First of all, tell Mr. Guttman to spell Ms. Stuart's name correctly. At any rate, she was around the water in "Here Comes the Navy" and in it in "Titanic." But the Navy pic is fun thanks mostly to part of WB's team of Irishers. Cagney, O'Brien, McHugh all provided plenty of enjoyment in that decade.As has been pointed out, "Here Comes the Navy" is fascinating history. You get a chill when you realize the Arizona was the ship sunk at Pearl Harbor, and when you realize that the Macon was a history maker.The (all white) Navy was very well represented in this flick, but its raison d'etre for it was just what the moviegoers of that time expected - sharp, crackling dialog between Cagney and O'Brien. It is Cagney's pic. No one can upstage that ball of fire.So, if you want to have fun, enjoy some nostalgia, get involved with some history, get your paws on "Here Comes the Navy."I'm an old Army man but, anchors aweigh. A couple tons, I imagine.

Here Comes the Navy is a key film in the history of cinema. As it marks the first teaming of James Cagney and Pat O'Brien, that in itself is historic. For these two in my humble opinion are the inventors of the male buddy film. The only other rivals for that distinction are Edmund Lowe and Victor McLaglen when they did a series of films as Captain Flagg and Sergeant Quirt. Cagney and O'Brien were teamed for seven years by Warner Brothers in various parts.This also is James Cagney's first film in any of our Armed Services. He's the usual fresh mouthed Cagney who as a civilian runs afoul of CPO Pat O'Brien over a woman played by Dorothy Tree. Then Cagney joins the Navy and there's O'Brien waiting for him. And O'Brien has a sister, Gloria Stuart who Cagney falls for.But of course when Warner Brothers had the good idea of shooting this movie at the San Diego Naval Station, they had no idea that they would be shooting on what became a national shrine. In fact it's mentioned several times that both O'Brien and Cagney are assigned to the battleship, U.S.S. Arizona. Shortly after this film was made the Arizona and the rest of the Pacific Fleet moved to Honolulu and on December 7, 1941 the Arizona became a part of history. A whole lot of the crew of the Arizona served as extras in Here Comes the Navy, so a lot of the faces you see are probably at the bottom of Pearl Harbor in the Arizona. Knowing that I find it incredible that Here Comes the Navy has never made it to VHS or DVD. Hopefully that will be rectified soon.

(spoilers) Leatherpuss. Stupid. Hot-head. These are but a few of the many insults traded by Jim Cagney (as Seaman 2nd Class Chester `Chesty' O'Connor) and Pat O'Brien (as Chief Petty Officer Biff Martin) both on and off the U.S.S. Arizona.The film follows their tumultuous association as civilians (before ironworker Cagney joins the navy) and then as military colleagues thrust upon each other on a peacetime vessel.James Cagney looks great in a tux, and gets to dance a little before the real fun starts. The ironworkers have thrown themselves a dance, and first prize is a big silver cup. Chesty's pristine, crisp rented tuxedo doesn't last very long, as Gladys Hawkins, his girlfriend, literally waltzes off with Biff Martin. Chesty doesn't take kindly to this, and the two men, who have previously locked horns (Cagney and the ironmen antagonize the passing sailors by shouting conflicting commands at them), come to blows. O'Brien wins the fight, and the dance crowd simply walks over the prostrate form of poor Chesty, who can only lie there in a heap. To add insult to injury, O'Brien and Gladys win the 1st prize for the waltz contest! The following day, things get even worse, as Chesty is laid off from his job and Gladys dumps him, preferring Biff's company.Vowing revenge, Chesty decides to join the navy to get even with Biff. First stop is the San Diego naval training station, where Frank McHugh (always top-notch, and extremely funny in this movie) as Wilbur `Droopy' Mullins enters the picture. He and Chesty become fast friends who cover for each other and who borrow money back and forth so fast all throughout the film, forget trying to keep up. Droopy's reason d'etre seems to be to try to send his poor mom enough money for her to buy a decent pair of false teeth, ones that will enable her to keep up with her job as choir singer AND allow her to eat meat. This is a VERY funny running gag, with an excellent pay-off at the end of the film.After training, Chesty and Droopy are assigned to Biff's ship, the U.S.S. Arizona, as hoped. The moment Chesty claps eyes on Biff, he attempts to punch him. Needless to say, this is not encouraged, and his efforts are immediately curtailed. Biff then decides to make naval life very difficult for his nemesis.While Chesty has supposedly given up on `dames' because of his experience with Gladys, enter Dot, Biff's sister (played well by Gloria Stuart). Of course, Chesty is unaware that she's also a Martin, and chases her until he wrangles a dinner invitation out of her. On liberty for the evening of the dinner, Biff pays a visit to Dot, and in seconds, the boys are at it again.After a series of misadventures, Chesty actually escapes duty by bribery and sneaking off the ship in disguise (to see Dot), and is admonished by Biff, who reports him as AWOL. Chesty is a prisoner and cannot leave the ship. He degrades the other sailors, who avoid him at all costs. He and Dot also split, in a dramatic, well-played scene, in which they are both terribly disillusioned. Later Chesty proves his courage during a mock battle, but he denounces the officers, the medal he receives, and the navy as a whole. He is then granted a transfer to a naval aircraft (a zeppelin). The crew of the Arizona must then act as ground crew for a mock maneuver Chesty's aircraft is involved in, Biff gets in trouble, and Chesty ends up saving the day and getting the girl. Droopy's infamous mom is finally seen at the end of the film, and we even get a glimpse of her new false teeth!Very entertaining and lots of fun, with all the stars in top form. Cagney and O'Brien argue and fight all through the film in some great comic scenes – yet they were best friends in real life!Recommended!!!

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.