This Man's Navy (1945)

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

. . . are words you seldom hear nowadays. But back in 1945, the U.S. Navy had a whole L.T.A. (lighter-than-air) fleet. These "blimp boys" primarily were engaged in anti-submarine warfare along the U.S. coasts, though they might dabble in other missions, as shown at the end of THIS MAN'S NAVY. Military comedies such as M*A*S*H, STRIPES, DR. STRANGEGLOVE, or TV's HOGAN'S HEROES, McHALE'S NAVY, and F-TROOP tend to pop up during peace time, long after the shooting stops. This was especially true during WWII (1942-45), when the American War Dept. cross-checked EVERY feature film Pre-release against a ten-point checklist to insure that each flick made appropriate advances against the Axis forces. THIS MAN'S NAVY is as close to comedy as the War Censors would allow, with blow-hard main character Ned Trumpet, and his comic foils. Ned bails out of L.T.A.'s over Lakehurst, N.J., and under Japanese fighter plane attack in Southeast Asia, with exactly the same air of light-hearted jauntiness. In Howard Hughes' HELL'S ANGELS, the German dirigible commander orders a dozen of his crewmen to lighten the airship's load by jumping out over enemy England WITHOUT PARACHUTES. The U.S. Blimpers, on the other hand, do not need to resort to such fatal measures to shed ballast: they simply are shown pitching out swivel chairs, filing cabinets, and mini-fridges. THIS MAN'S NAVY proves that the Axis is no match for a nation of Archie Bunkers, Forrest Gumps, and Don Knottses.

"This Man's Navy" is, as other comments have indicated, a rare and well-filmed look at Navy lighter than air (LTA) activities. The LTA crews were justly proud that the convoys they shadowed never lost a ship to submarine attack. And the filming at the various NAS locations give a valuable glimpse at a type of aviation that is long gone. However, the first half of the movie is all about Beery, his relationship with his service pals, and him meeting the Tom Drake character and his mother, and getting Drake's leg fixed. Only then does the second film start. The second film is mostly LTAs in action, taking on a surfaced sub, guys get killed and much damage is caused. The look is fairly gritty and realistic, I imagine. Then we shift to Southeast Asia. Did the Navy have LTAs there? Never mind, this part is really wild, with a blimp being used to extract some downed aircrew from the jungle. And the Japs are shooting like mad. Shades of Vietnam, except the getaway is oh, so leisurely. This is a blimp we're talking about. In the end, a feel-good WWII drama about a very unusual part of the war.

Bunny Comes Home 'This Man's Navy' deserves more credit than it gets, a clever script by Borden Chase, directed by 'Wild Bill' Wellman, the film has just the right feel for early post WW11 euphoria and goodwill, and none of the blind terror that came into play few years later. Produced in 1944, the Japanese defeated, the battle scenes a little déjà vu, Tom Drake's melancholy attraction for radiant young Jan Clayton has solid chemistry, plays real and validates Drake's career at Metro. The following year Jan opened on Broadway in 'Carousel.' Wally Beery, a little bleary-eyed, boasts to an always incredulous Jimmy Gleason… his memories an improvement over reality, and give Beery a Ulysses-like shadow to play against. The Navy LTA (Lighter Than Air) shots are authentic, photographed at Tustin and Lakehurst, and the P-38 squadron is out of March AFB. Lot 3 doubled for India, and Bunny's U-turn… Bunny Comes Home… gives back to Beery an authentic slice of his past, something he had wanted to believe was true… then, the future we spin into again is fantastical… now on a grander scale, a newly designed Navy LTA with launch capabilities for a reconnaissance plane… how expensive, blissfully optimistic… still, "You got to believe in it, that's the way you make things come true…"

Wallace Beery (as Ned Trumpet) is a World War II blimp aviator; his unbelievable war stories have helped earn him the nickname "Old Gas Bag". Though he was never a husband or (presumably) father, Mr. Berry's stories include bragging about the exploits of his talented son; probably, this is to compete with bickering Navy man James Gleason (as Jimmy Shannon). In one of an unbelievable series of happenstances, Berry meets an fatherless young man, Tom Drake (as Jess Weaver), who makes an ideal son. Trouble is, Mr. Drake's character is unable to walk without crutches; so, the crippled man doesn't match the son in Berry's stories. While the film scores points for the inclusion of a disabled character; ultimately, it presents the condition as unworkable. Certainly, Mr. Drake's disability provided him with heroics enough too impress Berry and his Navy friends. The dramatics are highlighted by a couple of exciting battles involving Berry's war blimp; the Japanese submarine attack is particularly good. The best comic scenes are near the end; when, in India, Berry is reunited with a friendly old elephant. ***** This Man's Navy (1/4/45) William A. Wellman ~ Wallace Beery, Tom Drake, James Gleason