Genres

Visitors Review

2013-05-20 15:10:31

super funny

This review is from: Ensign Pulver (DVD) I haven't seen this movie in many years. It is even funnier now than when I first saw it so many years ago.

2013-05-20 06:36:48

old time favorite

This review is from: Ensign Pulver (DVD) my son and I used to have this movie on VHS and have been disappointed that we were unable to get it on dvd, so when I tried one more time I was excited that we were able to get it now. my 35 year old son already stole it from me so I guess I'll have to get another one! its a funny movie. just wish it wasn't so expensive.

2013-05-19 04:10:28

Another oldie

This review is from: Ensign Pulver (DVD) A follow up to "Mr. Roberts." Not as funny as Mr. Roberts but fun none the less. As I get older I tend to miss some of the things I knew from before - and this is "safe" enough to let the grandkids watch.

2013-05-18 16:50:06

Mister Roberts #2

This review is from: Ensign Pulver [VHS] (VHS Tape) Although not as classic as Mister Roberts, this is still a great movie. Hech, I didn't even know there was a sequel, so I bought both copies. They have both earned a Top Shelf placing in my bookcase. All characters play great parts, even though James Cagney and Henry Fonda aren't in this movie. It would have been great to see some of the actors from the Mister Roberts, even though the 'new' doc, played by Walter Matthea does a great job. Both he and the "old Ensign" make great movies together! As most movies drag the chain nowadays going for 2-3+ hours, this is one movie I thought could go on and not get boring. Another classic and great fun for all family to enjoy. We wish more movies were like this nowadays. No Swearing, No Violence, No War .... not even a bullet is fired. An allround great movie.

pgapgapga 2013-05-16 13:21:24

sequel to Mr. Roberts

While certainly not the movie of the year(or any year, for thatmatter), this follow-up to Mr. Roberts was a lot of fun to watch as anadolescent, and later as an adult. It is a totally different movie thanRoberts, so don't expect the same caliber or even the same genre-it'sjust fun to watch! The dialogue is clever, though the characters maybea little cardboard. Matthau is great as "Doc", Ives as the evilcaptain, and Walker as the grandiose-yet-cowardly, slingshot and marblecarrying ensign. I enjoyed seeing the familiar faces of the manycharacter actors whom you'll quickly recognize (if you are ofsufficient age or TV exposure).

Tracey 2013-05-16 07:26:24

Very Poor Remake of Mister Roberts

I had the unfortunate experience of watching this film today, home sickfromwork with the flu. From the start of the movie, I marvelled at the plotbeing so close to that of Mister Roberts, made some 9 years earlier in1955.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 becomeaCommander. Ensign Frank Pulver (Robert Walker Jr) plays a joke that badlymisfires and somehow, both men are overboard and spend their next fewweekstogether in a rubber dinghy.On running aground on a sandy beach, Ensign Parker renews aquaintanceswitha nurse he met earlier in the film. At the same time, Captain Morton fallsill and needs an appendicectomy. The two are reunited with their ship tofind the Captain is now a Commander. The crew are so dismayed at thethoughtof having the past come back and haunt them again. Frank Pulver has aconfidential talk with the Commander and the next day we see the Commanderleave the ship for the last time.The plot and acting was very second rate. The only time Burl Ives realisedhis true acting talents, was just before the end when he had an emotionalman to man talk with Ensign Pulver. This was close to his best whenplayingBid Daddy in Cat On A Hot Tin Roof.An interesting notable came out when reviewing the cast of the movie. BurlIves was a noted actor back then in 1964 and his co-lead Robert Walker wasnot really heard of. He never went on to become a household name. Otheractors in the movie who were absolute nobody's back in 1964 were WalterMatthau (Doc), Larry Hagman who played Billings, and Jack Nicholson whoplayed Dolan. Their faces were instantly recognisable and some 40 yearslater, these actors are now household names. Surely it can't have been themaking of this movie who hurtled these three actors intostardom.My advice is if you are feeling sick and this movie is rerun, don't watchitas it will make you sicker. 2/10 max.

2013-05-12 15:47:30

Should be a classic if not!

First time I seen this movie, I loved it! Hadn't seen Mr. Roberts prior to seeing Ensign Pulver, but after seeing Mr. Roberts...Ensign Pulver is the video I bought!

capricorn9 2013-05-12 06:03:06

no Pulver-ization here

The only thing this film has going for it is catching all the greatactors, at the start of their careers) that are in smaller roles as thesailors on board - James Farentino, a skinny James Coco, Larry Hagman,George Lindsay, Dick Gautier and even a young Jack Nicholson! OK WalterMatthau is worth watching in anything he does, but that is all. Therest of the film is another Josh Logan homo-erotic mess. Yes, it is. Heseems to have spent more time on the scenes where the sailors gettogether and have fun dancing in their underwear, whacking each otheron the butt, running around with no shirts and skimpy shorts and thereis even a scene where one sailor, as they sit and listen to the radio,has one arm draped over another guys leg. The rest of the story is likethe boat they are on - old, rusty and goes no where. The worst isRobert Walker(who should have kept the Jr after his name)who does hisbest to do a perfect Jack Lemmon impersonation and that gets irritatingas you wonder why they didn't get Jack himself. He probably read thescript.

fluna1030 2013-05-09 04:34:00

Funny.......but not as serious as "Mr. Roberts"

OK, OK ! So I have heard that Ensign Pulver did not match up to Mr.Roberts. Nevertheless, I still found Ensign Pulver to be entertainingas well as funny. Ensign Pulver takes place at the near end of WorldWar II, with a boat crew ready to throw it's captain overboard just tohave some "breathing room" & some liberties. Just when the crew isabout to blow a gasket, along comes Ensign Pulver with a "spiked"projectile & sling-shot with the captains name on it! As if thingscouldn't get worse, the captain is washed overboard during astorm....and of all persons, Ensign Pulver goes after him.....& ends upsaving the crabby (later on with "frogjuice" very crocked &mellow)captains life. As I said in the beginning, there have been manythings said about this movie......that it wasn't worth being a sequelto Mr. Roberts & the mediocre cast. In my opinion (for what it'sworth), I found Ensign Pulver to be "more" entertaining & not asserious.....more funny & human. As of this writing, I have yet to seethis movie in CinemaScope.....as it was originally released. Also, thecast in Ensign Pulver is much better & funnier. Enjoy!!

2013-05-08 20:48:50

Memories of old films often better left alone

This review is from: Ensign Pulver (DVD) I saw this movie in the theatre as a teen ager, and had an instant crush on Robert Walker. The reason now escapes me. Had a distinct feeling that it was written for the stage - as was "Mr. Roberts" - exaggerated facial and vocal performances that sounded hollow. It may well have been. Great fun though to see the very early years of actors who were highly successful in years to come - Larry Hagman, Peter Marshall, Tommy Sands, etc. - though I think Walter Mathau already was well known. Will shelve it and probably not watch it again.

gabe pulver 2013-05-01 19:32:46

My name is pulver, and i liked this film.

When i saw this movie for sale at a used video store, i immediatelyflippedout due to the title of the film including my last name.i then bought it watched it, and enjoyed through and through. waltermatthauwas at his usual comic genius, and the cameo by jack nicholson wasgreat.recommended

2013-05-01 07:46:49

A Great WWII Comedy

This review is from: Ensign Pulver [VHS] (VHS Tape) This is one funny WWII comedy! If That;s your thing, don't miss this one. Hard to find (not available on DVD), but worth it.

castertroy01 2013-04-23 05:36:06

very enjoyable,back in the old days getting at your funny bone!

I know a lot of people try to make sense of this movie compared to MrRoberts but I believe it was the Directors intent to just make it a funlayback at the drive-in movie to escape the reality we were facing back inthe 60's Walter Matthau and Robert walker put together is dam funny andBurlIves playes a dam mean captain even though he was the nicest guy in theworld,I remember the movie at the drive in and I was 6years old and neverforgot the movie cause it kept me laughing and I remember Mom and Dadbursting out laughing!just remember it was just ment to take you out ofeveryday life and bring you into a kind a fun world..and for a change youcould get a chance to see life in a fun way..just sit back for a old funride!!

2013-04-22 14:45:01

Good Holly wood escape flick

This review is from: Ensign Pulver (DVD) This is one of my husband's favorit films. It is a good comedy sequel to Mr. Roberts.Only thing you could complain about is the cast is different from the original.

gerdeen-1 2013-03-30 03:49:44

Making this sequel was really going overboard

If ever there was a great movie that did NOT cry out for a sequel, itwas "Mister Roberts," with its gruff, poignant, perfect ending. A badsequel like "Ensign Pulver" is particularly disappointing.The setting here is the same as in the earlier classic -- a scroungyold Navy vessel on the fringes of the Pacific Theater late in World WarII. This movie is built around Ensign Frank Pulver, the sidekick ofMister Roberts in the original movie. Unfortunately, Robert Walker Jr.,who plays Pulver here, can't match the original screen Pulver, JackLemmon. It's almost like they're playing different people.That's the main problem, I think, too much tinkering with familiarcharacters. The focus of "Mister Roberts" was the battle of wits andwills between the idealistic Roberts (Henry Fonda) and the embitteredcaptain (James Cagney). But in this film, the captain (now played byBurl Ives) finds himself psychoanalyzed by Pulver. Cagney's captain washard to like but easy to understand, while Ives' version is ascomplicated as a Tennessee Williams character.And how about Doc? In "Mister Roberts," he was portrayed by an olderactor, William Powell, in one of his last roles. A counterpoint to thecaptain, Doc was a man who had grown wise, not cynical, with age.Walter Matthau, though a fine actor, is a much younger Doc in this one,and one who's not particularly wise. He's just another madcap guy in amadcap crew."Mister Roberts" had a lot of wonderful laughs, but ultimately it wasdead serious about World War II. If you've seen it, you know what Imean. But in "Ensign Pulver," the greatest conflict in history is justan excuse for humdrum hijinks. It's really too bad.

bkoganbing 2013-03-29 06:42:20

Business As Usual Now That Mister Roberts Is Gone

Minus Mister Roberts the rest of the characters from that classic playhave returned to this sequel that presents Ensign Pulver as the leadingcharacter. This film makes the assumption that you have seen MisterRoberts so you know who the main characters are and their personalitiesbefore you even watch Ensign Pulver.Playing the roles of Ensign Pulver, Captain Morton, and Doc are RobertWalker, Jr., Burl Ives, and Walter Matthau. Walker is far more a callowyouth than Jack Lemmon was in Mister Roberts. After that show ofbravado where Pulver through the Captain's prize palm tree overboard,it's once again business as usual with the tyrannical captain going outof his way to be the meanest man on earth running this navy cargo ship,miles away from the action in the Pacific theater. At first there's a lot more service type comedy than there was inMister Roberts, but things do take a serious turn when Pulver and theCaptain go overboard during a typhoon. Many days on a rubber raft andthen on a tropic island make the captain open up and you get someinsight why he's the nasty fellow he is.Some other key roles are Tommy Sands who plays a sailor looking to getleave because his wife just lost their baby and Gerald S. O'Loughlinwho gets temporary command of the USS Reluctant when Ives goes missing.In fact Ensign Pulver makes an addition to Mister Roberts in that theship we see has a full complement of officers other than the four maincharacters from Mister Roberts. Look for Jack Nicholson in a small roleas radioman Dolan and as per the civil rights era, Al Freemanintegrates the crew which was not the case in Mister Roberts.Walker gets a love interest in Millie Perkins an army nurse who seeshim for the shiftless character he is and her supervisor is Kay Medfordwho has a very droll part. Ensign Pulver is not a classic like Mister Roberts, but it is anamusing service comedy and holds up well today.

2013-03-29 10:19:03

Great Classic Movie

This review is from: Ensign Pulver (DVD) This movie is a classic in my book. Just a great movie without all the violance of films today. I couldn't find it to rent or on Netflix, so I bought myself a copy. I'm glad I found it and now have one of my own.

ghostshirt2000 2013-03-28 19:13:12

A decent 60's light comedy

Acceptance of 'Ensign Pulver' for what it is gets hampered by dumbProducer choice to cash in on 'Mr. Roberts.' In pacing and overall tone'Ensign Pulver' has much in common with many WW2 themed light comediesmade in the mid-1960's.This movie is worth watching in our current era first with anunderstanding of what it meant to be at the time; a mildly distracting90 minutes of celluloid. It's not bad really.Second, the movie is worth watching by students of film/culture to notehow moral ambiguity influenced 1960's Hollywood. In 'Mr. Roberts'Cagney has a great scene about why he hates 'college boys' yet there'snothing in the film that treats his character with sympathy.In 'Ensign Pulver' it seems pains are taken to give the Captain a backstory so he comes across as a scarred victim of an unfortunatechildhood.

2013-03-27 17:15:44

ensign pulver

This review is from: Ensign Pulver (DVD) Like this movie when it played on tv and always wanted it for my oldie movies collection now i have it

2013-03-27 00:06:27

Sound General Quarters!

The sequel to "Mister Roberts" returns to the worst ship in the navy, with the worst officer on that ship squarely in its sights. Pulver is equally the ressurection and damnation of the ship, being responsible for more action and chaos than the crew has seen in it's whole tour. Pulver's problems are only beginning when he's stranded on a raft with the Captain, a positively venemous Burl Ives. What happens after shows the transformation of the lecherous, ambitious, adolescent Pulver into an adult, or does it? Keep your eyes on the movie and always count your marbles.