Navy Blues

Plot

MGM house director Clarence Brown's first all-talkie, this pleasantly innocuous comedy drama stars William Haines as Jack Kelly, a carefree sailor picking up innocent Alice Brown (Anita Page) at a Ladies' Uplift Society Dance. Their whirlwind romance, however, ends abruptly when the girl's mother (Edythe Chapman) throws the sailor out of her home because of his profession. Alice, who has had enough of her mother's tyranny, follows him and, before shipping out, Jack helpfully secures her a room for the night by pawning her fox stole. Returning after a tour of duty, the chastened sailor finds his girl working as a taxi dancer and physically forces her to return to home and hearth. With her parents' wholehearted approval, Alice suggests that Jack marry her -- "a second time," as she fibs -- before a preacher. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Review

If nothing else, Navy Blues proves two things: that a little William Haines went a long way -- hence his lack of longevity in talkies -- and, despite oft-stated claims, comic sidekick Karl Dane did not suffer from an impenetrable Danish accent. Both performers, however, belonged squarely in Hollywood's old-guard by the early 1930s and were simply swept away by a flotilla of sharper, more street-smart performers arriving by the train loads from radio and Broadway. Navy Blues was originally released in December 1929 and survived with most of the caveats typical of the early talkie era. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Cast

• William Haines - Jack Kelly
• Anita Page - Alice Brown
• Karl Dane - Sven Swanson
• J.C. Nugent - Reginald Brown
• Wade Boteler - CPO Higgins

Edythe Chapman - Mrs. Brown; Jack Pennick - Kansas; Gertrude Sutton - Hilda; Gino Corrado - maitre’d; Maxine Hicks - sweatshop worker; Mary Brian

Credit

Cedric Gibbons - Art Director, David Cox - Costume Designer, Clarence Brown - Director, Hugh Wynn - Editor, Merritt B. Gerstad - Cinematographer, Raymond Schrock - Screen Story, J.C. Nugent - Screenwriter, Elliott Nugent - Screenwriter, W.L. River - Screenwriter, Dale Van Every - Screenwriter

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