You're in the Navy Now (1951)

Director:

Henry Hathaway

Writers:

John W. Hazard (magazine article) and
Richard Murphy (writer)

Release Date:

16 May 1951 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | War

Tagline:

Hilarious Comedy About A Snafu Ship !

Plot:

When a new commander is assigned to a submarine chaser with an experimental engine, he finds the entire crew has as little experience as he does.

Plot Keywords:

Steam Engine | 90 Day Wonder | Draftee | Admiral | Based On Article

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Gary Cooper	...	Lt. John W. Harkness
Jane Greer	...	Ellie C. Harkness
Millard Mitchell	...	George Larrabee
Eddie Albert	...	Lt. Bill Barron
John McIntire	...	Cmdr. W. R. Reynolds
Ray Collins	...	Rear Adm. L. C. Tennant
Harry von Zell	...	Capt. 'Danny' Eliot (as Harry Von Zell)
Jack Webb	...	Ens. Anthony 'Tony' Barbo
Richard Erdman	...	Ens. Chuck Dorrance
Harvey Lembeck	...	Norelli
Henry Slate	...	Chief Engineer Ryan
Ed Begley	...	Port Commander

Also Known As:

U.S.S. Teakettle (USA) (alternative title)

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Harvey Lembeck's first film.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene where they are rolling depth charges off the aft deck during a drill, Lee Marvin is first seen as a radio man on the bridge, then after a cut, he is on the aft deck with the depth charge crew.

Quotes:

Adm. Tennant: [Exiting engine room] I've never seen anything like it in my whole life!
Ryan: We keep it running, sir.
Adm. Tennant: Yeah, Yeah, you can also hang upside-down with your belt from a doorknob and kick the transom open with your feet, but I don't recommend it Chief.

Soundtrack:

Yours (Quiereme Mucho)

Teakettle Fun

This is a typical Gary Cooper vehicle where he gets placed in a sudden leadership role and has to rally the men who serve him. It's worked well in his other films and does so here. What I really enjoyed is all the actors who would later go on to enjoy their own careers like Eddie Arnold, Charles Bronson, Jack Webb, and even Lee Marvin. A great look at some of the less glorious aspects of navy service during WWII. So many films showcase the expertise or the hardened battle-weary sailors, but this movie showed how many sailors found themselves to be "90 day wonders", meaning they were pulled out from being civilians and trained quickly to serve. This movie showed that the average Joe (and Jill) truly did his or her part in winning the war.