Cinema Revisited: Navy Blues (1937)
Navy Blues
Directed by Ralph Staub. Cast: Dick Purcell, Mary Brian, Warren Hymer, Joe Sawyer, Edward Woods, Horace McMahon, Chester Clute, Lucille Gleason, Carleton Young.
Released March 29, 1937. Running time: 68 minutes
Rusty is a sharp talking Navy man who bets his three buddies that he can date any girl they pick out. They choose Doris, a myopic, bookish librarian. He accepts the challenge and gets to know the girl by randomly choosing an Algebra book to read. Rusty soon discovers he has a rival in the equally sedate and spectacled Julian. Julian is actually a criminal whose code is found in that same Algebra book. He kidnaps Doris who manages to escape and foil Julian and his gang’s plan to assassinate a Prince. Rusty, of course, wins his bet.
A delightful B movie from the always reliable Republic Pictures, “Navy Blues” is a briskly paced comedy filled with reliable character actors at the top of their game. Such films were common during the 1930s and 1940s, but were popular and continue to hold up remarkably well. Dick Purcell, whose potential never really reached its zenith, exudes the sort of wry charisma that sustains the film’s rather standard narrative, and the support he gets from the navy buddies played by the always welcome Warren Hymer, Joe Sawyer and Horace McMahon further enlivens the proceedings. Mary Brian is perfect as the bookish Doris, who reveals herself to be quite attractive without the frumpy conservative manner of dress and glasses.
It is perhaps Edward Woods who offers the standout performance because he is cast so much against type. Best known today as James Cagney’s buddy in the classic “Public Enemy” (1931), Woods teeters effectively between the owlishly staid character he presents to Doris, and the murderous criminal he actually is.
Ralph Staub is a curious choice for director, his having helmed very few features in his career (Manchurian Mystery, Country Gentlemen). His real forte was documentary filmmaking, as he directed the popular Screen Snapshots series for Columbia Pictures. But this isn’t the sort of film where the direction offers a particular method or style. Even the plot is rather perfunctory. It is the snappy dialog and charisma of the characters that stand out, and make this production a delightful experience.
A B movie designed for inclusion on the second half of a double bill, “Navy Blues” was nevertheless produced with a great deal of care and commitment from its actors. And it isn’t just the snappy dialog, but the nuance of the actors as well. When Rusty first accepts the bet and gets a good look at bookish Doris, his negative expression is brief but priceless. When she sheds her frumpy trappings, Rusty’s buddies refuse to believe this attractive lady is really the librarian. Rusty borrows Julian’s glasses, puts them on Doris and gestures to the boys, whose shocked reactions are delightfully funny. As Warren Hymer states, "when he put the cheaters back on it was a panic!" Hymer, Joe Sawyer, and Horace McMahon were quite adept at playing dramatic or comedic roles and bolster their scenes effectively. Hymer’s confusing the term Intelligence Officer with the phrase “an intelligent officer” is hilarious.
Well received by audiences at the time of its initial release, “Navy Blues” holds up as a great example of how much fun can be had from a low budget second feature during Hollywood’s Golden Age.