeest. $1,200,000 (US/ Canada)[1]

The film was directed and co-written by Joshua Logan, who had directed and co-written the 1948 Mister Roberts stage play on Broadway,[3] and also shot scenes for the 1955 film after director John Ford 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 the funeral of his 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 Edit

U.S. Navy Ensign Frank Pulver (Robert Walker Jr.) feels unappreciated, as usual. Even when he personally aims a sharp object into the hindquarters of the hated Captain Morton (Burl Ives), 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 (James Farentino), Skouras (James Coco) and Dolan (Jack Nicholson) 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 (Kay Medford) is pleased to meet him when Pulver introduces himself as a doctor serving on a destroyer, but young nurse Scotty (Millie Perkins) 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 Edit

Cast notes

Production Edit

Ensign Pulver began production under the working title "Mr. Pulver and the Captain". Location scenes for the film were shot in Mexico City and Acapulco, Mexico.[4]

Actor Jack Nicholson took it upon himself to assist director Josh Logan with casting, becoming an informal "assistant producer."[3] 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.[3]

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 was Doc, and Henry Fonda portrayed Mister Roberts.

Paperback novelization Edit

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 Edit

  • Dell Movie Classic: Ensign Pulver (August–October 1964)[5][6]

See also Edit

References Edit

Notes

  1. ^ "Big Rental Pictures of 1964", Variety, 6 January 1965 p 39. Please note this figure is rentals accruing to distributors not total gross.
  2. ^ Variety film review; February 26, 1964, page 6.
  3. ^ a b c Steinberg, Jay S. "Ensign Pulver" (article) on TCM.com
  4. ^ "Notes" on TCM.com
  5. ^ Dell Movie Classic: Ensign Pulver at the Grand Comics Database
  6. ^ at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)

External links Edit


October 15, 2023
ensign, pulver, 1964, american, technicolor, film, panavision, sequel, 1955, film, mister, roberts, film, stars, robert, walker, burl, ives, walter, matthau, tommy, sands, features, millie, perkins, larry, hagman, medford, peter, marshall, jack, nicholson, ric. Ensign Pulver is a 1964 American Technicolor film in Panavision and a sequel to the 1955 film Mister Roberts The film stars Robert Walker Jr Burl Ives Walter Matthau and Tommy Sands and features Millie Perkins Larry Hagman Kay Medford Peter Marshall Jack Nicholson Richard Gautier George Lindsey James Farentino and James Coco 2 Ensign PulverTheatrical release posterDirected byJoshua LoganScreenplay byPeter S FeiblemanJoshua LoganBased onMister Robertsby Thomas HeggenProduced byJoshua LoganStarringRobert Walker Jr Burl IvesWalter MatthauLarry HagmanCinematographyCharles Lawton Jr Edited byWilliam H ReynoldsMusic byGeorge DuningDistributed byWarner Bros Release dateNovember 25 1964 1964 11 25 US Running time104 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishBox officeest 1 200 000 US Canada 1 The film was directed and co written by Joshua Logan who had directed and co written the 1948 Mister Roberts stage play on Broadway 3 and also shot scenes for the 1955 film after director John Ford 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 the funeral of his 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 Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Paperback novelization 5 Comic book adaption 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksPlot EditU S Navy Ensign Frank Pulver Robert Walker Jr feels unappreciated as usual Even when he personally aims a sharp object into the hindquarters of the hated Captain Morton Burl Ives 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 James Farentino Skouras James Coco and Dolan Jack Nicholson 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 Kay Medford is pleased to meet him when Pulver introduces himself as a doctor serving on a destroyer but young nurse Scotty Millie Perkins 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 EditRobert Walker Jr as Ensign Frank Pulver Burl Ives as Captain Morton Walter Matthau as Doc Tommy Sands as John X Bruno Millie Perkins as Nurse Scotty Kay Medford as Head Nurse Larry Hagman as Billings Peter Marshall as Carney Joseph Marr as Yeoman Dowdy Gerald S O Loughlin as LaSueur Diana Sands as Mila Robert Matek as Captain Donald Stretch Zimmer Jack Nicholson as Dolan Al Freeman Jr as Taru Richard Gautier as Stefanowski George Lindsey as Lindstrom Sal Papa as Gabrowski James Farentino as Insigna James Coco as Skouras Don Dorrell as Payne Cast notes Gavin MacLeod has a bit part as a crewmanProduction EditEnsign Pulver began production under the working title Mr Pulver and the Captain Location scenes for the film were shot in Mexico City and Acapulco Mexico 4 Actor Jack Nicholson took it upon himself to assist director Josh Logan with casting becoming an informal assistant producer 3 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 3 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 was Doc and Henry Fonda portrayed Mister Roberts Paperback novelization EditConcurrent 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 EditDell Movie Classic Ensign Pulver August October 1964 5 6 See also EditList of American films of 1964References EditNotes Big Rental Pictures of 1964 Variety 6 January 1965 p 39 Please note this figure is rentals accruing to distributors not total gross Variety film review February 26 1964 page 6 a b c Steinberg Jay S Ensign Pulver article on TCM com Notes on TCM com Dell Movie Classic Ensign Pulver at the Grand Comics Database Dell Movie Classic Ensign Pulver at the Comic Book DB archived from the original External links EditEnsign Pulver at IMDb Ensign Pulver at Rotten Tomatoes Ensign Pulver at the TCM Movie Database Ensign Pulver at AllMovie Ensign Pulver at the American Film Institute Catalog Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ensign Pulver amp oldid 1172459502, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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