Destroyer (1943) User Reviews

Was there a subtle message in this film?

[SimonJack · 7/10 · 3 August 2012]

Others have commented about the fine cast, good acting and relative action in this film. What many viewers – and most or all of the commenters so far – may have missed is that the story and script for "Destroyer" came from Frank "Spig" Wead. Wead had an illustrious Navy career in WWI and later. He was one of the very first Navy fliers and helped promote naval aviation. In 1926, he broke his neck when he fell down the stairs in his family's new home. His surgery was successful, but he had to walk with crutches or a cane the rest of his life. He retired from the Navy and began writing books and screenplays. The latter were mostly about the Navy and most were made into very good movies.

When World War II broke out Wead was reactivated and helped with the planning and tactics involving naval aircraft in the Pacific. He went to sea and took part in several naval battles before finally retiring in early 1944. During the war and for several years after, he wrote the screenplays for a number of movies that Hollywood produced. Other big movies based on his books and screenplays include "Wings for Men" in 1931, "Test Pilot" in 1938, "The Citadel" in 1938, "Dive Bomber" in 1941, and "They Were Expendable" in 1945. Wead died at age 52 in 1947 after surgery. MGM produced a movie in 1957 about him, "The Wings of Eagles." John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara played Spig and his wife, Min.

Something about this movie, with the fact the Spig Wead wrote the story and screenplay, leads me to believe that there is a subtle message in it. The film came out toward the middle of the war, with two more years to go (although no one could know that at the time). And look at the plot. A new ship is taken out for trial runs and has so many things go wrong that it had to come back for repairs at least three times. We see rivets popping, seams leaking, pipes breaking, motors and other things blowing. As a viewer, I thought that the critics in the movie were right. The ship was a piece of junk – in spite of Edward G. Robinson's pleas to the contrary. And, just think – if that happened with all or many ships, it's a wonder we had a Navy afloat at all to do battle.

But that obviously wasn't the case – as the Navy brass ordered the ship to do mail delivery duty because it was unfit for service in the combat fleet. So, this ship just happened to be a lemon, right? Now think back to the opening scenes where Robinson is a civilian working on the crew that is building this new ship. Remember the several instances when he calls different workers to task for cutting corners? He tells one welder that he can't "cold" weld along a seam. The worker says that he can do that, and Robinson says that it would leak and he urges the guy to do it right. We see a few other subtle little scenes like this. I remember thinking that if that's the way the war-time shipbuilding yards were all working, they were sure doing a lot to help the enemy sink our ships.

But the volume of records and evidence we have show that our wartime industries and workers took pride in doing their jobs right and well. They knew that the planes, and ships, and tanks, and weapons they were making were for the Americans and other fighting men who were defending freedom and our shores with their lives. They were their sons and brothers, husbands and fathers, uncles and cousins, and boy friends and neighbors. So, the workers took pride in what they did and in doing it right.

That's why I think Wead wrote a subtle message into the screenplay – and Columbia kept it in the movie intentionally. It was a message to the home front workers about how important their jobs were and that they needed to do them well. The movie gave a picture of what could happen if the home front workers did sloppy work or cut corners. They would endanger the lives of many fellow Americans. They could cause the loss of ships, aircraft and battles.

If you doubt this, watch the movie again, and watch for those instances of shoddy or faulty workmanship that Robinson points out to his fellow workers. And then watch for the problems they have during their trial runs to get the ship battle ready. I'll just bet that the home front workers who saw this movie in 1943 were more than a little upset at what they saw. And if it had been up to them in real life, all those goldbrickers in the movie shipyard would have been canned.

A Couple Of Navy Men

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 20 August 2008]

Edward G. Robinson and Glenn Ford star in Destroyer, a sentimental Navy tale of two different generations of Navy men. Though the film's World War II vintage somewhat dates it, the film is still good entertainment.

The film begins with news of the USS John Paul Jones being sunk in the Pacific. That news is particularly hard for retired Navy chief Edward G. Robinson who now makes a living building ships in the navy yard. He gets to build the new John Paul Jones and decides that he ought to serve on her.

But when he pulls some strings to get assigned to the JPJ II, someone gets displaced as the chief boatswain. That someone is Glenn Ford and that doesn't make for a harmonious ship. In addition Robinson's kind of behind the times in the newer improvements the US Navy has made since the last war.

Complicating things is Marguerite Chapman, Robinson's daughter who Ford falls for. That really makes things bad on shore and off.

Robinson's the show in this film. His portrayal of an old Navy fighting man who won't be beached in a second war is sentimental, but effective. His best moments are when he finally begins to win the crew's respect by telling them the story of the guy and the engagement that the guy fought for whom the ship is named after.

In fact the final duel between the USS John Paul Jones and a Japanese submarine has a lot of similarity between what happened with the Bonhomme Richard and the Serapis of the Royal Navy.

Rounding out a nice supporting cast are Regis Toomey, Edward Brophy, Edgar Buchanan, and Leo Gorcey who gives us a bit of New York street smarts for the ship.

Destroyer is a dated propaganda film from the World War II era, but still entertaining because of the two leads.

Nice

[utgard14 · 6/10 · 17 November 2013]

Enjoyable WWII film about an aging sailor (Edward G. Robinson) coming into conflict with a young rival (Glenn Ford). It's all pretty by-the-numbers but some first-rate casting elevates it. Robinson excelled in playing parts like this. He brings a dignity and human touch to it that a lot of other actors wouldn't. Ford is great as well. This is young Glenn Ford before he developed his signature style where he always looked like he was ready to blow his top. There's good support from the likes of Edgar Buchanan, Regis Toomey, the very pretty Marguerite Chapman, and the always likable & funny Leo Gorcey. I'm sure people who are fans of these types of movies will enjoy it.

An entertaining wartime adventure

[whitehornet47 · 30 September 2002]

Edward G. Robinson cast's off in a rousing wartime tale of an untried destroyer crew pitted against the Japanese, and against their own ship. Robinson plays a dedicated machinist in a downright heroic role (for a change), and shows that he could lift this fairly routine combat epic out of the dull-drums -- almost on his own. The special effects and action sequences are first rate by the standards of the day, and overall the film has a good pace to it. It has been a few years since I have seen Destroyer, but the thing I best remember is Robinson relating the story of John Paul Jones and the Bon Homme Richard to the disheartened crew. Its corny and obvious, but he is so earnest that you practically feel like jumping in there to help him out.

Pretty good war picture

[zeemanguy · 7/10 · 17 October 2002]

Edward G. Robinson is a retired Navy officer who works on building a new ship. He succeeds in gaining a berth when it is ready to sail but he finds he is a bit out of touch with the young crew. He experiences a few highs and lows and faces several challenges throughout. Very good performance with a few memorable scenes. I rated it a 7.

Eddie Sure Loves That Ship.

[rmax304823 · 6/10 · 12 July 2013]

The USS John Paul Jones we see being built is actually the destroyer Hobby, launched in San Pedro in June, 1942. Not that it would matter to Edward G. Robinson. He was the retired Chief Boatswain who was one of the welders at the shipyard, reenlisted, and was assigned to the Jones, proud of "his" ship.

This is a cornball, flag-waving tribute to destroyers, and it's enjoyable for what it is. The original story is by Frank Wead, who knew something about the Navy, and many of the details of boot camp and shipboard life are precisely captured. The pace becomes Dead Slow when Robinson's pretty daughter falls for Glen Ford and a mercifully brief courtship is carried on.

Once all of the characters that we've been introduced to are aboard the Jones, including the wisecracking Ford, as Robinson's main rival for senior enlisted man, the story gets down to business. On the shakedown cruise, just after commissioning, the John Paul Jones practically falls apart, piece by piece. The gunnery is way off because old-fashioned blustering Robinson has forgotten about leading the target. But more important, the engineering pops a dozen assorted corks and returns to San Diego several times for repairs.

The frustration mounts at both high levels and low. Enough is enough. The Jones is kept out of battles and assigned to mail-carrying duty in the Northwest. The men mope before collectively writing requests for transfer, salivating as they are over the prospect of getting into the fight. They decide to stick it out after listening to a rousing pep talk from Robinson. And, mail or no mail, the Jones is attacked by half a dozen "Mitsubishis" (Douglas SBDs and one anomalous TBM Avenger.) All the attacking airplanes are destroyed but the Jones is torpedoed, strafed, and kamikazed. So badly, in fact, that seawater reaches the boilers, the ship lists badly, and may capsize at any moment. The crew abandon the ship except for a small damage control party led by Robinson, which manages to restore power and ram a Japanese submarine that has been tracking them. The damage and repair is unusual in its molecularity. Damage control is ordinarily an unglamorous business, as is most stuff below decks, but here we can follow the progress of the men, and it's interesting. Where else can you see a boiler extinguished by a rush of sea water? Usually these technical details are avoided by having an officer run to the bridge, salute, and report breathlessly, "Captain, we've lost power on all engines." The snipes deserve a little attention.

The ship is celebrated in the press. Ford marries the girl, Robinson is satisfied that the ship is now the proud vessel he always considered her and he retires to the beach.

Well, it's improbable and old-fashioned but it's accurate enough in its observance of ritual that it brought back embarrassing memories of my years in the Coast Guard. The first night in boot camp, the men are exhausted and homesick. Seiter's camera rolls slowly between the bunks neatly aligned, with two seabags hanging from each frame. (I'm back in boot camp, getting gigged for not tying the seabag's knot properly.) And the cocky chief boatswain's mate Robinson emerges from a building and chews out two sailors lounging on the staircase -- one for "thinking" what he ought to "know" (I'm standing guard at the Air Station at San Francisco International Airport being excoriated over the phone) and the other for wearing his cap on the back of his head ("Adjust your cover", commands the Marine at the entrance to Hunter's Point).

The ending is touching in its sentiment, although it's still hackneyed. If you enjoyed the scene of John Wayne's (Spig Wead's) departure from the carrier at the end of "Wings of Eagles," you'll find this scene somewhat touching too.

A good ol' "tin can" story

[ripplinbuckethead · 7/10 · 2 September 2019]

Steve "Boley" Boleslavski (Edward G. Robinson) and Kansas Jackson (Edgar Buchanan) are old sea dogs who put together the second incarnation of a Navy destroyer called the John Paul Jones. Boley swears it's a great ship, but during its trials, it fails on many counts and is consigned to mail delivery. Morale is low, people want to leave, and on top of all that, Boley has trouble with a crewman named Mickey Donahue (Glenn Ford), who starts seeing Boley's daughter Mary (Marguerite Chapman). How will all these problems be resolved?

This was a fun one. I went in not knowing anything about it, just wanting to see more of Ford and Robinson. Though there are serious moments, mostly of the action variety, this is largely a light comedy, which is not surprising considering people like Buchanan, Leo Gorcey and Ed Brophy are in it. They provide levity, but also some heart.

Far from the best war picture I've seen, but still a good experience. Plus, it's always interesting to see these movies that were made in the middle of the war. Always adds another angle to things.

P.S. Good ol' Regis Toomey has a nice role in this as Boley's superior officer (once trained by Boley), and shockingly, he doesn't play a cop! Well, unless you consider a Lt. Cmdr. in the Navy a cop.

" The John Paul Jones. Named for a great Naval hero, one which did not quit! "

[thinker1691 · 7/10 · 3 August 2013]

The movie " DESTROYER " is based on an inspiring story written by Frank Wead and directed by William A. Seiter. Filmed during the war years to inspire a nation, it did just that. With a fabulous cast which includes the like of Edward G. Robinson, Glenn Ford, Edgar Buchanan, Leo Gorcey and Regis Toomey as Lt. Cmdr. Clark, the entire group does an excellent job of inspiring any audience who views it. It's a simple story of American construction men who not only build war ship but then reenlist to sail in it as well. The movie also includes the war years back home and the moral boosting women manning the U.S.O. clubs back home. It dates back to W.W.II and how difficult it was to to convince a nation to support a war that was necessary, not contrived as we have recently done. A Good show with a good cast. ****

Character-focused two-hander with wartime trappings

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 3 December 2016]

DESTROYER is another WW2 story from America with touches of propaganda as you'd expect from a contemporaneous wartime thriller. The story is designed to raise enthusiasm and loyalty for America's battleships in their vast stand-off with the Japanese. However, instead of following the usual gung-ho war film route, DESTROYER is very much a character piece without much in the way of battle action.

The story is a two-hander with added trappings. The main character is Edward G. Robinson, always ready to get his teeth into a complex part, and he's very effective here too. He plays an engineer whose promotion goes badly when it turns out his inexperience has lost him the respect of his crew, in particular a youthful Glenn Ford, who lost his own promotion to make way for Robinson. Nearly the entire story is about these two guys and the differences between them. They insult, argue, and occasionally punch each other out, so the conflict is near-constant.

Ford makes for a rather unpleasant individual here whom the viewer never warms to although there's some warmth in the supporting actors, even if they're limited to clichéd parts. More action-focused sequences don't really evolve until the second half, although things build to an effective against-the-clock climax in which the suspense is high. DESTROYER is no classic but it's watchable enough thanks to Robinson's inimitable presence.

Glenn Ford is a wolf on the make

[HotToastyRag · 6/10 · 23 January 2024]

The year before making the adorable war comedy Mr. Winkle Goes to War, in which he's inept and struggles through basic training, Edward G. Robinson made the serious war drama Destroyer, in which he played a seasoned seaman and boat architect. There's quite a difference between the two roles, and it will be nice for fans of his to see his range. In this movie, he reenlists during wartime so that he can sail on the ship that he built on her maiden voyage. He leaves behind his beautiful young daughter, Marguerite Chapman, but gets to see her during frequent shore leaves. On the ship with him are Captain Regis Toomey, old friend Edgar Buchanan, frequent costar and sidekick Edward Brophy, and a young upstart Glenn Ford.

Glenn Ford is so annoying in this movie! He's a wolf on the make with no respect for women and no interest in Marguerite particularly, he's shockingly insolent to his superior officers, and yet we're supposed to root for him to get the girl? What am I missing here? He follows Marguerite home after seeing her at a USO dance, without even knowing her name, and worms his way into her home; then he gets a chip on his shoulder when she refuses to go to bed with him. She asks him to be kinder to her father, whom he'd insulted when they met earlier, and the next thing he does is punch him in the jaw! Eddie G saves him from a court martial, and he still gives him attitude.

For Glenn fans, I would not recommend this movie. But for Eddie G fans, it is worth watching. He is much more likeable than his younger co-star, and his character is fleshed out and believable. He loves his ship, believes she is capable of anything, and is willing to stand by her through thick and thin. He also loves his daughter and doesn't want her to get involved in his kind of life. There's also a lot of physical acting to the role, with all the rigorous demands of a sea captain, fist fights, and even underwater welding.

There's no dog like an old sea dog.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 30 December 2014]

Join the navy, see the world, or in the case of the crew of the John Paul Jones II, join the navy and deliver the mail. The fact that this battle ship was meant to see action and simply ended up playing Mr. Postman has upset its commander (Regis Toomey) and his two rival assistants (Edward G. Robinson and Glenn Ford) who differ in how the ship should be run. Robinson's a grizzled old fool who helped build the ship, having served on the original John Paul Jones and aided Toomey in going off to officer's school. He thinks he's entitled, pretty much like an old dog who refuses to learn new tricks, but unbeknownst to him, Ford has fallen in love with Robinson's pretty daughter (Marguerite Churchill).

In actuality, their rivalry is really light-hearted, causing an almost comedic relationship between the two which just needs to come to some sort of compromise. Three quarters of the film is done as a comedy, almost inappropriately, between their not so serious rivalry and the presence of two portly crew members, Edgar Buchannan and Edward Brophy. Then, there's Leo Gorcey, pretty much playing his "Bowery Boys" character, given a question by a navy psychiatrist pre-dating "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", inquiring whether or not he likes girls. The comic element of the film is somewhat inappropriate, so when the film switches gears for a confrontation with Japananese planes attacking them, the mood swing seems very severe in spite of being extremely well filmed.

With tons of films on the importance of the military during World War II having already been done (and many much better), this one is a slight disappointment because of the way it deals with its subject matter. It's not a complete, disaster, however, because it does provide enough entertainment and some patriotic flag-waving to stir up the hearts and minds of the war era movie going public. Robinson would have better war films, however, with the following year's "Tampico" and the light-hearted "Mr. Winkle Goes to War" which you knew just from the title alone was going to be a comedy with a patriotic twist.

One of my favorites

[vawlkee_2000 · 10/10 · 8 April 2008]

I grew up with this film in the early 60's........ I remember it fondly as a little kid. We had a beach house at Newport and I remember sitting and watching it on more than one occasion.....It did something to me that I can't put a paw on.

Columbia was strictly 2nd tier as studios went in those days but this one is obviously an "A" as the studio went.

It has a great cast, special effects that rivaled the "big boys" and an ambiance that few could equal......

Watching the gleam in Eddie G's eyes really makes it fly..He singlehandedly steals the show......He has the right amount of humor and pathos to really make this film stand out. It's really a pity that no one knows this film in this day and age.....The use of old sea chanteys in the score brings a wonderful ambiance to the atmosphere..

This film also has two (in my opinion) classic lines in it. When Edgar Buchanan is dancing with a goldigger at the USO, she says "sailor, I understand you've gotten a pay raise, what will you do with it?" To which Buchanan replies: "Oh some on booze, some on women and the rest foolishly...". The other gem is where Robinson confronts Glenn Ford and makes the comment: "Why I've wrung more seawater out of my socks than you've sailed over!"

What can I say kiddies, this is one of my favorites and I consider myself fortunate to have it on VHS so I can watch it any time I want to.......It was released by "Hollywood Movie Greats" on VHS in 1990..... Robert

TOUGH GUY NO MORE

[davidalexander-63068 · 4/10 · 5 November 2021]

Edward G Robinson made his reputation as a tough guy on the screen , a hard nut who never took a backward step. It was a role we loved. No-one could issue orders and make demands and threats quite like Edward G Robinson. So it was very disconcerting to see him reduced to a simpering sycophant bowing to the captain's every command ("yes sir, no sir") while indulging in this strange love affair with a ship. Oh. My God! Why did he ever accept this role?

Reduced to a simpering sycophant.

Good for Navy Sailors & Any that like Navy or combat

[rclewis1-696-747593 · 8/10 · 26 March 2010]

First Rate for the period. A good patriotic Navy film, in the class with "Men of Honor" and Top Gun. Great depiction of sailors,Ships and the sea. As a U.S. Navy Veteran and "Tin-can-Sailor" an affectionate term for "Destroyer" Sailors, this shows the connection of the men and the Ship. The personality and the Valor of the Ship and her namesake and the men that make HER sail. To the sailor she is more than just steel that floats, she is Life; one lives, eats and sleeps the ship. If she don't float, we die. She takes us in harm's way and if we do it right, she brings us home. Home is the sailor, home from the sea. "Well done "Boli."

Another EGR winner - good cast, good story, good stuff!

[donofthedial · 8/10 · 30 March 2009]

Not a bad little Columbia film from 1943; unheralded, but brisk and well made.

EGR plays a retired naval officer now building ships during WW2. His old ship has been sunk and is being rebuilt. When it's done, he re-ups and gets assigned to the new incarnation of the USN destroyer, the John Paul Jones.

Through a connection, he aces out Glenn Ford from his position, though Ford is far more qualified and up-to-date in his naval knowledge.

EGR continues to irk everyone on the ship by riding them too hard and constantly babbling about the old JPJ. Finally, he strikes a fellow officer and is demoted and loses his position and must ask the re-instated Glenn Ford if he can even still serve on the JPJ. Ford doesn't like EGR, but says OK.

The ship has a couple of test shake out runs where many things go wrong and the ship is finally assigned mail duty instead of the much desired combat duty. Tired of EGR and embarrassed by the ship, many men request a transfer off the JPJ until EGR corners them all and tells them the history of JPJ the man and his ship's battle with a British ship. The men are riveted by the tale of the bravery of the man and his crew who, against all odds, defeat the British ship as their own ship burns and sinks before which JPJ had yelled his immortal line to the British when asked if he was surrendering - "I have not yet begun to fight".

The men stay on and find their ship in the middle of a battle with a Japanese submarine. The JPJ is torpedoed and is sinking and many of the man have abandoned ship as ordered. EGR asks permission to stay aboard to weld the damaged part of the ship....and they only have 2 hours before the Jap sub will surface and sink them for sure.

Can he do it?

Good male cast of characters- EGR Glenn Ford Edgar Buchanan Leo Gorcey Regis Toomey Edward Brophy Lloyd Bridges plus Marguerite Chapman as EGR's daughter.

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'.

Robinson tells his shipmates about the British in the Revolutionary War - 'Don't let anyone kid you. Those Limeys could fight!'

And Leo Gorcey holds his own with EGR during the big JPJ story when EGR asks him to read the plaque that has the immortal line on it and Gorcey doesn't need to read it now and stares right up at the camera and EGR and quotes - "I have not yet begun to fight".

Some good special effects in the film and snappy dialog. Well worth viewing.

DESTROYER was issued on GOODTIMES HOME VIDEO in the 90s and wasn't easy to find then.

A bit formulaic and schmaltzy, but exceptional nevertheless.

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 17 November 2013]

"Destroyer" is a clearly a wartime propaganda film meant to encourage the troops and folks at home in the war effort. It also is a bit formulaic at the same time--with the familiar theme of the obnoxious braggart falling on his face and then redeeming himself by the end of the film. And, the film stars a way too old Edward G. Robinson (50 at the time) in the lead. Yet, despite these hits against it, the film works exceptionally well and is well worth your time.

The film begins with learning that the old destroyer, the USS John Paul Jones, being sunk in action. Soon after, they order a replacement--a new John Paul Jones. At the shipyard, you see an old worker, Steve Boleslavski (Robinson) rallying the men and encouraging them to build the best fighting ship. After all, he served on the old John Paul Jones and plans on going back to active duty and serving aboard the new one if he can.

So, Steve and his buddy 'Kansas' (Edgar Buchanan) sign up with the Navy (apparently they must have just begun the new 'geezer brigade'). And, after pushing the Commander of the ship (Regis Toomey), he's able to secure a spot aboard as the Chief.

Now you'd think everything would go smoothly, but it doesn't. First, Steve is so gung ho and pig-headed that he manages to alienate himself from the crew. His talk of 'my ship' all the time and talk about the old days certainly didn't help. Second, the ship seems almost cursed--and during two shakedown cruises, it's riddled with problems. Eventually, the Navy is so sick of the repeated failures that the ship is given the ignominious task of delivering mail--not fighting. The crew, not surprisingly, is dispirited--after all, a destroyer should not be kept out of the action.

During their time as a mail carrier, the ship is kept out of the action. However, the Japanese are sneaky and the attack ends up pulling the John Paul Jones into action anyway. Unfortunately, although the ship is able to fight off a squadron of Japanese planes, she's badly damaged in the process--listing and seemingly ready to go down during her first engagement with the enemy. When a sub is discovered nearby AND the engines go out, it looks like that's all she wrote for the ship. Can Steve and the crew manage to redeem themselves and the ship? Considering this was made during WWII, what would you think? The film works for two big reasons. The acting is very good and they manage to make the most of the material. And, more importantly, the film is action-packed and exciting. The final 15 minutes of the film were very well done (even if the Japanese planes were really American ones painted to look Japanese) and really leave the viewer breathless and excited. Well worth your time.

By the way, in addition to seeing Glenn Ford in a major role, Lloyd Bridges (well before he became a star) can be seen VERY briefly. For example, he's lying in a bunk during a scene where the crewmen are talking about the ship becoming a mail ship. Look sharply or you'll miss him!

Marguerite makes the movie

[fdr-2 · 9/10 · 24 April 2000]

The movie is worth seeing just to see Marguerite. I also enjoyed seeing Edward G. Robinson. Leo Gorcey was also very effective in this movie. Glenn Ford worked well with the other stars and was believable as a navy man.

Edward G. Robinson in an Unusual Role

[LeonardKniffel · 9/10 · 30 April 2020]

I used to wonder why Edward G. Robinson, a stubby little man with a voice like a crook, was so popular with audiences in the 1940s. This 1943 movie explains it all, as Robinson portrays Steve Boleslavski, a Navy shipyard welder with a heart of gold who helped build the battleship John Paul Jones. After failing sea trials, the ship is assigned to the mail run, until caught up in a desperate battle with a Japanese sub. After the ship is torpedoed and on the verge of sinking, Boleslavski and crew hatch a plan to try and save the ship and destroy the sub. Interesting that the words "Pole," "Poland," and "Polack" are never uttered during the course of the film, and Boleslavski is spelled with the non-Polish "v." Nevertheless, Destroyer is a sweet and inspiring piece of World War II propaganda that speaks well of the Polish American population and its ability to become American, first and forever. Favorite line, uttered by Glenn Ford to Boleslavski's daughter, played by Marguerite Chapman: "In a world full of Smiths, Joneses, and Callahans, I had to pick a Boleslavski."

Would it make you happy if I said yes? Then be happy.

[sol-kay · 8/10 · 9 November 2012]

***SPOILERS*** One of the few and better WWII movies made during the conflict by Hollywood that minus the super patriotism and heroics so common in those films you can watch enjoy and appreciate even now almost 70 years after the war ended. Edward G.Robinson as 50 year old sea salt and WWI vet Steve "Boley" Boleslavski gives one of his finest performances that's so out of character of what we've seen of him that he should have gotten but didn't an Academy Award for it. In fact Robinson didn't even get nominated for one!

The movie centers around this US Navy destroyer the USS John Paul Jones, effectively called Jonnie by its crew, which Boley served on in WWI. Having been sunk in the South Pacific by a Japanese submarine a second John Paul Jones was build that Boley as a shipyard welder help in building. Now commissioned and sent out to sea Boley did everything that he could to get assigned to it even though he was out of the US Navy for years. With the help of his friend and boat's Captain Lt. Commander Clark, Rigis Toomy, Boley got his wish. But as things soon turned it didn't turn out to be the great deal that he expected it would be.

The story is really more of a love not war story about a man and his boat. "Destoryer" has Boley almost get drummed out of the navy in his incompetence as a sailor in living in the past, WWI, not in the present WWII in not realizing that things dramatically changed in naval warfare as well as ship construction. There's also the fact that Boley soon gets into serious trouble with the ships gunnery mate Mickey Donohue, Glenn Ford, who feels that the old man in his messing everything up is a pain in the butt to every sailor on the boat. It's when Mickey meets and falls in love with Boley's 22 year old daughter Mary, Marguerite Chapman, that his opinion towards Boley changes somewhat not not that much. The two end up slugging each other that almost has them both court martial-ed and thrown into the brig.

***SPOILERS*** Sent off to the far off Aleutian Islands in the North Pacific in a non combat supporting role, as a mail delivery ship, it's in the fighting there where both Boley and his beloved destroyer the John Paul Jones finally redeemed themselves. Not in only surviving a Jap torpedo hit but with Boley's heroic help keeping the John Paul Jones from going under the waves! It's just then, as daylight or day break was about to dawned, the John Paul Jones ends up ramming the Jap submarine before it could surface and finish off the disabled ship with its deck guns! Tension packed final as Boley working against time with his hand picked crew including his fellow WWI vet and John Paul Jones the first shipmate Kansas Jackson, Edger Buchanan, keeping their ship form taking on water and sinking to the bottom of the freezing Barring Sea. Bearly alive, from what he went through, at the end Boley finally earned the respect of the ship's crew who at one time wanted nothing better then to throw him overboard.

A Really Great War Movie!

[robtaday · 10/10 · 28 May 2013]

Eddie Robinson is first rate in this film about an old school sailor having to deal with the new kids on the block. I enjoyed seeing the scenes of San Diego boot camp since I went through the now extinct station myself. Glenn Ford is good too. I lost favor with him as he became older but his younger days stuff is good. The only part of the movie I didn't like was that the daughter eloped with Ford. I still think they should have consulted dad. But I guess the writer was trying to say that girls end up marrying the same guy as their father. The scene where Robinson rallies the boys with the story of John Paul Jones is one of the greatest in cinema. It had me balling! All in all, solid.

W.O.W. Those Shake Down Cruises are Dangerous

[Stormy_Autumn · 23 August 2008]

"Destroyer" (1943) Shipbuilder Steve 'Boley' Boleslavski (Edward G. Robinson) reenlists as a chief on the replacement for his old destroyer the U.S.S. John Paul Jones. His old friend, ship fitter & friend Kansas Jackson (Edgar Buchanan) joins him as a Shipfitter 1st Class. Once on the ship Steve immediately steps on the toes of Mickey Donohue (Glenn Ford) by taking over his rate of Chief Gunnery Mate.

Then, later that evening, Mickey goes to the U.S.O. & meets Mary...that's Mary Boleslavski (Marguerite Chapman). He walks her home & learns her last name. There's a little mix up between the guys on the front porch. What is going to happen next? We can easily expect more trouble between Boley & Mickey. Will Boley agree to a permanent relationship between Mick & Mary? Good question.

The ship will have more problems that will put the crew in danger. W.O.W. Those shake down cruises are dangerous.

The exoneration of a damaged and disgraced battleship

[clanciai · 9/10 · 6 September 2023]

This is really a love story between Edward G. Robinson and the ship he built, the destroyer which he would follow out to war, almost getting sunk into the bargain. It's at the same time a heroic tale of survival, since the lover of the ship makes them both survive under impossible circumstances, confronting six Japanese bombers and a submarine, being wounded with a hole in her side, and still continuing to struggle to win the battle. For his bullying tendencies against the crew, he gets court martialled and degraded and ordered to leave the ship, and yet he prefers to stay on board under another's command, the very marine he had beaten up. Thus it is also a kind of naval Cinderella tale, as by staying on board and accepting a degraded status he actually succeeds in bringing it all to a win-win situation for everybody. Even if you don't understand anything about naval warfare, you will find it an enjoyable and exhilarating film, very good for anyone's morale. Glenn Ford is the other naval officer who is put in command of Robinson, and this is one of his earliest roles. I never liked him, but he does well in the company of Robinson.