You're in the Navy Now

Good Movie

Gary Cooper is not generally known for his comedic roles, however his straight face as the captain of an experimental sub chaser during WWII adds to the fun this film generates. Ably supported by Eddie Albert, Jack Webb, Harvey Lembeck, Millard Mitchell et al, this is one of my all time favorites. Picked to prove the workability of a new type of steam engine as their propulsion unit, the crew does everything in it's power to make the "Beast" work, (by approved (or otherwise) means. While broken down in the middle of Chesapeake Bay in the middle of the night, the crew sights a tanker who they immediately signal for help by lamp. Their reply is quick in coming, not by signal lamp, but by a round from the tankers deck gun! The tug that keeps towing them back to base keeps a scorecard on it's deck house showing how many times the "U.S.S. Teakettle" has been brought home. Towards the end of the film, they finally get the "Beast" to work only to find that their throttles are frozen and they can't slow down! What follows is hilarious. This is a must see film! It hasn't lost it's punch over the years!

Gary Cooper plays an experienced engineer with no navy experience guiding an inexperienced crew through testing an unassuming vessel with an experimental power plant. The cast includes Charles Bronson, Jack Webb, Eddie Albert and others trying to make sense of an assignment which would test even the most experienced crew. Nice time capsule with scenes of an old navy yard bringing to life the vitality and sophistication of the military which won the war. The military culture unwittingly provides subtle humor and Cooper's relationship with his wife provides insight into a solid marriage which weathers personal and military distractions. Gary Cooper is one of my favorite actors and he doesn't disappoint as a good man trying to wade through an unfamiliar military culture and engineering snafus.

This little comedy is based upon an actual incident of World War II. In an effort to get more speed out of some of its ships, the Navy tries an experiment using a modernized steam engine. Steam does prove to be capable of giving higher speeds but the problem is with getting enough fresh water to make the steam. A new design is tried to try and solve this problem but there is a war on and not many experience officers are available to conduct the trials.Enter Gary Cooper. He plays an engineer who has been commissioned as a reserve officer. He has not real experience in ship handling but is assigned to command the experimental ship. He is not too worried at first. He figures he can rely on experience officers and crew and devote himself to the engineering problem. Unfortunately for him, the only experienced sailor is the bosun. All of the rest, officers and crew, are short time reservists. This leads to a slew of comedic situations.It's a fun and light hearted comedy worth the viewing.

Although this movie doesn't include a lot of humor, it is a clean movie, enjoyable and worth watching. No death or gory battles occur, simply a light-hearted but fine tale about an inexperienced navy officer and equally green crew doing tests on a new steam engine.

Advertised as a comedy, but lacking in much humor, this film is based on real-life events. The Navy, in an effort to increase ship speed develops a sub chaser with a steam engine. Then, almost as if wanting the experiment to fail, selects an almost totally inexperienced crew to test the prototype. Gary Cooper, also lacking in Navy experience, is selected to command the ship, apparently solely because he has an engineering degree. Largely devoid of plot or enemy action, the film consists of the crew experiencing various mishaps as they test the ship on multiple trial runs. Participation in a Navy boxing contest seems irrelevant and designed to just add minutes to the movie. When the crew finally gets a night of liberty looks like an opportunity for some laughs, but turns out to be a dud, as most of the crew don't seem to know what to do during their liberty. I have seen a lot of WWII movies but had never heard of this movie until I discovered it on Amazon. Given its cast, it didn't live up to my expectations, but it has been given a large number of 4 and 5-star ratings, so perhaps it is just a difference in taste for what is funny.

The PC1168 was a Naval Reserve training ship stationed at The Navy Yard, Washington, D.C.. As a Naval Reservist I did have my turn at being on this ship: Nicked named "USS TEAKETTLE" as result of the Movie 'You're In The Navy Now". Later I was stationed in the NavyYard where I served my active duty in the Potomac River Naval Command.

Once again, I'm done in by glowing reviews posted here. I bought this DVD based on their recommendations. I should start paying more attention to the negative reviews.The first rule of comedy....it has to be funny, or, at the very least, amusing. This was anything but humorous. This was just a run-of-the-mill pseudo-war movie about supposed hijinks on the high seas. At its core, it's a lackluster tale of incompetence on every level, as a crew of neophytes struggle to make a steam engine work on a ship. How anyone thought that had comedy written all over it is beyond me. I blame the writer on this (the director, Henry Hathaway, has also done better work). As for the cast, Jack Webb stood out as a sarcastic engineering officer with no training. Eddie Albert was also enjoyable as a good natured, overly optimistic Lieutenant who looked at everything with unwarranted glee. It was also great to see Ray Collins (Rear Admiral L.E. Tennant) in something other than Perry Mason. I don't fault any of the actors here. This was a story with nowhere to go, utilizing pieces seen in many other films (and a lot better). I not only didn't laugh, I couldn't even raise a smile as I watched this film. It was just so ordinary, watchable, but nothing spectacular. It was nothing I'd ever want to see again, so it wasn't a keeper.