'' is a
Tony Award –winning play and a
1955 Academy Award –nominated film, both of which tell the story of a naval
Junior-grade Lieutenant during
World War II who stands up for his crew against the petty tyranny of the ship's commander. The film stars
Henry Fonda ,
James Cagney ,
William Powell ,
Jack Lemmon ,
Betsy Palmer ,
Ward Bond ,
Philip Carey ,
Nick Adams ,
Ken Curtis , and
Harry Carey, Jr. The film was adapted by
Joshua Logan and
Frank S. Nugent from the long-running play written by Logan and
Thomas Heggen (winner of the
1948 Tony Award For Best Play ), which itself was adapted from the novel by Heggen. It was directed by
John Ford ,
Mervyn LeRoy and Joshua Logan (uncredited).
Fess Parker began his show business career in the play in 1951.
The film was nominated for
Best Picture and
Best Sound, Recording Oscars;
Jack Lemmon received the
Academy Award For Best Supporting Actor . The film was William Powell's last movie, although he died in 1984 (Powell was offered many chances to return to the screen, but refused). Fonda reprised the role he had played on
Broadway .
L. Ron Hubbard , during his life, claimed (without much evidence) that ''Mister Roberts'' was based on himself and his career aboard the combat support ship
USS ''Algol'' . Hubbard had never served aboard ''Algol'' in a combat area, transferring to shore duty before ''Algol'' shipped for Okinawa.
''Mister Roberts'' was followed by a film sequel, ''
Ensign Pulver '', in
1964 . The film was remade for
Television in
1984 , and starred
Robert Hays ,
Kevin Bacon ,
Charles Durning ,
Marilu Henner ,
Howard Hesseman and
Joe Pantoliano . It was directed by
Melvin Bernhardt . There was also a short-lived
Television Series in
1965 , featuring
Roger Smith ,
Steve Harmon and
Richard X. Slattery .
In his 1982 autobiography, ''My Life'', Henry Fonda stated that (in his opinion) as good as the movie was, the play was even better.
