Navy Blues (1941 film)

Last updated
Navy Blues
Navy Blues (1941 film) poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Lloyd Bacon
Screenplay by Jerry Wald
Richard Macaulay
Arthur T. Horman
Sam Perrin
Story by Arthur T. Horman
Produced by Jerry Wald
Jack Saper
(associate producers)
Starring Ann Sheridan
Jack Oakie
Martha Raye
Jack Haley
Navy Blues Sextet
Herbert Anderson
Jack Carson
Jackie C. Gleason
Cinematography Tony Gaudio, A.S.C.
dance sequences:
Sol Polito, A.S.C.
James Wong Howe, A.S.C.
Edited by Rudi Fehr
Music by Arthur Schwartz
Johnny Mercer
(music and lyrics)
Leo F. Forbstein
(musical director)
Production
company
Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures Inc.
Release date
  • September 13, 1941 (1941-09-13)
Running time
108 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$929,000 [1]
Box office$1,826,000 [1]

Navy Blues is a 1941 American musical comedy film directed by Lloyd Bacon and written by Jerry Wald, Richard Macaulay, Arthur T. Horman and Sam Perrin. The film stars Ann Sheridan, Jack Oakie, Martha Raye, Jack Haley, Herbert Anderson, Jack Carson and Jackie Gleason (billed as "Jackie C. Gleason" in his screen debut). The film was released by Warner Bros. on September 13, 1941. [2] [3]

Contents

Plot

"Honolulu ...where "Aloha" means goodbye, and "Shore Leave" means trouble..."
Margie Jordan and her friend Lilibelle Bolton arrive in Honolulu, much to the surprise of Lillibelle's former husband, Powerhouse Bolton, a sailor who is behind on the alimony he owes her.

In need of money, Powerhouse and his shipmate Cake O'Hara come up with a scheme. Learning that the crew is about to include Homer Matthews, a marksman, they make bets with practically everybody aboard on how a shooting competition will turn out. They are then stunned when it turns out Homer's going home, his service hitch being up before the contest.

Although he misses the family farm, Homer falls in love with Margie and wants to marry her but Powerhouse and Cake fib to him that Margie's only interested in his shooting skill. Homer re-enlists, wins the contest and wins Margie, too, while Lilibelle grabs the prize money before Powerhouse can.

Cast

Production

Johnny Mercer wrote the song "Strip Polka" for use in the film, but film censor Joseph Breen objected to the moral tone of the lyrics, so the song was not used. [4] [5] [6]

Box office

According to Warner Bros. records, the film earned $1,243,000 in the U.S. and $583,000 elsewhere. [1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Warner Bros financial information in The William Schaefer Ledger. See Appendix 1, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, (1995) 15:sup1, 1-31 p 22 DOI: 10.1080/01439689508604551
  2. ↑ "Navy Blues (1941) - Overview". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on September 17, 2011. Retrieved 2015-04-20.
  3. ↑ Crowther, Bosley (1941-09-20). "Movie Review - - ' Navy Blues,' Warners Musical, Is Warped Into the Strand - 'General Suvorov' at the Stanley". The New York Times . Retrieved 2015-04-20.
  4. ↑ Eskew, Glenn T. (2013-11-15). Johnny Mercer: Southern Songwriter for the World. University of Georgia Press. ISBN   978-0-8203-3330-4.
  5. ↑ Zimmers, Tighe E. (2021-05-07). That's Entertainment: A Biography of Broadway Composer Arthur Schwartz. McFarland. ISBN   978-1-4766-7881-8.
  6. ↑ Mercer, Johnny; Kimball, Robert; Day, Barry; Kreuger, Miles; Davis, Eric (2009-10-20). The Complete Lyrics of Johnny Mercer. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN   978-0-307-26519-7.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.