In the Navy (1941), 7-

Russ Raymond, America's number one crooner, disappears and joins the Navy under the name Tommy Halstead. Dorothy Roberts, a magazine journalist, is intent on finding out what happened to ... 
1h 26min | Comedy, Musical, Romance | 30 May 1941
Director: Arthur Lubin
Stars: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Dick Powell, Andrews Sisters, Condos Brothers.


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033754/

Calling this Romance is a big stretch. The closest we get is that the photographer who's been chasing DP ends up proposing to him, because his fans won't chase a married man, and then they kiss. Otherwise, LC is pursuing Patty Andrews, but this is also not personal, only his feelings as a fan overdeveloping into supposed love. The only time he spends with her is in a dream sequence, and there her sisters are present, and he's pretending to be the captain, actually ordering the movement of the ship. (The dvd Production Notes said the Navy objected to this sequence, and so they altered it to be a dream. The photography of the ships about to crash into each other was pretty good; I can see why the Navy objected.)

When I saw Dick Powell in the opening credits, I beamed. I didn't realize how much I liked him until he disappeared. (In fact, I should analyze the musicals since the last great BB/Warner film, and see where the whole studio stands among musical films.) The last DP musical I watched was Going Places ('38), which earned a 5+, so the last good DP musical was Hollywood Hotel ('37) which earned a 6+. Just in case '38 sounds like not long ago, I watched GP on Dec 26 (today is Jan 20), and HH on Dec 10. Or measured another way: I've watched 80 musicals (plus 13 non-musicals) since GP, and another 34+1 back to HH. Contrast that with 1933-37, where he was in at least 3 musicals per year.

Here DP sings some songs, provides some comedy, including physical chases (I didn't watch closely enough to determine how much was him vs. stuntman.) So he definitely elevates the film.

The Andrews Sisters songs here aren't so famous as when we got Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy and Apple Blossom Time in the same film, but their songs are good. The tropical one with bongos on their hips showed that they were not bongo players. We did get some ensemble dancing before their appearance, with some hula dancers swaying at the feast.

In the Tap! Appendix for the other dance sequence, the jewel of the film in Ch 12, ~52:30: the Condos Brothers tapping their feet off during an on-deck show for the officers and crew. They were in regular sailor suits, and may have looked the most comfortable I've seen them. Their arm movements were much less stiff/self-conscious than prior outings. They were listed onscreen in both the opening and closing credits as merely Condos Brothers, not Frank and Harry as they are in IMDb. Here are Nick & Steve in Wake Up and Live '37 top row, and In the Navy below.

From the dvd's production notes, the A&C routines here are The Lemon Bit (shell game with lemons instead of peas), 7x13=28, and Sons of Neptune. The last was extra fun because A&C kept breaking up... with a mouthful of water each. I think they lost it at least 3 times, refilling each time, the deck of the ship getting wetter and wetter. But you could really see they were out of character for a while, and that's fun in small doses.

This would have been a great recruiting film for the Navy. You're on a big ship, looks real masculine, but you've got tons of leisure time for talent shows on ship and luaus in the tropics.

The accumulation of pleasures: Powell, Condos, Andrews, A&C breaking up, the crazy naval maneuvers ... it summed up well. Extra nice, since this is the film that made me first consider buying the A&C set. I won't say this is worth the full cost (~$33 with tax/ship), but at least a third.

Universal, dir. Lubin; 7-