This film isn't as dire as the one-star reviews claim. That said, it isn't very good either. It's just...odd and doesn't really go anywhere.
David Niven is his urbane, David Niveny self as a sort of British version of The Flying Dutchman who has to redeem himself through an act of war-time valor instead of an act of love. Alan Alda is Alan Alda. Faye Dunaway is the girl with moxie (sporting 1960's hair-dos during WW2). Mickey Rooney has very little to do.
The conceit of inserting old newsreel footage into the film didn't bother me, I thought the clips were interesting.
I did learn two things while watching this;
1) I had forgotten the difference between flotsam and jetsam and Faye Dunaway was nice enough to explain it.
2) Before Milton Bradley released Battleship as a plastic board game, you could apparently play it on graph paper.
Something more interesting could have been done with Niven's character and the whole concept. With a better script this could've been a pretty good film.
David Niven is his urbane, David Niveny self as a sort of British version of The Flying Dutchman who has to redeem himself through an act of war-time valor instead of an act of love. Alan Alda is Alan Alda. Faye Dunaway is the girl with moxie (sporting 1960's hair-dos during WW2). Mickey Rooney has very little to do.
The conceit of inserting old newsreel footage into the film didn't bother me, I thought the clips were interesting.
I did learn two things while watching this;
1) I had forgotten the difference between flotsam and jetsam and Faye Dunaway was nice enough to explain it.
2) Before Milton Bradley released Battleship as a plastic board game, you could apparently play it on graph paper.
Something more interesting could have been done with Niven's character and the whole concept. With a better script this could've been a pretty good film.