Imagine a biographical film depicting the thrilling World War 2 exploits of young John F. Kennedy....now imagine it.in release halfway into the third year of Kennedy's term as President Of The United States.....
I'm thinking Warner Brothers would have caught all kinds of hell from the GOP if they'd put the film into theaters a year earlier, before the mid-term elections....(heh heh heh).......
Warner's and its formidable chief mogul, Jack L. himself, allowed Kennedy to pick out the actor to play him. And the Prez picked out, of all people, Cliff Robertson....who, at the time of his casting, would be close to 15 years older than the real Kennedy during his time commanding a torpedo boat in Pacific sea battles.
A wise choice, as it turned out.....Robertson's Kennedy expertly combined youthful enthusiasm with a steely, courageous resolve. And hats off to Robertson or whoever else made the decision to have him avoid attempting to duplicate Kennedy's distinctive Boston accent......(though at one point, when discussing his background, Robertson jokingly pronounces 'Harvard' as 'Haahhvahhd')
Not much to discuss about the film itself. It's a sturdy, standard, Hollywood version of World War 2 conflict, brightly Technicolored and sanitized for family audiences with not a drop of blood and guts in sight.....virtually carbon-copied from the same template as hundreds of films that came before it.
On the plus side, the pivotal moment of Kennedy's PT 109 command - the literal bisecting of his craft by a Japanese destroyer - is rendered with as much harrowing spectacle as Warner Brothers could pour into it. And viewers who love spotting familiar character actors will find a treasure trove of them here, including a young Robert Blake ,James Gregory, Norman Fell, George Gaynes, Ty Hardin, and the Incredible Shrinking Man himself, Grant Williams.)
The only real surprise for me came at the end credits, revealing the very stirring, Max Steiner-ish score that plays non-stop through the entire film came not from Steiner, but from two Warner Bros. musical journeymen, William Lava and David Buttolph. Their combined score's incessant but highly effective and duly rousing.
And as we all know, to the country's everlasting sorrow, Kennedy death at an assassin's hands marked the end of American optimism and innocence.....as well as the beginning of the end of stand-up-and-cheer war movies like 'PT 109'.....
Perhaps old fashioned and antiquated for the cynical, divisive and blood-soaked world we live in now......but BQ couldn't help enjoying another viewing of this film........a simple direct 3 star (***) celebration of pure courage.....a breath of fresh air amid the sad, sorry collection of spineless cowards who walk through the halls of government today.....
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