Here Comes the Navy (1934)

Director:

Lloyd Bacon

Writers:

Earl Baldwin (screenplay) &
Ben Markson (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

21 July 1934 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance | Drama

Tagline:

THE HIT! THE STARS! THE FLEET! All America Wants To See Again! (reissue poster)

Plot:

A cocky guy joins the Navy for the wrong reason but finds romance and twice is cited for heroism.

Plot Keywords:

Uss Arizona | Grudge | Battleship | Sister | Cigar

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

James Cagney	...	Chesty O'Conner
Pat O'Brien	...	Biff Martin
Gloria Stuart	...	Dorothy Martin
Frank McHugh	...	Droopy Mullins
Dorothy Tree	...	Gladys
Robert Barrat	...	Commander Denny
Willard Robertson	...	Executive Officer
Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams	...	Dance-floor Manager (as Guinn Williams)
Howard C. Hickman	...	Captain (as Howard Hickman)
Maude Eburne	...	Droopy's Mother
George Irving	...	Admiral

Also Known As:

Hey, Sailor! (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #74) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating)

Filming Locations:

Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Leo White in the role as "Professor" is in studio records/casting call lists as a cast member, but he did not appear or was not identifiable in the movie.

Quotes:

Wilbur 'Droopy' H. Mullins: [Droopy waves, then blows a kiss to his buddy, Chesty, who's leaving the ship for a new post.]
CPO: [Backs away from Droopy] What are you two guys, a couplea violets?
Wilbur 'Droopy' H. Mullins: Aw, mind your own business.
[Blows Chesty another kiss]

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Buddy's Theatre (1935)

Soundtrack:

Oh, Promise Me

Decent Cagney

Here Comes the Navy (1934)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Standard action from Warner about a cocky loudmouth (James Cagney) who joins the Navy so that he can get even with a Captain (Pat O'Brien) but Cagney ends up falling in love with his sister (Gloria Stuart). This film starts off with a great bang but as the movie goes along things become quite predictable and rather flat. The first part of the movie is great with a lot of fighting and insults being thrown by Cagney. Needless to say Cagney is very energetic and delivers another fine performance. His relationship with Stuart is also handled very well as the two actors have a lot of chemistry together. O'Brien is in good form as well and he and Cagney do their magic unlike any other duo. The biggest problem comes in the middle where the story pretty much gets weighted down by the familiar bit where the cocky Cagney must learn what it means to be a normal human being and shut his mouth up before it gets him in real trouble. The action scene at the end is very nice as is the funny ending. The most shocking scene comes when Cagney sneaks off the boat in blackface.