There are references that Cagney joins the Navy to have a rematch brawl with O'Brian, a Naval officer. In fact, O'Brian is *not* a Naval officer. He is a non-commissioned Chief Petty Officer. A lot of difference between the two. For one, non-commissioned petty officers do not rank a salute. Also, if you note, the black sailors are relegated to the mess as cooks and helpers. When I was in the Navy 22 years after the making of this film, some changes had been made but still most of the mess cooks were still black. This movie was made in part on board the USS Arizona. Many of the extras were real sailors and one wonders how many of them were on board that fateful day seven years later.

im a big fan of cagney and i enjoy o'briens work also.that being said, and it seems i will be the first reviewer to think this film was nothing special. i say this for future people who come to IMDb for a quick overview to see if i want to watch over something else like i do.granted its a very early film, with good actors and a a few good supporting actors, but that being said, my opinions are based on the acting and script writing parts.yes cagneys known for the little tough guy, but his character went far beyond tough guy to obnoxious and kinda mean.cagney in this early movie is not the 'loveable' tough guy he's known for. he is quite annoying and deserves every punch and punishment he gets.o'brien on the other hand did a great job acting as the fair and respected character.cagney in blackface is kind of funny posing as a black man, funnier yet is his buddy yelling = way to go chesty = as he is escaping on a turned down leave.until i read the others reviews, i didn't know the 2 ships used were destroyed in pearl harbor. that i agree is a very historical memory the film offers.it's worth a watch, but is no highlight of anyones career.i have to admit i was kinda disappointed in this movie because i am a fan of old cinema, but sadly i just think cagney character wasn't likable, and the movie tried to portray him as such.

Here Comes the Navy (1934) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Standard action from Warner about a cocky loudmouth (James Cagney) who joins the Navy so that he can get even with a Captain (Pat O'Brien) but Cagney ends up falling in love with his sister (Gloria Stuart). This film starts off with a great bang but as the movie goes along things become quite predictable and rather flat. The first part of the movie is great with a lot of fighting and insults being thrown by Cagney. Needless to say Cagney is very energetic and delivers another fine performance. His relationship with Stuart is also handled very well as the two actors have a lot of chemistry together. O'Brien is in good form as well and he and Cagney do their magic unlike any other duo. The biggest problem comes in the middle where the story pretty much gets weighted down by the familiar bit where the cocky Cagney must learn what it means to be a normal human being and shut his mouth up before it gets him in real trouble. The action scene at the end is very nice as is the funny ending. The most shocking scene comes when Cagney sneaks off the boat in blackface.

Besides James Cagney and Pat O'Brien, there's also beautiful Gloria Stuart (63 years before her triumphant return to the screen in Titanic (1997)) as the love interest, and Frank McHugh providing comedy centered around his mother's false teeth. In a fight over a girl with Navy man O'Brien, Cagney is knocked out when his girl distracts him. And when O'Brien later steals his girl, Cagney is so angry he joins the Navy with the hope of getting even. Talk about holding grudges! After 3 months of basic training (shot on location at the Naval Training Station in San Diego, California), Cagney is assigned to the battleship U.S.S. Arizona, the ship O'Brien is on. The Navy allowed location shooting on the actual ship, which is the same one sunk at Pearl Harbor and is now in the harbor as a memorial. It's an impressive ship with unbelievable firepower and we see the big guns being loaded and fired in maneuvers. Meanwhile, Cagney had met and wooed Stuart, but she turned out to be O'Brien's sister! And O'Brien caused a rift, another reason for Cagney to get even with him. Because of a bad attitude problem, Cagney eventually is transferred to the dirigible U.S.S. Macon at Sunnyvale, California. Again, the actual airship is used and it is an awesome sight as it is pulled out of its hangar, dwarfing everything in view. As luck (and the script) would have it, the ship tries to land in windy weather but aborts, with O'Brien hanging on to a mooring line as it gains altitude. Cagney disobeys orders and climbs down the rope with a parachute to try to save the man he doesn't yet know is O'Brien.