Robert Stack, who plays John Paul Jones in this biographical pic, was by all accounts a nice guy, an avid skeet shooter who didn't take his career too seriously. It was a good idea not to. As an actor he was pretty wooden. His expressions throughout "John Paul Jones" is one of firm conviction. There are times, with Marisa Pavan, when he tries to smile, but one can almost hear an agonized creak as unused muscles are called into play. In close ups, he never blinks. It's the kind of role he would parody so hilariously in "Airplane!" The director is John Farrow, who also had a hand in polishing the screenplay. Farrow showed some subtlety in some of his work, such as "Leave Her To Heaven," a soap opera made of venom. Here -- the well seems to have run dry. The first American flag is raised on an American ship, triumphant music swells in the background, the crew stands at attention with its hats off, and a dog sits up in salute. A DOG? Yes, a dog, and this is not a Walt Disney movie.
Yet, I'm hard put to recommend that this movie be avoided. It does carry some hard truths. Jones was, after all, captain of a slave ship for a while and this, along with a few other characterological blemishes, is brought up. Moreover, the viewers, many of whom may be presumed never to have even HEARD of John Paul Jones, also get to meet Patrick Henry, Benjamin Franklin, and a few other historical figures. One of them is George Washington. But Washington only appears in a brief scene at a studio-bound Valley Forge, and is only photographed in silhouette -- and from behind. We never see his face. This is a cinematic convention usually reserved for the Son of God.
I presume a certain amount of the material is fictional. Movies have to have romance as well as action. And most of the dialog is conjectural by its nature. Further we have to be really careful in dealing with the Revolutionary War. Since the end of the ill-conceived War of 1812, we and the Brits have been staunch allies in two horrifying world wars and several other enterprises. That means the "enemy" can't be demonized.
But all of that isn't very important when compared to Americans' ignorance of their own history. Everybody of high school age ought to see it. A survey on the Fourth of July in 2010 revealed that one in five Americans didn't know which country we'd achieved our independence from. (Wrong answers included France and China.) Yes, by all means, make sure your kids see this. Box their ears if they balk.
Yet, I'm hard put to recommend that this movie be avoided. It does carry some hard truths. Jones was, after all, captain of a slave ship for a while and this, along with a few other characterological blemishes, is brought up. Moreover, the viewers, many of whom may be presumed never to have even HEARD of John Paul Jones, also get to meet Patrick Henry, Benjamin Franklin, and a few other historical figures. One of them is George Washington. But Washington only appears in a brief scene at a studio-bound Valley Forge, and is only photographed in silhouette -- and from behind. We never see his face. This is a cinematic convention usually reserved for the Son of God.
I presume a certain amount of the material is fictional. Movies have to have romance as well as action. And most of the dialog is conjectural by its nature. Further we have to be really careful in dealing with the Revolutionary War. Since the end of the ill-conceived War of 1812, we and the Brits have been staunch allies in two horrifying world wars and several other enterprises. That means the "enemy" can't be demonized.
But all of that isn't very important when compared to Americans' ignorance of their own history. Everybody of high school age ought to see it. A survey on the Fourth of July in 2010 revealed that one in five Americans didn't know which country we'd achieved our independence from. (Wrong answers included France and China.) Yes, by all means, make sure your kids see this. Box their ears if they balk.