Son of the Navy (1940)

A sailor hitchhiking to his base at San Pedro and an orphan boy who has taken along his dog in a search for a mother and father meet up on the road. The sailor decides it would be easier to... See full summary »

Director:

William Nigh

Writers:

True Boardman (story), Grover Jones (story),

Stars:

Jean Parker, James Dunn, Martin Spellman

Cast

Cast overview:
Jean Parker	...	Stevie Moore
James Dunn	...	Chief Gunners Mate Mike Malone
Martin Spellman	...	Tommy
Selmer Jackson	...	Capt. Parker
William Royle	...	Chief Petty Officer Pat Moote (as Wm. Royle)
Sarah Padden	...	Mrs. Baker - Landlady
Craig Reynolds	...	Brad Wheeler
Dave O'Brien	...	Nelson (as Dave O'Brian)
Gene Morgan	...	Burns
Charles King	...	Duke Johnson -Detective (as Chas. King Jr.)

Storyline

A sailor hitchhiking to his base at San Pedro and an orphan boy who has taken along his dog in a search for a mother and father meet up on the road. The sailor decides it would be easier to get a ride if they pretended to be father and son; the boy has other ideas.

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Plot Keywords:

sailor | orphan

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Genres:

Drama | Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 March 1940 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Young Recruit

Company Credits

Production Co:

Monogram Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

72 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

The chiefs' arm insignia are not all on the correct sleeve. The insignia is worn on the upper left sleeve, never on the right.

User Reviews

The family of his choice

Some familiar family clichés abound in this Monogram Production that stars James Dunn as a sailor trying to get back to his ship before it sails. He meets up with young Martin Spellman who is running away from an orphanage and the two of them and Martin's terrier dog team up to hitch a ride with Jean Parker to get to the docks at San Pedro.

If Dunn thinks he's seen the last of Parker, Spellman, and the dog he's got another think coming. Spellman has picked these two out as his future parents. That's going to be hard because Parker is a Navy brat who has sworn she'll never marry a sailor. She's got a nice steady responsible businessman boyfriend in Craig Reynolds who's also one big drip.

I don't think I have to say any more. Monogram was never known for its originality. But young Spellman is a winning kid and you do really root for him to get the family of his choice.

Son Of The Navy is a nice family film that for Monogram is the equivalent of something like The Yearling.