Synopsis
This rowdy, realistic saga of a group of American sailors aboard a Navy cargo vessel in the Pacific shows the crew suffering from that deadly boredom that is part of the routine of war. To the ship's company, the Skipper is a cantankerous, small-minded man and every one of them conspires against him as the ship pursued its runs from Apathy to Tedium and back again. They are on a cargo mission, so little else is going to happen. That Mr. Roberts, [a lieutenant] shared the crew's dislike for the Captain was one reason for his popularity. Roberts joined the world to fight; he hates being inactive almost as much as he hates the Captain. Privy to the crew's hijinks against the Skipper, Roberts still feels it's his duty to retain some discipline. After winning many ingenious battles against the Skipper, Roberts at last wins himself a transfer to combat duty. It was this transfer that cost him his life on a destroyer off Japan.
NY Herald-Tribune
The greatest of war plays...