Monday, August 9th, at 7:00pm

No movie has so poignantly captured life behind the Pacific battle lines of the Pacific in World War II as this unusual mixture of drama and comedy. It ran for two years on Broadway before being made into this 1955 movie in color and Cinemascope that became a box-office hit. Henry Fonda plays an officer who yearns to get into the war but is stuck on a rusted freighter delivering toilet paper behind the scenes. James Cagney is the somewhat crazed captain who treasures his palm tree and hides it from the rest of the Navy. Jack Lemmon won an Oscar—and became a star—by playing the wacky slacker who also hides on board and learns how to make Scotch with iodine. Betsy Palmer adds her portrayal of a sexy nurse, and it all adds up to a movie that should be in a wartime comedy hall of fame. Veteran William Powell’s last movie actually stars a rusty U. S. Navy freighter, the Hewell, as the ship that houses it all. There are as many laughs as tears, but it all reminds us of how much we owe those who served—particularly behind the scenes. Mal talks about meeting Fonda and Lemmon and how different they were from each other. (1955, 123 mins)