Give Me a Sailor

A fine example of screwball farce, SAILOR showcases the unique and variegated talents of irrepressible Martha Raye as one of a pair of Larkin sisters, each of whom is after one of a pair of U. S. Navy Brewster brothers, and the question soon arises as to which of the possible pairings will ensue. Paramount, developing a Bob Hope/Raye team, casts Hope in his third feature for the studio as Jim Brewster, with Jack Whiting as brother Walter, each angling for the glamourous one of the Larkins, Nancy (Betty Grable), a competition which began when all four were youngsters. Raye portrays Nancy's sister Letty, who has agreed to assist Jim in garnering her sister's affection in return for his aid in winning the heart of Walter who is ignorant of the machinations about him, none of which is terribly complex for what is, after all, a musical comedy. Raye performs one of the five Ralph Rainger/Leo Robin songs, as does Grable (with Whiting), but it is Letty's gorgeous legs that win for her first prize in a national photo contest, ironic in light of Grable's pinup popularity, due to her own shapely stems, with American fighting men during World War II. Walter eventually notices Letty because of her new celebrity status, and the usually rather rambunctious singing comedienne has an opportunity to show him why he is mistaken in preferring her sister. Of the three films which Raye and Grable made together, this is perhaps the most blithe, and a scene wherein Letty uses overmuch facial masking which hardens to her deliciously acted consternation, draws gales of laughter wherever the picture is shown. Although we find Hope playing second lead to Raye, he plays his part with his normal aplomb and his comedic timing is impeccable as always, although his ad libbing is minimal. Leroy Prinz is responsible for the interesting choreography, and a splendid novelty scene has Grable singing "What Goes On Here In My Heart" while dancing with a collection of eager-to-please partners. Clarence Kolb, as the commanding officer of the Brewsters, is impressive as ever, and Director Elliott Nugent is able to call upon his father J.C. to perform as the Larkins' sire. Consistent with the director's customary panache and rapid pacing, SAILOR offers many treats, musical and otherwise, with the important editing function neatly handled by the generally overlooked William Shea.

This screwball musical doesn't have many songs, and the comedy isn't very good, despite the talented cast. I was psyched to see Raye top-billed, but she plays a sad-sack Cinderella here, the sweet if homely and put-upon sister to manipulative, shallow and vain Grable-so the former is less funny and the latter less appealing than usual. Bob Hope is in his snarky comfort zone, but with so many other characters (including his brother/rival Jack Whiting) also being disagreeable and self-absorbed, he comes off as just another jerk rather than a likable wiseguy.

Raye gets a couple chances to show off her surprisingly pretty voice on non-comedic numbers, but her usual brass is an awkward fit for a role that needed a more winsome ingenue-slash-comedienne. The best thing in the movie is arguably the beginning when a quartet of never-seen-again sea dogs sing below deck. But otherwise it's a film without real production numbers, no romantic dynamics worth rooting for, a lack of good comic lines or situations, and a general "B" feel. A disappointment.

Here is my first imdb review (actually this is the 2nd attempt, it didnt save the first attempt lol)

So... what do I think of this movie..

I watched "Give Me A Sailor" this morning, in bed tucked up under a duvet after a long Boxing Day the day before. So it is December 27th 2023, and why am I reviewing a almost 90 year old movie? Moreover why and how am I even watching this movie? Well, I felt like watching a movie that means nothing to me just a bit of light entertainment.

I am a classic movie fan, and as much as I love all the classics, sometimes I just like to watch a complete nonsense movie with people in that I dont particularly follow.

This movie is one of those. So, no spoilers here!! Lets give my run down on Give Me A Sailor..

Bob Hope does a pretty decent job in this one, you would never know it is one of his early movie roles. Martha Raye.. hmmm... what to say about Martha.. I find her a bit of an oddity, shes ok in this movie actually, but usually she can be quite annoying with weird facial expressions and the like (I guess in the 30s and 40s her unique style of comedy had them laughing in the aisles lol)..

Now lets move onto Jack Whiting who plays Walter Brewster, actually lets not. There really is nothing to say about him. So, Betty Grable.. a fantastic performance by Ms Grable as always, and a catchy little song and dance number too ~ what more could you want. Without Ms Grable, I would probably have given up watching before the picture was through.

Overall, a nice little light hearted comedy to pass the time whilst in bed feeling worse for wear. They dont make em like this anymore.

Jim (Bob Hope) and Walter (Jack Whiting) are two brother sailors in the United States Navy. Walter plans to marry Nancy Larkin (Betty Grable) as soon as they get home, a problem since Jim is also in love with Nancy. So Jim hatches a plan with Nancy's more "low key" sister, Letty (Raye) to help break Walter and Nancy up. Letty agrees, only under one condition, he help her to win Walter!

And so it unfolds, a series of scattergun dialogue and scenes as Hope and Raye get into all sorts of scrapes whilst trying to alter the trajectory of Cupid's arrow. There's no prizes for guessing where that arrow will land, but in the main there's decent comedy and good comedy performances to take the picture into safe waters. An early picture for Hope, one just before he would make it big and entertain the masses with some distinction, it's actually Raye who owns the picture (she is top billed after all). Raye and Hope were paired together a number of times, their chemistry is set in stone, they worked well as a duo and played off of each other with enjoyable aplomb. As with some other screwball movies, this one comes close to overdoing it, not letting the comedy flow naturally, given over to histrionics instead of genuine character interactions. But it never sinks below average, has some truly funny scenes (Raye trying to hide under a mattress is a great moment) and the outcome puts the smile firmly on the face. 6.5/10

Martha Raye and Betty Grable are sisters. Martha can cook like nobody's business; Betty mainly just wants to go dancing, and is not above stealing Martha's new dress if she thinks she will look better in it.

Meanwhile, out at sea, Bob Hope and Jack Whiting are brother sailors on their way into port to visit the sisters. It's a bit tangled but soon becomes clear that while both of the sisters have a crush on Whiting, both of the brothers think they're in love with Grable. The plot of the picture involves what happens when the boys get to town.

Martha Raye is essentially the lead here, or at least has the strongest role; she and Hope are fun as the couple who don't know they are a couple. Grable is good as the spoiled sister: the scene where she serves broiled (and I mean broiled!) fish is hilarious. Jack Whiting does a nice dance with Grable, and is adequate if not spectacular otherwise. Clarence Kolb is quite charming as the superior officer, a confirmed old bachelor who appreciates a well-cooked egg.

Favorite scene: when Martha comes into the house wearing a fur coat and pretending to be upper crust: "Have you finished dinnah?" she begins.

Moderately amusing, overall….a scattered handful of excellent scenes make this picture worthwhile if never brilliant.