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Having just left Laurel & Hardy attempting to sail a boat in Towed in a Hole, I just now rewatched Abbott & Costello as sailors in In the Navy. Also on board is former Warner Bros. Musical star Dick Powell as a popular radio crooner who's anxious to ditch his female fans and Claire Dodd as a newspaper photographer trying to take his picture. Returning with Bud & Lou in this, their third starring film but their second released after Buck Privates (which is mistakenly IDed in the beginning flag-pulling sequence), are Shemp Howard as their foil and The Andrews Sisters who this time, besides doing their singing numbers, also have dialogue with most of the above cast with lead singer Patty, especially, reciting lines, usually with Costello since he's smitten with her in this one. Plenty of funny routines abound and the songs are pretty entertaining. The climax involving Lou and Patty and her siblings possibly involved in a disastrous ship maneuver is not as hilarious as one wants it to be but it's amusing in its own right. Watching this again after 40 years, I looked for eventual set court jester Bobby Barber after looking at the cast list on this site but I didn't recognize him. Consulting the book "Abbott & Costello in Hollywood", I was pleased to see Lou's then two-and-a-half-year-old daughter Carole in the brief baby carriage scene in which she takes her father's message as well as Bud's stunt double Joe LaCava in the "Lemon Bit" routine. I've been highly enjoying revisiting these A & C flicks for review on this site especially in comparison to many Laurel & Hardy films with similar subjects or routines I comment on. So that's a recommendation of In the Navy. Next, I'll review L & H's Them Thar Hills.

Plot is not really a crucial element of this type of picture ,and it comes as no suprise to learn it is pretty skimpy.A radio crooner (Dick Powell )is tired of the pressure of fame and enlist incognito in the US navy .A zealous reporter (Claire Dodd )sets out to expose the truth ,even resorting to stowing away on board ship to break the story. It is really the excuse for a variety of set pieces -musical from the Andrews Sisters and comedic ,from Abbot and Costello ,following up their earlier forces comedy "Buck Privates"(acknowledged in a brief gag over the opening credits) These are varied in the amusement value--I loved the scene where Bud demonstrates that 13 multiplied by 7 equals 28 ,and the "bunco game "scene with lemons is a minor classic but much of it is unsubtle clowning.

As a memento of the more innocent age of cinema it is endearing and will still generate a few laughs along the way.

The duo's second service comedy of 1941 is also one of their best films. The humor abounds, especially in the sequence where Costello tries to impress the Andrews Sisters by captaining the ship. The comic highlights of the film are the "Lemon Bit" (watch as the boys try to keep a straight face) and Costello's efforts to get into a hammock.

The romantic subplot isn't bad, either, as the always excellent Dick Powell croons his way into Claire Dodd's heart. One may find themself wrapped up in this plotline, unlike most romantic subplots in A&C's films.

Funny material, the Andrews Sisters, a decent plot and an appearance by the one and only Shemp Howard make "In The Navy" an A&C treat. 8 out of 10.

In The Navy does at times feel rushed, you sense that it was what is commonly known today as a cash cow !, it was rushed thru to capitalise on the success of Buck Privates the previous outing from the duo. Abbott & Costello are widely regarded and lauded for saving Universal Studios bacon, so with that in mind I feel that it would be churlish of me to downgrade the film for its forced feel, but sadly it is evident regardless.

Yet for me to even suggest that the film is less than entertaining would be doing a big disservice to all involved, all the expected formula's are in here, the gags from the boys hit the mark, with the "find the submarine sequence" particularly mirth inducing, and of course the musical warbling of The Andrews Sisters offers foot tapping relief. The film does exactly what it says on the tin, open it up expecting fun and light relief, and you will get it in spades, a safe 6/10.

Thus continued a standard (and at the time of its release, winning) formula for Abbott & Costello's earliest films which you need to take with a grain or two of salt in order to appreciate them. With IN THE NAVY, Universal wanted to capitalize on the monstrous success of the earlier BUCK PRIVATES, so now we've got another "service comedy" from the team, with some tried and true funny segments that work, scattered along with the now customary dashes of song, dance, and sub-plotting.

In the area of humorous routines, Bud and Lou are a hit with the "Lemon Shell Game," the "Sons of Neptune" initiation prank, Lou trying to get some sleep in a cockeyed hammock, and then Costello later trying to prove to Abbott that "7x13 = 28". We've even got Shemp Howard of the Three Stooges on hand to help out with some of these gags. This is all fine and dandy.

But then again, every once in awhile it's obligatory that the three Andrews Sisters have to pop in with another song and dance number. While I actually didn't mind the ladies in BUCK PRIVATES, I didn't care for any of their songs in this film. Even worse, some time is wasted on a silly romance between lead singer Patty Andrews and chubby little Lou. This doesn't go anywhere and is more of a liability than a help.

Dick Powell gets big billing along with Abbott and Costello, and a good portion of the story deals with his being a successful singer, idolized by hordes of adoring women, who'd like nothing more than to sneak into the navy just to get away from all the fanfare. Unluckily for him, there's a female photographer who's hot on his trail and is determined to spring up with her ever-intrusive camera to snap all the pictures she can of him. This also becomes rather tiring. Yet thankfully, A&C are constantly in their hilarious prime to keep bringing us back to the laughs, which is always the chief reason we keep wanting to watch. **1/2 out of ****