Navy Blues

This looks so slick, so well made and acted that you'd never guess it was made back in 1929. Often really old pictures are just interesting on an academic level but this is genuinely entertaining as well.

I don't think 'romantic comedy' accurately describes this. What makes this so fascinating and quite shocking is how such an unpleasant loud-mouthed yob, whom at one point you're thinking might be a rapist, can actually be the hero of a romantic movie. He's cocky beyond any limits of acceptability, disrespectful, cruel, racist, violent and sexist. For a character like this to be accepted as the hero of a story must reflect that to the demographic who loved Haines (there were many!), these sorts of attitudes were normal in 1929.

If you can put aside the awkward social commentary on 1920s attitudes to women, this picture is surprisingly watchable. Clarence Brown was one of MGM's most able and imaginative directors and here makes his first talking picture without any problems or difficulties as though he'd been making them for years. Similarly, silent mega-star, William Haines appears to have been making talkies forever as well.

Anita Page, playing the object of Haines's affection (or survivor, as she'd probably be called today!) wasn't in 1929, a natural talking picture actress but in films like this, the pretty girl wasn't expected to act - she was there just to be the pretty film star - and she fulfills this role brilliantly. A very, very pretty girl indeed.

...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?

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.

The writers were now starting to see how far they could stretch the censorship rules. Besides a few saucy jokes, the plot itself is quite racy although on closer examination it highlights what a horribly sexist society we used to be part of.

The plot - a loud and obnoxious sailor forcing his sexual attention on a pretty but naïve girl feels quite uncomfortable to watch these days. If today you personally saw his first encounter with Anita Page you would call the police. Breaking into a house then grabbing and kissing a frightened and unconsenting teenage girl isn't really considered a sweet way of romancing someone...but in 1929 it clearly was quite alright!

MGM waited until the other studios had ironed out the teething troubles associated with changing from silent to sound. This exhibits none of those infamous issues with early talkies. It's not one of those awful things where people just stand still on a set and slowly read their lines. No, this looks good, it sounds good and it's acted fairly naturally. It's full of action, sweeping overhead shots and very authentic sounding script. If you didn't know, you'd guess this was made many years later.

There's no attempt however to disguise the differences in acting abilities. Mr Haines is actually a good actor. He's got that charisma and naturalness that can turn his unsavoury character into a genuine, believable almost likeable person. Unfortunately his scenes with Anita Page highlight how stagey, stilted and static her performance was. Unlike in her first talkie, she's inexplicably bad in this. In 1929 however that she was so utterly unconvincing didn't seem to matter. The actors had roles to fulfil and they all did what was required: Haines was doing the acting, Anita was simply doing what was expected of her in 1929 - looking like a gorgeous Hollywood star. Also, being made in dear old 1929, Miss Page gives us the obligatory striptease - but only down to respectable, sensible MGM-friendly undies not the saucy, skimpy types you get in Warner Brothers pictures!)

This was a real surprise - a pleasant surprise. It gives a fabulous insight into how we thought nearly a hundred years ago and is also a genuinely enjoyable, well written story that you can engage with. Definitely worth a watch if you like films from this period.

Two interesting observations: - 1. What a very antiquated alternative to having a zip in men's trousers the US Navy had.

2. Swedes, for some reason were considered comical and needed to be made fun of.

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.