Destroyer

Director: Ray Enright, William Seiter

Overview

In this film, Edward G. Robinson portrays a hard-driving, hard-nosed perfectionist who causes dissension aboard a WWII destroyer. Coming aboard as a senior crewman, he drives himself as hard as he drives the younger generation of sailors he commands. However, Robinson proves himself a true hero during a major battle.

Product Details

Release Date:	03/01/2011
UPC:	0043396378537
Original Release:	1943
Rating:	NR
Source:	SONY
Language:	English
Sales rank:	6,848

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Edward Robinson	Steven 'Boley' Boleslavski
Glenn Ford	Mickey Donohue
Edgar Buchanan	Kansas Jackson
Marguerite Chapman	Mary Boleslavski
Regis Toomey	Lt. Cmdr. Clark
Warren Ashe	Lt. Bert Marton
Leo Gorcey	Seaman Sarecky
Edward S. Brophy	Engineer Casey
Eddie Waller	Marty, a riveter
Curt Bois	Swab with large nose
Charles D. Brown	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
Tristam Coffin	Doctor #1,Doctor
Bud Geary	2nd Ship Fitter
Charles McGraw	Assistant Chief Engineer
Milburn Stone	Radioman
Dennis Moore	Communications Officer
Larry Parks	Ens. Johnson
Shirley Patterson	Bigbee's Girl
Gene Rizzi	Survivor
Dean Benton	Moore
Lynton Brent	Doctor,Sailor
George Bruggeman	Cook
Alma Carroll	Sailor's Girl Friend
Eddie Chandler	Chief Gunner's Mate
Edmond Cobb	1st Workman
Eddie Coke	Storekeeper
Lester Dorr	First Ship Fitter
Eleanor Counts	Sarecky's Girl
Roy Darmour	Pharmacist's Mate
Eddie Dew	Survivor
John Estes	Helmsman
Al Hill	Knife-Eating Sailor
Bobby Jordan	Sobbing Sailor
David S. Horsley	Thomas
Mauritz Hugo	Survivor
Stephen Keyes	Seaman Guard
George Magrill	Marine
Anthony Collins	Composer
Don McGill	Survivor
Robert McKenzie	Justice of the Peace
David McKim	Signalman
John Merton	Chief Quartermaster
Gertrude Messinger	Girl
Pat O'Malley	Postman
Paul Perry	Doctor
Neil Reagan	Lt. J.C. Randolph
Mickey Rentschler	J.V. Talker
Addison Richards	Ship Building Foreman
Ronald R. Rondell	Survivor
Clark Ross	Pharmacist's Mate
Virginia Sale	Kansas' Dance Partner
Charles Sherlock	Chief Machinist's Mate
George Sherwood	Workman
Mel Shubert	James
John Tyrrell	Marine
Dale Van Sickel	Sailor
Pierre Watkin	Admiral
Frank Wayne	Pharmacist's Mate
Craig Woods	Bigbee
Billy Young	Storekeeper

Technical Credits

Borden Chase

Frank Wead

Lewis Meltzer

William Seiter	Director,Director
Louis Edelman	Producer
Borden Chase	Screenwriter
Frank Wead	Screenwriter
Lewis Meltzer	Screenwriter
Louis F. Edelman	Producer

Editorial Reviews

Columbia Pictures' Destroyer is essentially the kind of morale-building action movie that Warner Bros. did more often during World War II. The story here is tailored to the somewhat long-of-toothEdward G. Robinson -- whose acting career went back to the early teens -- and is built around the age of his protagonist, a well-intentioned former career Navy man who may be too old for the job he desperately wants to do. His antagonist is a young, lanky Glenn Ford, a leader in a new generation of sailors who feel they don't have much to learn from old birds like Robinson's "Boley" Boleslavski. And therein hangs most of the plot, and a good one it is in the hands of this cast -- Marguerite Chapman plays Robinson's daughter with charm and fire, attracting the attention of Ford's young CPO and adding fuel to the fire between him and her father; Edgar Buchanan, playing older than he is, is fine as an old salt who is just as anxious to get in on the fighting as Robinson; and Leo Gorcey, taking a break from his East Side Kids movies, turns in a surprisingly good performaance as a young punk of a seaman. Director William Seiter moves the action fast enough to please war movie fans, and Chapman is attractive when she's on screen, while Robinson and Ford generate lots of sparks in their scenes -- and the payoff is a terrifically exciting duel-to-the-death between Robinson's destroyer and a Japanese submarine, each racing against the clock for a chance to kill the other off.