Wow---am I really the first person to comment on this film?!

Republic Studios, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Mary Brian and Dick Purcell in Navy Blues (1937)

Mary Brian, Horace McMahon, Dick Purcell, and Joe Sawyer in Navy Blues (1937)

Dick Purcell

Mary Brian

Warren Hymer

Gordon Kahn

Eric Taylor

When Navy shipmates Russell J. &quot;Rusty&quot; Gibbs, Gerald &quot;Biff&quot; Jones, Chips and Gateleg go on shore leave, lady-killer Rusty is challenged by his friends to take dowdy librarian Doris Kimbell to the Crow&apos;s Nest Cafe, a popular Navy h...

Ralph Staub

Navy Blues

This navy comedy concerns the adventures of several men on shore leave--and in particular, Dick Purcell as he woos a bookish librarian in order to win a bet. However, his lying and scheming to get the girl has unintended consequences--he actually does fall for the girl and he gets mixed up with a group of spies! I have never seen this film on television nor have I seen it on video. The way I learned about it was finding a public domain copy on the internet that I was able to copy and show on my DVD player. I&apos;ve tried this with quite a few films lately and most of them were pretty bad, so I know why they are in the public domain and free to copy. However, this film really isn&apos;t bad at all and compared to other military comedies it&apos;s actually better than most. That&apos;s because although it had a modest budget, it was written very well and had many cute twists and turns you wouldn&apos;t normally expect from a B-movie.

An interesting note is that one of the sailors is played by Joe Sawyer who made a name for himself a few years later playing Sgt. Ames in Hal Roach military comedies along with William Tracy. The character he plays in this film is very similar to the one he played for Roach.

This navy comedy concerns the adventures of several men on shore leave--and in particular, Dick Purcell as he woos a bookish librarian in order to win a bet. However, his lying and scheming to get the girl has unintended consequences--he actually does fall for the girl and he gets mixed up with a group of spies! I have never seen this film on television nor have I seen it on video. The way I learned about it was finding a public domain copy on the internet that I was able to copy and show on my DVD player. I've tried this with quite a few films lately and most of them were pretty bad, so I know why they are in the public domain and free to copy. However, this film really isn't bad at all and compared to other military comedies it's actually better than most. That's because although it had a modest budget, it was written very well and had many cute twists and turns you wouldn't normally expect from a B-movie.

An interesting note is that one of the sailors is played by Joe Sawyer who made a name for himself a few years later playing Sgt. Ames in Hal Roach military comedies along with William Tracy. The character he plays in this film is very similar to the one he played for Roach.

When Navy shipmates Russell J. "Rusty" Gibbs, Gerald "Biff" Jones, Chips and Gateleg go on shore leave, lady-killer Rusty is challenged by his friends to take dowdy librarian Doris Kimbell to the Crow's Nest Cafe, a popular Navy hangout. Accepting the bet, Rusty is soon at the library trying to romance an unimpressed Doris. As a cover, Rusty checks out a book on algebra in which Doris' beau, Julian Everett, is unusually interested. The two men escort Doris home, where Rusty receives a chilly reception from Doris' aunt, Beulah Wayne, who disapproves of common sailors. Rusty lies to them, saying that he is a candidate for Annapolis, although actually he is too old, and Doris is impressed enough to go walking on the beach with him the next day. He makes another date with her, but Chips and Gateleg tell the family the truth about Rusty not really being an Annapolis candidate. When Rusty goes to pick up Doris, she gives him the cold shoulder, but he lies to her again, telling her that he is in Naval Intelligence. Doris believes him and goes with him to the Crow's Nest, where Chips, Gateleg and Biff are stunned by the transformation Rusty has worked on the now beautiful Doris. Rusty wins his bet and leaves the cafe with Doris, but not before Julian, who really is a spy, overhears that Rusty is in intelligence. The next day, Julian and his cohorts, Dr. Crowley and Lawson, discuss their fear that Rusty may have solved their secret code, which is contained in the algebra book he borrowed from Doris' library. Meanwhile, on board the ship, Rusty's commanding officer asks the Washington, D.C. branch of Naval Intelligence to investigate Rusty, after which a real intelligence officer searches Rusty's locker and finds the secret code. Rusty keeps a date with Doris, during which he tries to tell her the truth about himself and that he loves her, but when Biff tells her about the bet, she runs away. While Rusty is trying to make up with Doris, Naval officers search for him, as they now suspect him of being involved in a plot to murder an important foreign nobleman. Rusty is kidnapped by Lawson and taken to Crowley's office, where he is interrogated about the book. After learning nothing from Rusty, Julian kidnaps Doris and then her uncle Andrew. Crowley receives another code book and deciphers a telegram about the nobleman's arrival, then leaves with Lawson to assassinate him, after which Rusty uses a lamp to signal his ship's officers to protect the nobleman. Rusty frees himself, struggles with Julian and then goes to the airport with Doris, Andrew and his pals. At the airport, Crowley and Lawson are captured just as the nobleman's plane is landing. Later, Rusty is rewarded with a promotion to warrant officer, and receives Beulah and Andrew's approval of his upcoming marriage to Doris.

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