Shipmates Forever

I first saw this film over 40 years ago and viewing it again it was as good as I remember it. The team that brought you Flirtation Walk, director Frank Borzage and stars Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler did even better in my opinion with their film about a Naval Midshipman at Annapolis and his lady love.

Like Flirtation Walk, both Powell and Keeler come from service families. But Powell's a disappointment to his father, Admiral Lewis Stone. He's a crooner on the radio and from what we see is making a pretty good living at it. Still a combination of persuasive techniques by Stone and Keeler get him to follow in the Naval tradition of his family.

For reasons I don't understand Ruby did not dance a step in Flirtation Walk, but she makes up for it here. It was a weakness in the other film that is now remedied.

Dick Powell got two lovely ballads to sing, I'd Rather Listen To Your Eyes and I'd Love to Take Orders from You. Possibly because he was changing record companies from Brunswick to Decca in 1935 he didn't record either of those songs commercially. That's a pity because he does them so well.

What he did record was the song Don't Give Up the Ship with an orchestra and choral background. That song had a lot of popularity, so much so that the Naval Academy at Annapolis adopted it as their official song, something I'm sure Dick Powell and songwriters Harry Warren and Al Dubin must have been proud of.

Like he did with Flirtation Walk, Frank Borzage got to do some location shooting for Shipmates Forever at Annapolis and on the battleship, USS Pennsylvania. It certainly made for a far more realistic setting than in most Thirties films.

Unlike Flirtation Walk which was more upbeat, Shipmates Forever has the death of one of Powell's classmates which certainly lent a somber, but more realistic note to the proceedings.

Ross Alexander, Eddie Acuff, and John Arledge play Powell's roommates and all do good jobs in roles they are usually typecast in. Shipmates Forever is one of Dick Powell's best Warner Brothers musicals from the Thirties and its charm is eternal.

While this film has a few very familiar clichés and Dick Powell is way too old to play a college freshman, it is an enjoyable film....and one I recommend.

When the film begins, Dick (Dick Powell) is visiting his father, the Admiral (Lewis Stone). Their meeting is a bit tense, as the Admiral longs for his son to join the Navy and make a man of himself. Dick is more content to be a successful singer. Additionally, Dick's lady (Ruby Keeler) likes that Dick isn't in the Navy, as her family has a long naval history...and she's lost a couple close loved ones during the war. Inexplicably, Dick suddenly reverses himself and joins the Naval Academy!! This DEFINITELY came from out of no where and soon he's in Annapolis doing everything but going to classes. Like most college films of the era, they never show any of the men going to classes! Instead, Dick is hazed and he remains aloof from the other cadets. After all, he has no intention of staying in the Navy for long. And, not surprisingly, the Admiral is ashamed to call him his son. Can Dick redeem himself and gain a sense of camaraderie? Or will he remain a bit of a butt-head? What do you think?

This film follows a very familiar pattern seen in many film (such as "A Yank at Eton" and even "A Chump at Oxford" to an extent). But it manages to do it very well...better than I'd expected. Much of this is due to Powell's nice performance and much of it is the nice location shooting...aboard ships and at the Academy. Worth seeing even if the picture is a bit dated and predictable.

There's a lot to like in SHIPMATES FOREVER, but it's really a treat for DICK POWELL's fans with him singing a batch of songs (only a couple are really catchy), with generous close-ups of pert and pretty RUBY KEELER as the gal who can't make up her mind about the sailor she loves.

Keeler is only given a couple of tapping moments, which is fine with me. I have to agree with the book "Warner Bros. Presents" which describes her as "conspicuously untalented" but managing to be "endearing" nevertheless.

It's the formula story about a young man whose father is a Navy veteran (LEWIS STONE) and thinks his son should follow in his footsteps. The son happens to be a popular radio crooner who only half-heartedly joins the service just to prove that he can pass the officer's exam. The predictable plot follows a standard course with the boy winning the love of the girl by the time we reach the final reel.

Powell gets to demonstrate that he had a flair for carrying a tune although his voice is nothing remarkable. He's pleasant to watch and handles the acting chores with professional ease.

I can't say the same for ROSS Alexander who mugs through his role as comedy relief, but JOHN ARLEDGE does a fine job as an ill-fated sailor friend who attempts to put out a boiler room fire.

Touches of drama are better than the humorous interludes, so it's an uneven film, to say the least, directed by Frank Borzage who usually does much more sentimental romances than patriotic musicals like this one.

'Shipmates Forever' shares the same flaws and strengths of 'Flirtation Walk' with the same lead actors and director, but due to having better pacing and choreography 'Flirtation Walk' is the better film if only just.

Like 'Flirtation Walk', the weak link is the story, which is wafer-thin and goes well overboard on the simplicity. One says that musical-comedies shouldn't be seen for the story, but as 'Shipmates Forever' is heavier on story rather than on the musical material and production numbers it is harder to ignore it. Again, like 'Flirtation Walk', Frank Borzage tends to make heavy weather of it, meaning that the pace does drag outside of the songs and the energy is not as light-on-its-feet as it should have been. The patriotic tone is sometimes laid on too thick too.

The songs are very pleasant, with the highlights between "Don't Give Up the Ship" and particularly "I'd Rather Listen to Your Eyes", but there are more timeless and more memorable songs. The film is very scant on production numbers and what little there is is literally crying out for the involvement of Busby Berkeley who would have directed them with much more energy and imagination.

However, 'Shipmates Forever' while not lavish still looks handsome and colourful as well as skilfully photographed. The script is smart and amusing, if a little too frothy in places.

Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell are immensely likable and their chemistry is incredibly charming and a large part of the film's appeal. The rest of the performances are also good, with a fine supporting turn from John Arledge and a nicely quirky one from Ross Alexander.

On the whole, a lesser Keeler-Powell film but still very much watchable. 6/10 Bethany Cox

An enjoyable if slightly sappy movie with a fairly standard plot line.

Notably, the song from this film "Shipmates Stand Together" is still performed as part of a medley by the US Naval Academy Men's Glee Club.

Speaking about the music from the film, the US Military Academy's Alma Mater (that's Navy's gridiron rival West Point!) is used as background music at least three times, including in the closing scene.

Interesting goof, possibly intentional?

The scenes dealing with the upperclassmen "rating" the Plebes are fun; they are different in detail but not in quality from what goes on at the Academy even today.

Of the movies available on VHS or DVD about the Naval Academy, I would rank this about in the middle:

1. Navy Blue and Gold (1937) 2. Midshipman Jack (1933) 3. Shipmates Forever 4. An Annapolis Story (1955) - pretty bad. 5. Annapolis (2006) - truly dreadful.