Ed-Shullivan Oh JFK! If it was not for JFK's fathers' very deep pockets do you really think this film semi biography would ever have been made, yet alone released widely? Add in top notch stars such as Cliff Robertson who plays Lt. JG John F. Kennedy, responsible for PT109, Robert Culp who plays Ensign George 'Barney' Ross, James Gregory as Commander C.R. Ritchie, and for good measure add in Robert Blake as Gunner's Mate Charles 'Bucky' Harris, and Norman Fell as Machinist Edmund Drewitch and you have an all star cast ready to set sail and fight those nasty Japanese in deep waters.The problem I had with this film was that the period war film was released 20 years after the incident but only mere months before the next primary U.S. elections were to take place in 1964 and the then U.S. President John F. Kennedy intended to run for re-election. No coincidence here? But my disdain runs further. After watching the film PT 109 we the audience would be left to believe that the entire PT 109 crew were willing to surrender time and time again to the Japanese rather than swim 3 miles to a remote island and wait for their eventual rescue. Oh yes, everyone appeared to want to give up except the great JFK who led the way swimming the entire 3 miles in the ocean AND also towing another injured seaman on his own bad back, even carrying him out of the water and to dry land before getting immediately back into the water to assist the rest of his crew before a Japanese boat would otherwise have captured them all. Such a war hero that JFK!That same night JFK swam out back into the middle of the ocean by himself in anticipation of spotting a U.S Naval rescue ship that did not materialize, at least not that first night. This movie would have been more appropriately titled "JFK a one man war hero". I will admit that JFK had some good qualities as the U.S. President as well as some bad qualities, one of which he was a known womanizer who demanded sex from many vulnerable woman, including Hollywood actress Marilyn Monroe.The 1963 film PT 109 may have put JFK in a light that shone bright as a U.S. naval hero, but the 4 million dollars spent on this film was all for naught, as on November 22, 1963, JFK was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, for reasons to this day still unknown. I am not a big fan of glory pictures that are released to shine a positive light by very wealthy people who have a specific agenda. In this case PT 109 was released to promote JFK as a tough naval war hero just in time for the next U.S. election for which he was running for re-election as the U.S. President backed by the very wealthy Boston based Kennedy family. I gave the film a 5 out of 10 rating.

classicsoncall My summary comment was by one of the sailors beached on Plum Pudding Island, about Lieutenant John F. Kennedy (Cliff Robertson) when he set out to swim to a lookout post from which he would try to locate a passing friendly boat to rescue his men. What the movie did for me was effectively present the unselfish heroism of a man who eventually became the country's thirty fifth President. Without his spirit of optimism, it was fairly apparent that some of that crew would have cracked under the pressure of capture by the Japanese, or die of starvation.Robertson is supported in the story by quite an eclectic cast. His closest aides are former TV cowboy heroes Ty Hardin (Bronco, 1958-1962) as Ensign Leonard Thom, and Robert Culp (Trackdown, 1957-1959) as Ensign Barney Ross. Hardin was virtually unrecognizable under that beard and mustache, I had to check the credits list to see where he fit in. Other cast surprises for this viewer included Grant Williams, Robert Blake and Norman Fell.I recall having read the William Doyle book 'PT 109' ages ago and didn't remember the coconut part of the story; seeing the scene in the movie makes it seem almost impossible that the crew of the sunken boat could have been saved in that manner. Also, my impression of PT boats was that they were somewhat smaller than the way they were depicted in the movie, so seeing them in action was informative. Overall, this is one of those historically real stories that would have to have occurred, as seeing it play out in a movie seems more like fiction than fact.

SnoopyStyle U.S. Navy Lieutenant John F. Kennedy (Cliff Robertson) uses his family name to get assigned to the Solomon Islands. The flimsy torpedo-laden PT boats are used on the frontlines as the Navy is hard up for ships. Kennedy insists on captaining a boat instead of being on staff with Commander Ritchie. The 109 is a mess. The crew includes executive officer Thom (Ty Hardin), Bucky Harris (Robert Blake) and machinist Edmund Drewitch (Norman Fell).This is an earnest depiction. Kennedy is never less than a boy scout. Cliff Robertson does a solid job although he's too old by 10 years. It's missing that young dashing captain aspect. His age also deprives the movie of a possible compelling learning curve in Kennedy's development. It's all very old fashion but well-made.

Lee Eisenberg As someone born long after the Kennedy years, I admit that I don't really know what he was like, and I've certainly never read his book about his WWII experiences. But I have seen the movie version of "PT 109". I will say that it's worth seeing just because it is about one of our most beloved presidents, but otherwise, it's kinda jingoistic and not 100% interesting. We see how JFK (Cliff Robertson) was sort of unsure what to think of the war initially, but knew what to do once he started fighting.So, it's clearly a product of America's "age of innocence". But still, I recommend it just because it shows how Kennedy was actually someone whom we could trust in wartime. Also starring Robert Culp ("Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice"), Grant Williams ("The Incredible Shrinking Man"), Robert Blake and Norman Fell.And yes, I think that the title sounds like a Beach Boys movie. That's just me, I guess.