An anemic comedy directed by John Frankenheimer. David Niven commands a broken down ship through the Philippines during WWII, drinking whiskey, flirting with Faye Dunaway and verbally sparring with American sailor Alan Alda. This slim film (just over 70 minutes long) seems a lot longer than it is. Frankenheimer reportedly didn't film enough footage so he padded the proceedings with stock footage and old MGM newsreels. Some of them are actually funnier than the film itself (e.g. Bess Truman trying repeatedly to christen a ship with an unbreakable champagne bottle). Mickey Rooney and Jack Carter play Alda's fellow sailors. They get no laughs. On the plus side, there is some nice photography by Lionel Lindon and terrific editing by Fredric Steinkamp.
Review of The Extraordinary Seaman
