Mister Roberts (1955)

Continuity mistake: In the scene where the Reluctant is in the port of Elysium and the men are on shore leave, a truck load of MPs show up. Ttheir patrol leader tells Mr. Roberts that his men will be stationed along the starboard side of Mr. Roberts ship for the remainder of its stay in port because of the problems various members of the ship had been causing while on shore leave. No sooner do the MPs line up along the side of the ship do you see one of the ships crew flying down the dock on a motorcycle. When the motorcycle passes the ship the MPs who just 10 seconds before were lined up along the ships starboard side are now nowhere to be seen.

Lt. J.g. Douglas A. Roberts: I looked down from our bridge and saw our captain's palm tree! Our trophy for superior achievement! The Admiral John J. Finchley award for delivering more toothpaste and toilet paper than any other Navy cargo ship in the safe area of the Pacific.

Trivia: Thomas Heggen wrote the novel "Mister Roberts" based on his wartime experiences on two Navy cargo ships, U.S.S. Virgo (AKA-20) and U.S.S. Rotanin (AK-108). The Virgo was an attack cargo ship, designed for use in amphibious assaults, and saw quite a bit of action. In the movie, U.S.S. Hewell (AKL-14) was used as the fictional Reluctant. The Hewell was a light cargo ship, designed for coastal operations. A basic comparison of the three ships follows: Hewell/Reluctant: 176 feet long, 500 tons, 26 crew (not 62, as stated in the movie.) Rotanin: 441 feet long, 4000 tons, 206 crew Virgo: 460 feet long, 6500 tons, 404 crew.

mdwalker