John Paul Jones (1959)

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Blistering performances.

Robert Stack, who plays John Paul Jones in this biographical pic, was by all accounts a nice guy, an avid skeet shooter who didn't take his career too seriously. It was a good idea not to. As an actor he was pretty wooden. His expressions throughout "John Paul Jones" is one of firm conviction. There are times, with Marisa Pavan, when he tries to smile, but one can almost hear an agonized creak as unused muscles are called into play. In close ups, he never blinks. It's the kind of role he would parody so hilariously in "Airplane!" The director is John Farrow, who also had a hand in polishing the screenplay. Farrow showed some subtlety in some of his work, such as "Leave Her To Heaven," a soap opera made of venom. Here -- the well seems to have run dry. The first American flag is raised on an American ship, triumphant music swells in the background, the crew stands at attention with its hats off, and a dog sits up in salute. A DOG? Yes, a dog, and this is not a Walt Disney movie.Yet, I'm hard put to recommend that this movie be avoided. It does carry some hard truths. Jones was, after all, captain of a slave ship for a while and this, along with a few other characterological blemishes, is brought up. Moreover, the viewers, many of whom may be presumed never to have even HEARD of John Paul Jones, also get to meet Patrick Henry, Benjamin Franklin, and a few other historical figures. One of them is George Washington. But Washington only appears in a brief scene at a studio-bound Valley Forge, and is only photographed in silhouette -- and from behind. We never see his face. This is a cinematic convention usually reserved for the Son of God.I presume a certain amount of the material is fictional. Movies have to have romance as well as action. And most of the dialog is conjectural by its nature. Further we have to be really careful in dealing with the Revolutionary War. Since the end of the ill-conceived War of 1812, we and the Brits have been staunch allies in two horrifying world wars and several other enterprises. That means the "enemy" can't be demonized.But all of that isn't very important when compared to Americans' ignorance of their own history. Everybody of high school age ought to see it. A survey on the Fourth of July in 2010 revealed that one in five Americans didn't know which country we'd achieved our independence from. (Wrong answers included France and China.) Yes, by all means, make sure your kids see this. Box their ears if they balk.

I was delighted to see this film as I am a voracious consumer of anything about the American Revolution. Aside from any possible historical flaws mentioned by others I found some of the directing touches quite interesting. Most novel was the way George Washington was portrayed when Jones went to visit him at Valley Forge. He was filmed only from the back as would be seen by some observer (e.g. news reporter ) in the room. The effect was quite powerful. It saved us worrying about things like if the actor playing Washington looked enough like him etc. and simply gave us a ghostly impression of the Washington we read about in the history books - namely, a giant of a man both physically and morally and probably the greatest man in history. It occurred to me that Director John Farrow was portraying not the man but rather alluding to the LEGEND on screen. If that was the aim he certainly succeeded. The 'living presence' of the legend was enhanced by the fact that the image spoke in that arcane English of the time. The net result was that a huge cinematic impression was provided of a very great man. Nice directing twist innovation !

Just a question; where was JPJ filmed? (I'm looking for ALL locations)and does the movie archive keep a list of unnamed and uncredited extras who appeared (in the backdrop) of the film? My folks have had a replica of the Declaration of Independence in our living room that they say was a souvenir given to people (i.e. my uncle) who were hired by the producers as extras. He said that he was a signer of the document. He and my aunt also kept a copy in their house. It's been awhile since I've seen the movie, but I will look more closely next time to see if I recognize him. My uncle wasn't an actor, but a military man (retired, I think, by that time). He had to have been in the right place at the right time to be chosen as an extra. I'd love to have more info. Jeff

the other reviewer hit the nail right on the head, this movie is full of historical inaccuracies, the house of burgess is in Williamsburg, Virginie, and John Paul Jone's brother lived and is buried in historic downtown fredericksburg, a good two hour drive from Williamsburg. the Virginie love triangle is rather silly. despite the flaws, i've liked this movie ever since i was a little boy and saw it on TNT during one of the fourth of July marathons... maybe i like my heroes a little stiff, but i thought Robert stack did an alright job. although, it would be nice to see the movie remade with a little more historical accuracy, and maybe have Mel Gibson or Russel crowe or a Scottish actor play jpj... he'd sound a little more accurate, i can watch this movie over and over again.