Here Comes the Navy (1934)

Metal worker James Cagney is humiliated by naval officer Pat O'Brien. So he joins the Navy to get even with him. Naturally. Then he falls in love with Pat's sister, only he doesn't know it's Pat's sister. Their romance may be short-lived, however, because Jimmy and Pat can't stand one another.Cagney and O'Brien made a lot of these types of movies. This was the first and one of the best. Usually Jimmy's the cocky jerk and Pat's the nice guy. That's sort of the case here, too, but I actually found myself liking Cagney more than O'Brien. He's fun and likable, even if he's not always right. Pat, on the other hand, is a sour puss throughout the movie. Gloria Stuart plays O'Brien's sister who Cagney falls in love with. She's very pretty and does a fine job in a part that requires very little. Historically important for being partially filmed on board the USS Arizona, which was destroyed at Pearl Harbor seven years later. Also some footage of the dirigible USS Macon, which crashed the year after this film was released. It's a fun movie that fans of the stars will certainly enjoy. The climax is implausible but exciting. There is a blackface gag that will set some today back on their heels, so be prepared for that.

About half way through the movie you see the U S Pacific fleet (San Diego based at the time in 1934)on Sea Maneuvers out by Santa Catalina Island, California. This is the only motion picture footage of the "Arizona" firing her 14 inch live rounds (She is the first of several Battleships firing from left to right). Footage was taken by the U S S "Macon", Navy Airship at the time. The airship was caught in a storm about a year later very close to where they were filming and fell from the sky. About 250 of the sailors who were aboard the "Arizona" at the time of the film were also on deck December 7, 1941 when the Empire of Japan attacked the ship inside Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Notice the sleeping quarters (hammocks) for the sailors at that time.

For me, it's always cool to come away from a picture with something that was entirely unexpected. In the case of "Here Comes The Navy", I literally did a jump in my seat to see and hear mention of the U.S.S. Arizona, the famed battleship that went down during the infamous Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that brought our country into World War II. I had only seen this huge ship before in documentary footage covering that historical event, so it was a rare treat to see aspects of daily routine occurring aboard ship during the film's run.The other treat of course, is catching Jimmy Cagney and Pat O'Brien in the first of their many team-ups for First National/Warner Brothers. You know, I still can't get over the fact that some of their best work together took place over seventy years ago! In this one, the duo is at odds with each other, as Cagney's character Chesty O'Connor, signs up for a stint in the Navy just to get aboard the ship commanded by his nemesis Biff Martin (O'Brien). There's not a whole lot of credibility to the timing and coincidence necessary for that particular circumstance to take place, but that's no problem for the movies. Complicating matters further, wouldn't you know, is that Martin has a sister (Gloria Stuart) that Chesty goes for, so right there you've got the makings for an even more heated rivalry.Speaking of which, that seemed to be a common plot element in many of the early Warner Brothers flicks of the era. In the 1937 prison movie "San Quentin", inmate Humphrey Bogart had a sister that the warden fell for, thereby giving the impression that Bogey's character was getting preferential treatment. The warden - Pat O'Brien! You really have to catch one of Cagney's early films to get a sense of where all that enormous talent came from. This picture offers a dance scene, part of the 'Iron Workers' Frolic', that allows Cagney to strut his fancy footwork. I got a kick out of the poster advertising the dance contest; I've never seen one before that promoted 'Big Doings'! Just another one of the visual treats you can appreciate from a picture from the 1930's. Another was catching Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams as the dance floor manager looking almost impossibly young, but in checking, I was shocked to learn that by the time of this movie's release, he had already been in over eighty pictures!!! Learning something new every day.Anyway, story wise, you won't find anything resembling an Oscar contender here, but you can still have some fun with this first Cagney/O'Brien team up. Character actor Frank McHugh, a frequent Cagney supporter is on hand to lend comic relief. His gimmick has to do with buying his mother a pair of false teeth - and to think, back then you could do it for twenty dollars! Now that's the good old days!

This film is an unintended historical document.It shows the daily and very ordinary goings-on aboard a typical battle wagon in the 1930's.Only that, because U.S.S. Arizona was at the moment available for filming,now we can see this as a poignant reminder of a great ship & its gallant crew,some of which would still call her home on Dec 7 1941.Note Also that much of the action on board centers round the vicinity of turret 1,where the big explosion would happen,and which remains to this day the only complete remaining turret aboard ship.Also to watch all the pomp used then,frock coats fore&aft hats&all,leggings in boot camp,full uniform for maneuvering dirigibles(a rigid ship,e/o aboard in full uniform,no jumpsuits mind u,dates the way it was)U.S.S. Macon on Moffet, then on Mines Field(Angelenos dig it up well;that prairie is now LAX!)But a/a BB39.I,m from Ponce in PUR,& in 1931 she visited us bringing Herbert Hoover with her. So for this and the other reasons,and many more,I consider this a priceless historical document.What do YOU think? Carlos Aneiro