You're in the Navy Now (1951)

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

This film might just take you by surprise. After all, in so many films Gary Cooper plays the bigger than life hero. And, in so many WWII films (especially those made during the war), the story is about bigger than life heroes. Well, as a nice change of pace, Cooper plays a woefully unprepared and not especially heroic guy in this war film set during WWII--but made a few years later.The film begins with Cooper receiving his first command of a naval ship. This seems weird to him, as he's only a reserve officer and has zero experience with ships. To make things a LOT worse, it turns out just about everyone on his new ship has no experience either! Heck, they aren't even sure how to take the ship out of port--it's that bad. To make things even worse, the Navy is testing out a new engine--and they've installed it on this ship! They can't help but fail and the film consists of one problem after another trying to get this ship to sea. Overall, an interesting film that actually was pretty entertaining and mildly funny--and I liked that it didn't try hard for jokes but took a more casual approach. It also helped that Cooper had some nice support--with Eddie Arnold, Jack Webb, Millard Mitchell, Ray Collins and many other veteran supporting actors. And, interestingly, the film was a first for three soon to be big names--Lee Marvin, Charley Buchinsky (Charles Bronson) and Jack Warden. Well worth seeing and undemanding fun.

Directed by Henry Hathaway and, in roles big or small, wow, what a cast -- not just Gary Cooper but Jane Greer, Millard Mitchell, Charles Bronson, Jack Warden, Lee Marvin, Richard Erdman, John McIntire, Eddy Albert, Jack Webb, Ed Begley, and George Nader. These names may not mean much to you unless you're a fan of old movies, in which case they collectively look like a pantheon.And all of them thrown together in what must be one of the least amusing service comedies ever made. Who greenlighted this machine-processed monstrosity? The writer, Richard Murphy, should have had sense enough to abort the project, having himself been responsible for some impressive screenplays earlier, like "Panic in the Streets." The plot involves engineer Gary Cooper being transferred from his desk job to the command of a submarine chaser designed as a test bed for a new super-steam engine. The three other officers are all as green as he is. The crew are cheeky and contemptuous of the USS Teakettle.There are a few funny moments towards the end, when "the throttle gets stuck" and the ship rushes at high speed around the port, barely passing under bridges that are hastily being opened, while men run around in a frenzy, finally smashing into an aircraft carrier. The humor is exceeded in several Laurel and Hardy efforts.No sense going into it further. A sad waste of time and talent.

This movie is a very comical look at an actual incident that happened in the US Navy during World War II.* Warning -- Spoiler * Gary Cooper plays Lieutenant John W. Harkness, a naval reserve officer who, because the Navy was short of officers, went through their crash course on how to be an officer. On receiving his commission, he finds he has the unfortunate luck of being assigned to one of the Navy's "experiments" -- a sub chaser powered by an experimental steam engine. Due to his degree in mechanical engineering, or perhaps because of it, Lt. Harkness is the only person on board who knows anything about steam engines.Dubbed the "USS Teakettle," a nom de plume intended by the rest of the Navy as a slur against the ship, the crew takes the name and runs with it. Unfortunately, the ship is plagued with problems from the get go, and Lt. Harkness and his crew become the butt of many jokes. The crew manages to redeem themselves only through a base-sponsored boxing match.The "coup de grace" occurs when the Teakettle is on another test run with the program's commander, Rear Admiral L. C. Tennant. After completing a successful run, the throttles on the steam engine freeze wide open, causing the ship to slough through the harbor waters at break-neck speeds until it finally comes to rest smashed against an aircraft carrier. Honor is finally satisfied, however, when the Admiral proclaims the experiment a failure and refits the ship with a diesel engine.This movie is full of hilarious sequences and scenes of a ship commander who'd rather be someplace else.The movie stars Gary Cooper, Jane Greer, Edward Albert, Ray Collins, Jack Webb and Henry Slate. Directed by Henry Hathaway.

I was able to see this movie years after my uncle told me about his ship with the steam engines. I believe this was the first movie for a few of the cast who later became well known names. The ship was nicknamed the "Tea Kettle" and I believe the crew did have a morale problem. The cast, at least, made a huge effort to entertain.