You're in the Navy Now

Mechanical engineer Lt. John Harkness (Gary Cooper) is given his first sea duty as captain of a small ship with an experimental new steam engine. Nicknamed the "USS Teakettle", the ship is soon the laughing stock of the Navy for its frequent breakdowns and the misadventures of its motley crew.

The comedy is sitcom-level routine, there are no real surprises in the story, and the romantic subplot involving Cooper and Jane Greer is pointless and clearly thrown in to add a woman to the cast. What makes this movie somewhat memorable is the terrific supporting cast of notables both past and future. Ed Begley, Ray Collins, and John McIntire are all good as the old guard C. O.'s, while youthful Eddie Albert, Richard Erdman, and Jack Webb make an impression as the ship's novice officers. Harvey Lembeck, Lee Marvin, Jack Warden, and Charles Bronson all make their movie debuts, and each get a moment or two in the spotlight. Bronson naturally has several shirtless scenes, and one memorable bit has him losing a boxing match to Jack Webb! Lembeck is the ship wiseacre, while Jack Warden is loud and exasperated. Lee Marvin, with dark hair, plays the radioman named Lee. I can't call this movie very good, but those who enjoy Mister Roberts, McHale's Navy will probably enjoy it.

It's noted in the Citadel Film Series book, the Films Of Gary Cooper that You're In The Navy Now was his first film for 20th Century Fox. It did fail to mention that this was the sixth of seven films that Cooper made with director Henry Hathaway. This was the only one of those seven that could be classified as a comedy.

Lieutenant Gary Cooper has just been activated from reserve status due to the war that broke out after Pearl Harbor. The Navy give him one interesting first command at sea. The Navy is experimenting with steam power as an alternative to diesel on the theory that there is in fact an infinite supply of water and oil might become scarce.

So Cooper gets an assignment on an experimental steam power PT Boat and he's to test it to see if it's feasible. But what the Navy also does is give him an entirely green crew of both officers and enlisted men. The only exception is boatswain Millard Mitchell.

This is quite a recipe for disaster and the laughs that would accompany those disasters. But Cooper and his crew prove surprisingly resilient in overcoming obstacles.

It's ironic that a film about a green crew for a Naval ship should also prove to be the debut film of several noted players as well. Lee Marvin, Harvey Lembeck, Charles Bronson, and Jack Warden all made their feature film debuts in You're In The Navy Now as sailors on the USS Teakettle as the men call their steam powered vessel.

With all the problems he has Coop is lucky enough to have married Jane Greer who is also in the WAVES and working as a secretary for one of the port big shots in John McIntire. She's provides the usual wifely support and has his back when things go wrong on the Teakettle as they inevitably do.

You're In The Navy Now is far from one of Cooper's major films nor is it the best of his collaborations with Henry Hathaway. But it's a pleasant enough comedy about a shakedown cruise which was also a shakedown film for a lot of debuting players.

Gary Cooper stars in this WWII comedy, released several years after the wars' finish, about the various experiments that the Navy conducted with machines and equipment. Cooper plays John W. Harkness, a Reserve officer assigned to commandeer a ship that's been outfitted with a steam engine. He's basically as inexperienced as his misfit crew, and dealing with them occupies practically as much time as trying to make their infernal steam engine work.

Likeable and lively, "You're in the Navy Now" was scripted by Richard Murphy, based on a New Yorker article by John W. Hazard, and directed by Henry Hathaway. While it may never be truly uproarious, it generates enough modest chuckles to keep it watchable. The "misfits make good" formula has been a part of cinema for a long, long time, and here it makes for a decent story, as we come to respect and admire these men when they learn how to work together, and keep that engine running. A subplot about beefy sailor Wascylewski (Charles Bronson) selected to represent the ship in a boxing match also takes up some of the running time.

Cooper gets to do something a little different here, in contrast to the more accomplished heroes he'd played before. Here he is rather overwhelmed, and plays it just right. The lovely Jane Greer gets a handful of scenes as his supportive wife, but what is most impressive is the roster of actors filling out roles: Jack Webb, John McIntire, Ray Collins, Millard Mitchell, Eddie Albert, Richard Erdman, Harvey Lembeck, Ed Begley, etc. Real-life WWII veterans Bronson, Lee Marvin (in a bit part as a radio man), and Jack Warden made their film debuts here, along with Lembeck.

Filmed with full military cooperation, the film does have the feel of authenticity, and moves along well to an amusing climax with a LOT of near misses.

Seven out of 10.

This is a typical Gary Cooper vehicle where he gets placed in a sudden leadership role and has to rally the men who serve him. It's worked well in his other films and does so here. What I really enjoyed is all the actors who would later go on to enjoy their own careers like Eddie Arnold, Charles Bronson, Jack Webb, and even Lee Marvin. A great look at some of the less glorious aspects of navy service during WWII. So many films showcase the expertise or the hardened battle-weary sailors, but this movie showed how many sailors found themselves to be "90 day wonders", meaning they were pulled out from being civilians and trained quickly to serve. This movie showed that the average Joe (and Jill) truly did his or her part in winning the war.

I enjoyed this movie very much, mostly because of the many excellent actors. Now (2006), most, if not all, of the actors have passed away. I greatly enjoyed Jack Webb's role probably the most as he also began his career and also the little that Charles Bronson (Buchinski)was featured was a good start for him. One interesting note: when the ship was on a test run with big brass on board, you can see that Lee Marvin is twins. He relays the message to go faster to the man at the back of the ship, which is also Lee Marvin. I got a big kick out of that. I am not a Gary Cooper fan, but I loved the movie as a whole, just watching the many good actors that are now gone.