Factual error: When Roberts makes a deal with the Captain, he demands that the Captain grant liberty to both sections (i.e., the entire crew), leaving only Roberts and one enlisted man aboard as the deck watch. All U.S. Navy ships must have enough personnel aboard at all times to get the ship underway immediately, if necessary, which is why the crew is divided into watch sections.
Mister Roberts (1955)
Directed by: John Ford, Mervyn LeRoy, Joshua Logan
Starring: Henry Fonda, Jack Lemmon, James Cagney, William Powell
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.
Factual error: The Captain, Roberts, Pulver, and the doctor are the only officers ever seen or mentioned. No Executive Officer, and no officers in Deck, Engineering, Operations, Supply, etc. Also, Dowdy is apparently the only Chief Petty Officer on board.
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Suggested correction: Other officers are on board. When they are loading supplies to one of the landing craft, an officer tells Mr Roberts to keep any fresh fruit on board for the Captain's mess. That man is dressed in Khaki's and is not Pulver or the Dr. Also, we never see the entire crew, at most we see 20-30 men. Other CPO's can be on board, just never seen.
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.
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.
Lt. J.g. Douglas A. Roberts: You pretend you want me to improve your mind. You've never finished one book I've given you to read.
Ensign Frank Thurlowe Pulver: I've finished "God's Little Acre," Doug boy.
Lt. J.g. Douglas A. Roberts: I didn't give you that. He's been reading "God's Little Acre" for over a year now. He's underlined every erotic passage and added exclamation points. And after a certain pornographic climax, he's inserted the words "well written."
Lt. J.g. Douglas A. Roberts: Captain, you told me.
The Captain: Never mind what I told you. I'm telling you!.
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