Give Me a Sailor

A few years after Give Me a Sailor was out, Betty Grable finally hit the big time over at 20th Century Fox. Those beautiful legs of her's on which perched the USA's all American girl were her stock and trade. Reportedly Lloyd's of London had them insured in seven figures.

So when part of the plot is Martha Raye winning a radio contest with a picture of her legs, it strains the credulity a lot. Of course the folks at Paramount obviously did not read into the future about Betty Grable's legs being her fortune.

Give Me a Sailor is one of the weaker of Bob Hope's early films. He was co-starred with Martha Raye a lot and note the billing where she's above him in the title and would be that way in all of their joint projects in the late Thirties.

Raye and Grable are sisters, Raye's the plain jane who's the good cook, but with apparently great legs. Grable's the beautiful sister whose gams never got noticed and she can't cook to save her life.

The sisters are being courted by two brothers, Bob Hope and Jack Whiting who are both in the Navy. Well at least both are after Betty with the other maybe doomed to settle for Martha. After a lot of crazy screwball antics which finds them at one point engaged to the wrong girl, all is right in the end. Guess who winds up with who though.

Jack Whiting made very few films, but he was a leading Broadway musical star and had the distinction of being Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.'s stepdad. Whiting married Anne Sully Fairbanks after her divorce from Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. was finalized. He has a long list of Broadway credits stretching almost 40 years. He had a pleasant enough singing voice, but as a film personality he was bland. Hope, Raye, and Grable just run all over him. I guess Hope needed to wait for Bing Crosby for a singer who could hold his own and more with him on screen.

Raye has some funny moments in the film, especially when she and Hope are stuck out in the woods together. She's the best one in the film by far.

Fans of Rapid Robert will like Give Me a Sailor as certainly will fans of Martha Raye and Betty Grable. If there are any Jack Whiting fans out there, this is one of the few places you'll see your man.

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

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 is one of Bob Hope's weaker efforts. Martha Raye saves what is left of the film after the script writers tried to ruin it with their infantile plot. Betty Grable is not one of the better actresses as well; especially in this film. The rest of the cast is OK, but there is no chemistry between Hope and his brother? Fortunately for Hope, Bing Crosby will come along soon to rescue him and provide the perfect foil for his talents. Until then, watch this one only if nothing of any value is available at the same time.

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.