Ensign Pulver (1964)

As far as military comedies go (I’m not a fan), this one is amiable enough. Based on the character of Ensign Pulver (played by Jack Lemmon in the 1955 film) from MISTER ROBERTS, it contains all the usual clichés of the genre: horny sailors crazy for broads and booze. Despite a handful of bona fide funny moments, director Joshua Logan tends to dwell on certain scenes long after they’ve made their point. Something that may be amusing becomes annoying when trying to milk it to death. The most interesting aspect is what the film does with the character of the Captain (played by Burl Ives here, James Cagney in MISTER ROBERTS) as it tries to give him a complex background to explain his fascist, unfeeling behavior. Ives’ one note performance doesn’t help but the rest of the cast gives the material better than it deserves including Walter Matthau, Jack Nicholson, James Coco, Larry Hagman, James Farentino, Al Freeman Jr. and among the ladies Millie Perkins, Diana Sands and Kay Medford.