Navy Blues

William Haines, the eternal mischief maker, strikes again as a sailor on two-day leave who after much effort sweeps innocent young Anita Page off her feet. There isn't much to this routine boy-meets-girl story other than another manic performance by Haines, whose antics admittedly are a matter of taste, and the winsome presence of Page, who is given relatively little to do but react to her dominant male co-star. Three Fred Ahlert-Roy Turk songs are featured: the title song – the least of the bunch - which is sung at various points by individuals and a poorly miked large ensemble, as well as snatches of "Mean to Me" and "I'll Get By" played by dance bands. The shipboard sequences with Haines, Karl Dane and others, intended as rowdy comedy, may have amused audiences in 1929 but they drag now, though Haines does manage to squeeze some laughs out of the material through sheer persistence.

As a happy-go-lucky sailor who woos, leaves, and returns to sweet, low-class Anita Page, William Haines plays what he always plays, and it hasn't worn well. What may have been charming and cheeky in 1929 now comes across as self-centered and smug, with Haines' character making unfunny jokes, hitting up his Navy pal (the equally unwatchable Karl Dane) for loans he doesn't intend to pay back, avoiding responsibility, and playing a love'-em-and-leave-'em cad. Despite what we now know about Haines, he's a convincing ladies' man--just not very appealing. Clarence Brown directs with a more mobile camera than most 1929 talkies boasted, and the Navy footage is interesting historically. And Page, with an emotional scene or two, acquits herself nicely. But all these characters just seem kind of simpleminded, and we're not particularly rooting for these two to end up together, whatever the screenplay is telling us.

After the success of the silent film SPEEDWAY in 1929, William Haines made his starring talkie debut in NAVY BLUES with Anita Page, who was fresh from her success in THE Broadway MELODY.

Haines plays a sailor on leave on who Page at a local dance. They have a whirlwind romance but his brash personality alienates her family and she is thrown out of the house. Haines takes her to a boarding house; she expects him to marry her but he abandons her and goes back to sea. After a few months he gets leave and goes looking for her, knowing he made a huge mistake. She's working as a dance hall girl (read prostitute), but he finds her and rescues her. Happy ending.

Haines is terrific here, a natural comic with his silly-billy antics. He loses none of his charm transferring from silents to talkies. And when the moment calls for dramatics, he's ready. Haines was a huge star in his day and NAVY BLUES was a solid hit for him.

Co-stars include Karl Dane in one of his best talkies roles, Edythe Chapman, J.C. Nugent, Jack Pennick, Wade Boteler, and Richard Tucker.

...because 5/10 seems too low and 6/10 seems too high.

MGM was late to the sound film game, and this movie released in December 1929 was the first sound film for MGM stars WIlliam Haines, Anita Page, and supporting player Karl Dane. In Dane's case it would be not only his first sound film but the biggest role he'd have in sound films before his career took a permanent and tragic downturn.

All of the sailors on Jack Kelly's (William Haines's) ship are being made to go to a dance being put on by some middle-aged society ladies. Most of the women there are considered very unattractive by Jack, but one stands out - Alice Brown (Anita Page). They have a pretty good time at the dance and a great time just spending time together the next day as well, but when Jack takes Alice home he confronts Mrs. Brown who hates sailors for some reason never explained and orders him to leave. Alice says she is leaving with Jack as she is sick of being treated like a child and that she is going to marry Jack. This puts Jack in a bind as he has always been a love-em-and-leave-em kind of guy, and marriage was not something he was planning on. Complications ensue.

This film is probably going to be of interest mainly to early sound film buffs as it has all of the signs of a studio grasping for a formula that works in a new medium. For example, one curious feature is some strange editing. In three or four scenes, when the actors walk off screen, there is a long pause between switching shots leaving only a blank room to look at for what seems a very long time. This usually happened at the very end of reels before the days of printed-in cue marks, especially with sound-on-disk, with several seconds of extra footage after the scene ends in case the projectionist is slow on making the changeover.

Another strange feature is just one song - "Navy Blues" - being sung or played throughout the film - by a group of unusually harmonious sailors, by an organ grinder, and by an orchestra at a dance hall. Maybe MGM didn't have much of a music budget after pulling out all of the stops for Broadway Melody?

A silly, irresponsible sailor gives his new girlfriend a bad case of the NAVY BLUES when he loves her & leaves her, instead of offering marriage.

Carrying on the Silly Billy antics he perfected in silent pictures, William Haines made his talkie feature debut in this piece of cinematic fluff, released 5 days before Christmas, 1929. He would play variations of this character throughout the rest of his screen career. Just as important, in NAVY BLUES he showed himself well capable of being a talkie star. Although he acts like a complete cad, he does so with a certain amount of boyish charm, and that's what made money for the studios. And the very next year, 1930, Haines would be Hollywood's male box office champ.

The plot doesn't stand up to much scrutiny. Haines' wild & flamboyant behavior, quite frankly, would make him a good candidate for a 'don't ask - don't tell' policy, and a frequent inhabitant of the brig. His eventual rehabilitation seems suspiciously superficial. Anita Page, as his disappointed sweetheart, seems a bit too easily pushed into prostitution. Karl Dane, as a hulking Swede seaman, is given little to do except act exceedingly simple-minded.

Still, in the final accounting this is William Haines' film, and although his character is slightly repellent, Haines is never less than amusing.