One might think a movie entitled "Minesweeper" would be a war film, but instead its billed as an action, adventure and comedy film. It does have those elements, to the extent that it is quite a mixed bag. But, of course it is a war movie, because it's all about Navy men who serve on a minesweeper at one of the California coastal port cities during World War II. It's most likely San Diego or Long Beach from which convoys sailed to the Pacific theater.
One reason it may not have been played up as a war film, right in the middle of war, was because it wasn't the type of war duty most people imagined or associated with war time. And, the film itself, with its milieu, doesn't seem to have the feel of a war film. Reflecting on this, it occurred to me that not many men or women in wartime service were able to stay at and go home to mom's house for home-cooked meals.
Most sailors were either at sea or based at a foreign port sailing on combat missions. Most Army and Marine GIs were either on the ground in combat units or in command and supply posts supporting them. Most Army Air Corps members were assigned at European or Pacific bases and commands that were flying combat or bombing missions. These countless numbers of military people were far from their homes.
Aside from that, this film is a modest look at a small service of the Navy that was important for keeping American ports open and protecting convoys and Navy ships from mines. But, this clearly is a B movie. It was one of just 80 films made by Pine-Thomas Productions between 1940 And 1957. It was filmed at Catalina Island and the Paramount studios. The film quality and production values are second-tier, and the screenplay and story are just so-so.
Richard Arlen stars as Richard Houston, under an alias of Jim Smith. Arlen was about midway in his career. After starting with some promise as a leading man in silent films, when sound came on and a crop of handsome and talented new actors began appearing in the early 1930s, Arlen was increasingly relegated to B films. I've seen a couple in which his is quite good, but in this film he seems flat and dull. Some of the cast are good and others seem wooden. The best performance is by Guinn Williams who plays 'Fixit' Smith. This is one of the meatier roles this long-time supporting player had in the more than 220 films he made.
Look for Robert Mitchum in an uncredited role. He plays Seaman Chuck Ryan who rows a boat out to a mine so that another seaman can cut it loose from being tangled in their minesweepers tow. The mine blows up and Mitchum's scene is a wrap.
Probably the only people who will like this film will be military veterans and those interested in all aspects of war in movies.
