I am about to spoil this film completely along with "Here Comes the Navy", just to warn you.
Dick Foran played almost exclusively singing cowboys or he was a supporting player and usually a likable guy at that. I was watching this one that I taped a long time ago for the first time this morning when I quickly noticed that this film was almost a carbon copy of "Here Comes The Navy" except a few details have been changed.
Basically, Foran as Red Tyler is James Cagney's character, Robert Armstrong as Capt. Smokey Shannon is Pat O'Brien's character, Eddy Acuff as skillet is Frank McHugh's character, and Ann Sheridan as Margie is Gloria Stuart's character in "Here Comes the Navy".
Instead of the navy, Red and Smokey are in the fire department, and originally Red was a gambler rather than a riveter. But plot point by plot point everything is basically the same. Red has it in for Smokey after he knocks him out cold at a dance and wins a dance contest with Red's girl, Red joins the fire department to find a way to get even with Smokey and winds up assigned to his firehouse, Red mistakes the affection between Margie and Smokey to be romantic, not realizing they are brother and sister, Red tries to romance Margie and that does rile Smokey because he doesn't want his sister anywhere close to the guy.
Even the small scenes are the same. Eddy Accuff as Red's buddy is saving money to buy his mother false teeth, Red finds out Margie is "not that kind of girl" when he makes an unwanted pass at her in her apartment, and Red finds himself ostracized by the other firemen after a serious incident until he finds out the value of teamwork.
So why was this movie so much worse than "Here Comes the Navy"? For one, none of the actors employed can hold a candle to the cast of the original as far as intensity and chemistry goes. Foran was always the good guy, and here he is just not believable as a heel. Foran and Armstrong have zero chemistry, the same for Ann Sheridan and Dick Foran. Eddy Acuff seems to be sleepwalking through his lines as Foran's long suffering buddy. He is not nearly as interesting as that human Pillsbury doughboy Frank McHugh. I will say Ann Sheridan pops out as the only actor of interest, but not even she can save this material, plus this was her first year at Warner Brothers and she had not achieved star status yet, so I'm sure she just took the roles she was given.
So why is it even worthwhile? It is full of historic fire apparatus and a view of real life in the fire service in 1937. Also this is an awesome look at the Los Angeles Fire Department and the famous Hollywood Engine House 27, which is now a museum. Coincidentally, "Here Comes The Navy" is partially remembered because it was shot on and around the U.S.S. Arizona which sank at Pearl Harbor. How strange that both films would end up having historical significance.
So why did Warner Brothers remake this film? Warner Brothers was famous for recycling scripts in the 30s and 40s, but they usually came out better than this. They sometimes recycled stories because the original was an early talkie and they could redo it with better technology a few years down the road or the original was a precode and the story had to be sanitized after the production code came in. Neither of these reasons apply here. But one thing is true - this was made while James Cagney was fighting it out with Warner Brothers over his contract. Perhaps Jack Warner was saying - "Look Cagney, you can easily be replaced by Dick Foran - you may dance, but he can sing!". If so, for the price of a movie ticket James Cagney could easily find out he had nothing to worry about.
If you are into the history of firefighting or you are interested in Ann Sheridan's early career, I'd recommend it. On the whole it is a take it or leave it proposition.
Dick Foran played almost exclusively singing cowboys or he was a supporting player and usually a likable guy at that. I was watching this one that I taped a long time ago for the first time this morning when I quickly noticed that this film was almost a carbon copy of "Here Comes The Navy" except a few details have been changed.
Basically, Foran as Red Tyler is James Cagney's character, Robert Armstrong as Capt. Smokey Shannon is Pat O'Brien's character, Eddy Acuff as skillet is Frank McHugh's character, and Ann Sheridan as Margie is Gloria Stuart's character in "Here Comes the Navy".
Instead of the navy, Red and Smokey are in the fire department, and originally Red was a gambler rather than a riveter. But plot point by plot point everything is basically the same. Red has it in for Smokey after he knocks him out cold at a dance and wins a dance contest with Red's girl, Red joins the fire department to find a way to get even with Smokey and winds up assigned to his firehouse, Red mistakes the affection between Margie and Smokey to be romantic, not realizing they are brother and sister, Red tries to romance Margie and that does rile Smokey because he doesn't want his sister anywhere close to the guy.
Even the small scenes are the same. Eddy Accuff as Red's buddy is saving money to buy his mother false teeth, Red finds out Margie is "not that kind of girl" when he makes an unwanted pass at her in her apartment, and Red finds himself ostracized by the other firemen after a serious incident until he finds out the value of teamwork.
So why was this movie so much worse than "Here Comes the Navy"? For one, none of the actors employed can hold a candle to the cast of the original as far as intensity and chemistry goes. Foran was always the good guy, and here he is just not believable as a heel. Foran and Armstrong have zero chemistry, the same for Ann Sheridan and Dick Foran. Eddy Acuff seems to be sleepwalking through his lines as Foran's long suffering buddy. He is not nearly as interesting as that human Pillsbury doughboy Frank McHugh. I will say Ann Sheridan pops out as the only actor of interest, but not even she can save this material, plus this was her first year at Warner Brothers and she had not achieved star status yet, so I'm sure she just took the roles she was given.
So why is it even worthwhile? It is full of historic fire apparatus and a view of real life in the fire service in 1937. Also this is an awesome look at the Los Angeles Fire Department and the famous Hollywood Engine House 27, which is now a museum. Coincidentally, "Here Comes The Navy" is partially remembered because it was shot on and around the U.S.S. Arizona which sank at Pearl Harbor. How strange that both films would end up having historical significance.
So why did Warner Brothers remake this film? Warner Brothers was famous for recycling scripts in the 30s and 40s, but they usually came out better than this. They sometimes recycled stories because the original was an early talkie and they could redo it with better technology a few years down the road or the original was a precode and the story had to be sanitized after the production code came in. Neither of these reasons apply here. But one thing is true - this was made while James Cagney was fighting it out with Warner Brothers over his contract. Perhaps Jack Warner was saying - "Look Cagney, you can easily be replaced by Dick Foran - you may dance, but he can sing!". If so, for the price of a movie ticket James Cagney could easily find out he had nothing to worry about.
If you are into the history of firefighting or you are interested in Ann Sheridan's early career, I'd recommend it. On the whole it is a take it or leave it proposition.
