John Paul Jones
1959
Action / Biography / History / Romance / War

John Paul Jones
1959
Action / Biography / History / Romance / War
Plot summary
The career of Revolutionary War naval hero John Paul Jones, from his youth in Scotland through his service to Catherine the Great of Russia.
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
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Biography of one of the great men of the American Revolution , being produced by the great Samuel Bronston and spectacularly filmed in Spain
Colorful story of the Naval hero during the American Revolution...
JOHN PAUL JONES is certainly a colorful film to look at, but the script is rather stately and dull when it should be tense and exciting and a lot of this may be due to the casting of ROBERT STACK in the title role. He cuts a handsome figure in his period costumes and is certainly a man who can speak forcefully on occasion, but he tends to wear the same solemn expression throughout. His outbursts of anger are sometimes hard to comprehend but he does get things done and everyone seems to bend to his will no matter what the circumstances are--that's the kind of hero he's depicted as being.
It's a handsome looking film with a capable cast including CHARLES COBURN as Benjamin Franklin and MARISA PAVAN as Jones' love interest in a rather colorless role. But BETTE DAVIS has fun with her brief scenes and actually brings a lively flavor to the film once she appears as Catherine the Great and falls under the spell of the man with a commanding presence.
It may not be accurate as history, but it's spectacular to watch in some of the lushest Technicolor from the '50s with a nice score by Max Steiner that gives the film a lift when it needs it. Under John Farrow's direction, the film is a bit talky at times but comes to life during the battle scenes. Farrow shares credit for the script with contributions from Ben Hecht and others.