Sailor of the King
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Movie Reviews of Sailor of the King
Movie Review: Interesting premise not fully realized
Summary: 4 Stars
I enjoyed this movie enough to buy it and add it to my collection. I am a Michael Rennie fan, and so I found the first 20 minutes of the movie just as interesting as the rest of the film and I disagree that the movie has a 'slow' opening. The unexpected and illicit affair, especially for the WWI era in which it takes place, between Rennie's character and the young, proper English girl is crucial to the rest of the plot, so if it had been omitted or if she had agreed to marry him, it would have changed this movie to another average WWII adventure film rather than hint at the amazing coincidence of life that puts an unsuspecting Rennie commanding his own son, the product of that affair and also a young man totally oblivious to who is father is, 20 years or so later in another world war.
This brings me to my only complaint of the movie, which is why I didn't give it a full 5 stars. I watched both the British ending and the American ending, and I can appreciate both. However, at no time is any recognition fully realized that the young sailor is actually Rennie's son from that 5-day affair over 20 years ago, and I wish the connection between them could have been made more definitely, since it is really at the crux of the movie.
As an American, I like the American ending, which is more upbeat and hints that sometime in the future this family (including the mother) might finally have some resolution, but it is not fully realized and we don't know for sure if it will ever happen. I also appreciate the British ending, more somber but still interesting yet also wasting the opportunity to fully draw together the relationship between Hunter's and Rennie's characters at the end of the movie. It is a bit frustrating, but the movie is otherwise quite good.
At any rate, if you are a Michael Rennie fan or a Jeffrey Hunter fan you will enjoy this movie and I recommend it, also recommending it for those who enjoy war movies filmed from a different perspective than Americans usually see. This is a British war movie and so we get to see our allies in WWII dealing with the German navy, which is a refreshing point of view.
Movie Review: Sniper Away
Summary: 4 Stars
Overall a good WWII movie. Starts with some romance and then changes to the lives ot two men aboard British naval ships. One a Captain played by Michael Rennie and the other a signalman played by Jeffrey Hunter. Now I may have missed something but I didn't see a clear line drawn between the two, only a possible hint of it. And there is suppose to be a line. The movie starts a little slow but soon gets into the rousing action of British ships tracking a German Raider that has sunk several ships. Good action, special effects, and acting make it well worth seeing. Jeffrey Hunter and Michael Rennie do very well in their respective roles as well as the support cast. I recommend it for the whole family. This is good and different enough from other WWII movies that I think it is worth owning.
Synopsis:
A young sailor becomes romantically involved with a woman he meets on a train while he is on furlough during World War I. They spend a night together after deciding to get married the next day. The next day they don't marry after she decides it won't work. Shift to action at sea during World War II around twenty years later. Jeffrey Hunter is a young signalman aboard a destroyer escorting a convoy. His ship and another ship are sent to catch a German Raider. His ship is sunk and he escapes off the German Raider with a rifle while it is conducting repairs at the Galapagos. The Germans are trying to get underway before the British ships reach them. Hunter wreaks havoc with the repair crew by sniping them and greatly hampering their efforts. - C. Luster
Movie Review: The skeleton is perfect, but it needs flesh
Summary: 4 Stars
This is the kind of war one man as the hero story that the little boy in each man relishes. One man holding up an entire evil axis ship by his wits and skill, what an escapist fantasy. The presentation is very dry, almost a documentary. The story screams for drama. His escape from the ship should have had at least a close call. The German Captain should have been very angry, and taking it personal. The hero could have been shown using craft to avoid detection when in the rocks. Possibly a crack German sniper gone ashore to hunt him, and their wary stalking of each other. The love story at the beginning, besides an atraction for the females in the audience, it is a waste of precious screen time. I would have liked to see that time spent on Brown's Canadien outdoors hunting and shooting growing-up background, setting him up for his abilities later. Also a segment showing the German raider doing some nefarious piracy against helpless transport ships, making all the more enjoyable when it is helpless. There is a germ of a great story here.Movie Review: A Classic
Summary: 4 Stars
I remember having seen this 1953 movie for the first time in the late 1950s on "Saturday Night at the Movies." This was when the city I lived in only had two television channels and one movie once a week, on Saturday nights. So, this was a big event (and a far cry from today's television world), and it obviously stuck in my mind. I had not seen the movie since then (more than 50 years!) and, not having remembered the film title, only found it again because of Amazon.com's superb system for locating films. Taking into account that it is an older film, I was still not disappointed with it at all. It was well-done and, although I preferred one of the two alternate endings available on the disk (be sure to see both!), the theatrical version's ending was still good although that used version doesn't explain well the reason for the beginning scenes in the movie. Yes, the movie starts slowly, but the alternate endings explain more clearly why. If you like classic war films, then this one is for you.Movie Review: Carry on lads.
Summary: 4 Stars
Fox's homage to England's Royal Navy is a decent WW II film. Jeffrey Hunter is appropriately brave, and Michael Rennie is stoic and very British. The surprise is a very interesting Wendy Hiller in the first 20 minutes of the story and then again at the end. Included on the DVD is the alternate ending, which is also quite interesting for an early 1950's movie. The surface battle scenes are very fine.