Highly Overrated But Still Good

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

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.

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.

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

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.