"Francis ... as lousy actors whose mercifully brief cinematic careers were well deserved."
Somewhat true. Francis' career was short. He died in 1955m the year after The Caine Mutiny was released. Who knows what he could have become.
He reminds me of Robert Wagner who early in his career was as wooden as the trees in films such as Prince Valiant.
. . . he fit the character of Willie Keith well in the film version . . . he does look just like a young ensign . . . and he did well in The Long Gray Line---playing a young cadet . . . after this, well, maybe TV . . .
shareWhat a shame that such a young life so full of promise was cut short all too soon. We'll never know what he could have been and that is a tragedy.
share"Francis ... as lousy actors whose mercifully brief cinematic careers were well deserved."
I don't know where this quote comes from, but considering the reason his career was "mercifically brief", I consider that comment extremely cruel. It's not a crime to be a bad actor, and we all know that many people make it in Hollywood strictly on looks. If combining bad acting with good looks were a crime, Keanu Reeves and Tom Cruise would also deserve the death penalty.
the quote about francis is undeserved, since he died a horrible death. although he was wooden, francis was adequate in the movie - but against the likes of bogart, ferrer, johnson and macmurray, he's not going to come off very well.
as far as tom cruise and keanu reeves, i agree (in reeves. case, it would be bad looks and bad acting).
... except that Tom Cruise isn't a bad actor.
"Darth Vader is scary and I The Godfather"
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During the film, I thought RF was Mel Ferrer having mixed him up with Jose Ferrer. I was also looking out for Van Heflin...
shareI agree with others who said the quote about Robert Francis was cruel. His part was underwritten (hardly his fault) and he may have received poor direction.
More of a stand-in than a real character . . .
sharePart of the problem is that the character is more of an observer than a protagonist - the main story is about Queeg, Maryk and Keefer, with Keith more of an onlooker than anything else (which is the same as in the book, really). His only significant action is in backing Maryk on the bridge during the typhoon (and, in all probability, any of the other officers would have done the same had they been OOD). It's difficult to make an impact with such a limited character, unless you're someone who can chew up the scenery like Pacino or De Niro - which Francis obviously wasn't. To be honest, there wasn't much else he could have done with the role.
share"That cruel remark" aside - the guy couldn't act. He needed more training and experience before tackling the Caine role - not his fault he got hired, of course. He just could not fully emote - his final phone call with his fiancee at the "celebration party" perfectly exemplifies this. There's just a deadness about his wannabe enthusiastic declaration of love. Quite unconvincing. Tragically, he was never to live long enough to obtain the necessary training and experience to really successfully carry important film roles.
shareLooks like I'm not the only one who thought that quote about Robert Francis was classless. And I agree. He did remind me of a young Robert Wagner. He may have had a long career if he hadn't died tragically in that plane accident.
share"Francis ... as lousy actors whose mercifully brief cinematic careers were well deserved."
Interesting trivia tidbit: after Francis' death, Cagney's hand-picked replacement for the Tribute To A Bad Man role was Don Dubbins, who appeared as Seaman 1st Class Urban (to whose shirttail Queeg calls attention in the wardroom).
Only three years later, Dubbins made a creditable appearance as the troubled Marine in Jack Webb's The D.I. and, in an alternate reality, might have made an effective Willie Keith.
Another interesting tidbit: "Tribute To A Bad Man" was originally to have been the title of The Bad and the Beautiful.
Poe! You are...avenged!
Most interesting . . . Dubbins showed up years later in the MGM film, The Prize, with Paul Newman and Elke Sommer . . . yes, he might have made a credible Willie Keith . . .
sharePicking up on your up-thread comment of Sep 19 '12, Willie's reduced in the film to serving as little more than the eyes through which viewers witness the events of the story (if that's what you meant). Although he's in every scene up until the court-martial, he never seems a primary character, and the personal and professional development so central to the novel (in which his relationship with May carries greater significance as he matures from callow youth to responsible and committed officer) is largely glossed over in the film.
There's so much more to the story, both before and after his service on the Caine (and more to Keefer as well), that it cries out for a multi-part, HBO-type mini-series, as I've said elsewhere on these threads. I wonder if it'll ever be done justice.
Just for the record, I love the film despite this one weakness, and it features some of the very best work of Bogart, Johnson and MacMurray, but it gives us only about half of the complete saga.
Poe! You are...avenged!
i'd say his career paralleled another young actor named James Dean.they died within a couple of months of each other,were practically the same age,and had few screen credits when they were killed.their on screen persona was much different however.
shareYes, here's column item concerning them:
Chicago Tribune, October 7, 1955, pt. 1, p. 2, c. 1:
TOWER TICKER
by Herb Lyon
Ticker Takes: The three most "promising young stars" listed in scads of Hollywood fan magazines (printed way ahead) are James Dean, Robert Francis, and Suzan Ball . . .
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An earlier item in the same column just happened to concern Bogie:
The Jotted Lyon: Actor Humphrey Bogart, who'll be here today and tomorrow with his Betty Bacall (that's what they call her), is going into business in a big way, just joined Paramount Studios Boss Don Hartman in buying up "acres and acres" of property near Disneyland. They'll build drive-ins, restaurants, motels and gas stations, and probably make millions [more, that is] . . .
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Miss Ball was a cousin of Lucille and was married to Richard Long . . . all three died in 1955 . . .
Francis was perfect in the role of the young rich kid-ensign.
share