Destroyer

1943

1h 39m

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

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Adventure

Drama

War

Flagwaving story of a new American destroyer, the JOHN PAUL JONES, from the day her keel is laid, to what was very nearly her last voyage. Among the crew, is Steve Boleslavski, a shipyard welder that helped build her, who reenlists, with his old rank of Chief bosuns mate. After failing her sea trials, she is assigned to the mail run, until caught up in a disparate battle with a Japanese sub. After getting torpedoed, and on the verge of sinking, the Captain, and crew hatch a plan to try and save the ship, and destroy the sub.

Directors

William A. Seiter

Writers

Frank Wead(story by)

Frank Wead(screenplay by)

Lewis Meltzer(screenplay by)

Stars

Edward G. Robinson

Glenn Ford

Edgar Buchanan

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Top cast

Edward G. Robinson

Steven 'Boley' Boleslavski

Mickey Donohue

Kansas Jackson

Mary Boleslavski

Lt. Cmdr. Clark

Lt. Bert Marton

Seaman Sarecky

Engineer Casey

Marty, a riveter

Chief Engineer

Swab with large nose

Admiral (Clark's CO)

Doctor, finding Boley unfit for further sea duty

Cliff Clark

Commandant

Richard Loo

Japanese Submarine Commander

Benson Fong

Japanese Sonar Man

Lloyd Bridges

2nd Fireman (uncredited)

Tris Coffin

Doctor #1 (uncredited)

Directors

William A. Seiter

Writers

Frank Wead(story by)

Frank Wead(screenplay by)

Lewis Meltzer(screenplay by)

All cast & crew

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User reviews1

Review

Featured review

6/10

It's really just a bit of wartime propaganda this - extolling the sterling efforts of the US Navy destroyer. From the build, through it's launch and maritime trials, this film follows "Boley" (Edward G. Robinson) who served on the last "USS John Paul Jones" and is determined to serve on this one. That determination causes upset with the younger "Donohue" (Glenn Ford) who is bumped of that gig - and the two men just don't get along. "Donohue" takes up with the older man's daughter "Mary" (Marguerite Chapman) and that just adds to their tensions. At sea - where this film spends nowhere near enough time - the ship has more than a few teething problems and the crew start to think more of "Boley" as a Jonah. Of course, it can't end that way - we know that the first half hour is merely a preamble to some rousing sea action from their beleaguered vessel. Were it to have been more of an adventure film, then I would probably have enjoyed it better, but it's really not much of anything. Ford doesn't impose himself at all, and though Robinson has a pugnacity to his character, the message just sort of gets lost in the weakly directed and written delivery. Fair-to-middling.

Geronimo196704 Apr, 2022