Sat 12 Dec 2009
DESTROYER. Columbia Pictures, 1943. Edward G. Robinson, Glenn Ford, Marguerite Chapman, Edgar Buchanan, Leo Gorcey, Regis Toomey. Director: William A. Seiter.
Some of the patriotric combat movies made during World War II while the fighting was going on overseas are still worth seeing today, but this isn’t one of them. Bits and pieces here and there, perhaps, but all good intentions aside, this isn’t one to go more than a few steps out of your way for.
I’ve checked on Google, and I’ve come up with two different ships called the USS John Paul Jones, but both came along a long time after World War II. Until I’m told otherwise, I’ll continue to assume the story told in Destroyer is quite fictional.
Working as a shipyard welder and construction boss in building the one in this story is Steve Boleslavski (a swaggering Edward G. Robinson), but when he re-enlists for the new hostilities with his former rank as chief bosuns mate, he finds that his knowledge of the new gunnery (as well as command techniques) are far out of date.
Resenting being pushed aside in the chain of command is Glenn Ford’s character, Mickey Donohue, who has the double misfortune of falling in love with Boley’s daughter (Marguerite Chapman). Fate and bad luck continue to haunt the ship and its crewmen until at last, demoted to mail boat status, there comes the chance to show what it (and they) can do.
Perhaps there is simply too much story here to be contained in only 99 minutes of film time, very close to A-movie standards. There’s the story of the ship; the story of Boley vs. Mickey; and the romance, which has the couple running off to elope only the third time we see them together, before we know that they are even talking civilly to each other.
There must have been a lot going on when the cameras weren’t rolling.
December 12th, 2009 at 10:59 pm
This is much closer to the kind of service films they did before the war — usually with Wallace Beery and either Robert Taylor or Clark Gable. I agree with most of your points, but liked it a little better than you did. It was at least (pardon the pun) serviceable.
Despite some fine early films like Bataan, Wake Island, and Air Force it took Hollywood a while to hit its stride with war films. But this plot dates back to at least the silent era and was still being rehashed well into the fifties.
For that matter it was done not only with every branch of the military including the Coast Guard, but most professions too.
Technically this was an A picture. Stars like Robinson didn’t do B’s. It may not have been a prestige A film, but it is no programmer either. Most of the studio’s churned out quite a few of these with name stars — maybe not top flight A but A none the less, made by the A unit at the studio.
It took Glenn Ford a while to really hit his stride as a film star, and though he is in some big pictures his career didn’t really solidify until he came back from the service in the post war period. Like several other stars his war time service seemed to give a weight to his post war roles that audiences responded to.
December 13th, 2009 at 12:19 am
David
I’ll stick to my guns, but you aren’t the only one who liked this movie more than I did.
I’ve checked out IMDB and I think all of the commenters could be categorized as either positive or very positive, except for one that I’m not too sure about, either way.
And one person’s comments reminded me of a couple of good lines that bear repeating, and I’m quoting that person here:
Leo Gorcey gets a good quote at a dance as he asks a girl to dance with him – “Hey, squirrel. Wanna twirl?”
Edgar Buchanan at the same dance is asked by some woman what he will spend his paycheck on – ‘Oh, I dunno. Some of it on beer. Some of it on women. The rest on something foolish, I guess’.
December 13th, 2009 at 12:45 am
Edgar Buchanan in a Glenn Ford movie? Who’d a thunk it?
But in fairness I only like this a little better than you — just competent fare of a kind the studios churned out to fill the bill when the movie changed every Wednesday. Robinson did a couple of war films, including the comedy Mr. Winkle Goes To War which usually earns the same rating as Destroyer but is a better film, and the Brit RAF drama Journey Together (1945).
I do think there is a good argument about how competent most of these films are compared to later film averages. The majors turned out some stinkers in the period from talkies to the end of the war, but a lot fewer than you might expect percentage wise. There is a level of professionalism and competence from that era that has never been equaled and may will likely never be surpassed.
I just looked at Robinson’s filmography between his debut and 1946 when he did Welles The Stranger, and there isn’t a bad film among them. They aren’t all great, but when Destroyer is among the worst films you made …
Considering how rare just an average good film is today (they tend to be great or awful, not a lot of just competent entertainment) it makes you appreciate what was accomplished even more.
May 30th, 2011 at 12:24 pm
DD230, USS John Paul Jones, Clemson class destroyer, launched 1920, scrapped 1947. This ship did fight in the south Pacific throughout WWII. Her story is not the same as the ship in the film. The film as an instrument of propaganda and morale building, emphasised the fighting spirit of her namesake.
May 30th, 2011 at 12:28 pm
Thanks, Doug! It’s a fine movie to watch on Memorial Day weekend.
December 12th, 2011 at 5:16 pm
the ship in film is the uss hobby #610 a benson class dd
May 8th, 2016 at 9:12 pm
the destroyer was the dd 610 uss hobby…used for the establishing shots and background. built in san francisco she was available for the launching and fitting out.