Turunas da Marinha

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.

The three (3) principals of NAVY BLUES (1929) were at or near the top of the M.G.M. Star System. William Haines, Anita Page and Carl Dane all were very popular at that time, having successfully negotiated their rise too 'Stardom'. Now a new challenge arose, the 'talking picture'. In this modest film they were allowed to strut their stuff and learn how to manage the new restrictions of the sound medium.

THE NUTS; JACK KELLY (Haines), Seaman in the U.S.N. is a character wrapped up in his 'Gay-Blade' persona, a role Haines frequently fell back upon. SVEN SWANSON (Dane) his shipmate and 'friend' issues forth in the same way he did in silents, a simple minded Swede. ALICE 'Allie' BROWN (Page) provides the romantic interest. Other then some on-board footage showing Naval life most of the story concentrates on ALICE and JACK. JACK having to come to terms that it is time to 'grow-up' and commit to the person he loves.

The early restrictions of sound filming are clearly evident. Most shots are static with some 'left to right' movement. Nobody wanting to miss their marks or the microphones. The shipboard footage is interesting, though the Clemson Class Destroyer, our latest type was obsolete when laid down. Not even having been ten (10) years in service.

Neither Haines or Page had any trouble adapting to the new medium, their voices easily registered and matched their characters. Dane though had a thick accent, but was not unintelligible. Voice training would have solved the worse of his problems. Either He or M.G.M. were not interested in following up on this and his career petered out in the early 1930's. On 04/14/1934 Dane ended his problems, with a bullet.

Tastes were changing and though Haines was tops at the Box-Office in 1930, Louis B. Mayer and Irving Thalberg were not satisfied. In their opinion, clean up and keep private your personal life or you will be 'persona non grata'. Haines chose to go his own way ending his film career, but becoming a successful interior decorator. Likewise Page was deemed expendable with the studio preferring Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo and Norma Shearer. Nor was she interested in playing casting couch politics with the executive staff, so exit Ms. Page. This all happened in a period of only five (5) years. The transition period from silents too sound was tough, these three (3) were casualties of it.

William Haines, the eternal mischief maker, strikes again as a sailor on two-day leave who after much effort sweeps innocent young Anita Page off her feet. There isn't much to this routine boy-meets-girl story other than another manic performance by Haines, whose antics admittedly are a matter of taste, and the winsome presence of Page, who is given relatively little to do but react to her dominant male co-star. Three Fred Ahlert-Roy Turk songs are featured: the title song – the least of the bunch - which is sung at various points by individuals and a poorly miked large ensemble, as well as snatches of "Mean to Me" and "I'll Get By" played by dance bands. The shipboard sequences with Haines, Karl Dane and others, intended as rowdy comedy, may have amused audiences in 1929 but they drag now, though Haines does manage to squeeze some laughs out of the material through sheer persistence.

On shore leave, sailor William Haines (as Jack Kelly) meets pretty blonde Anita Page (as Alice Brown) at a dance. The pair fall in love, but her possessive parents consider Mr. Haines to be "a common, ordinary sailor," and throw Ms. Page out in the streets. With reluctant help from pal Karl Dane (as Sven "Swede" Swanson), Haines tries to straighten out his irresponsible life, and settle down with Page. This was the first "talkie" for box office star Haines, who helped keep the sound of cash registers ringing for MGM.

In hindsight, "Navy Blues" is an average Haines formula film. It was also the first time many filmgoers heard Mr. Dane, a popular supporting actor who had less of a Swedish accent than he had in silent films ("Yumping Yimminey!). The men had just released another film with Page ("Speedway"), who was considered one of the biggest new stars of the year. It is fun to watch how much attention Haines pays to Page's pretty legs in this film - his inability to keep his hands to himself undoubtedly appealed to many.

***** Navy Blues (12/13/29) Clarence Brown ~ William Haines, Anita Page, Karl Dane, Edythe Chapman

This film begins with an obnoxious sailor by the name of "Jack Kelly" (William Haines) being ordered to attend a semi-formal dance sponsored by a local women's organization in a port on the West Coast. Although he has absolutely no interest in attending this dance, he does happen to meet an attractive blonde named "Alice Brown" (Anita Page) who catches his fancy. From that point on he does everything he can to romance her but is caught completely off-guard when she responds in a much more serious tone. Fearing any sort of commitment, he leaves rather abruptly and-recognizing the impact his words have upon her-struggles with his feelings immediately afterward. Unfortunately, his feelings of abandonment only deepen when his ship leaves port that very night leaving Alice all alone. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this was an okay comedy for the most part which contained a certain amount of innuendo appropriate for the time. Both William Haines and Anita Page performed in a solid manner and Karl Dane (as "Sven Swanson") also contributing some good comedy as well. That being said, while this clearly wasn't a great comedy by any means, it was good enough for the time spent and I have rated it accordingly. Average.