I had the unfortunate experience of watching this film today, home sick from work with the flu. From the start of the movie, I marvelled at the plot being so close to that of Mister Roberts, made some 9 years earlier in 1955. Captain Moreton (Burl Ives) is the captain of a cargo ship in 1945, somewhere in the Pacific. His motley crew just hate his hard-nosed manner, with no give-and-take, no leave and no freedom. His ambition is to become a Commander. Ensign Frank Pulver (Robert Walker Jr) plays a joke that badly misfires and somehow, both men are overboard and spend their next few weeks together in a rubber dinghy. On running aground on a sandy beach, Ensign Parker renews aquaintances with a nurse he met earlier in the film. At the same time, Captain Morton falls ill and needs an appendicectomy. The two are reunited with their ship to find the Captain is now a Commander. The crew are so dismayed at the thought of having the past come back and haunt them again. Frank Pulver has a confidential talk with the Commander and the next day we see the Commander leave the ship for the last time. The plot and acting was very second rate. The only time Burl Ives realised his true acting talents, was just before the end when he had an emotional man to man talk with Ensign Pulver. This was close to his best when playing Bid Daddy in Cat On A Hot Tin Roof. An interesting notable came out when reviewing the cast of the movie. Burl Ives was a noted actor back then in 1964 and his co-lead Robert Walker was not really heard of. He never went on to become a household name. Other actors in the movie who were absolute nobody's back in 1964 were Walter Matthau (Doc), Larry Hagman who played Billings, and Jack Nicholson who played Dolan. Their faces were instantly recognisable and some 40 years later, these actors are now household names. Surely it can't have been the making of this movie who hurtled these three actors into stardom. My advice is if you are feeling sick and this movie is rerun, don't watch it as it will make you sicker. 2/10 max.
Review of Ensign Pulver
