The Navy Comes Through (1942)

Director:

A. Edward Sutherland

Writers:

Borden Chase (story)
Earl Baldwin (adaptation) ...
(more)

Release Date:

30 October 1942 (USA)

Genre:

War | Drama

Plot:

A U.S. Navy crew aboard a merchant marine ship battle Nazis. |

Plot Keywords:

Ship | U.S. Navy | Merchant Marine | World Series | Fire

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Pat O'Brien	...	Chief Michael 'Mike' Mallory
George Murphy	...	Lt. Thomas L. 'Tom' Sands
Jane Wyatt	...	Myra Mallory
Jackie Cooper	...	Joe 'Babe' Duttson
Carl Esmond	...	Richard 'Dutch' Kroner
Max Baer	...	Coxswain G. Berringer
Desi Arnaz	...	Pat Tarriba
Ray Collins	...	Capt. McCall
Lee Bonnell	...	Kovac
Frank Jenks	...	Sampier
John Maguire	...	James Bayless
Frank Fenton	...	Hodum
Joey Ray	...	James Dennis
Marten Lamont	...	Lt. Cmdr. Murray - navy doctor
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Stanley Andrews	...	Judge Advocate (uncredited)
George Blagoi	...	U-Boat Captain (uncredited)
Sven Hugo Borg	...	U-Boat First Officer (uncredited)
Egon Brecher	...	U-Boat Commander (uncredited)
Joe Cunningham	...	Mr. Duttson (uncredited)
Helmut Dantine	...	Frightened Young German Seaman (uncredited)
Edgar Dearing	...	Bud - Chief Petty Officer (uncredited)
Ralph Dunn	...	Policeman Bringing Sampier (uncredited)
Bud Geary	...	Quartermaster McPhail (uncredited)
Joseph W. Girard	...	Naval Captain at Hearing (uncredited)
William Haade	...	Pier 7 Guard (uncredited)
Russell Hoyt	...	(uncredited)
Mike Lally	...	Merchant Marine Sailor with Water Hose (uncredited)
Howard Lane	...	Lookout (uncredited)
Lyle Latell	...	Oiler (uncredited)
Jack Martin	...	U-Boat First Officer (uncredited)
George Melford	...	Chief Engineer (uncredited)
Monte Montague	...	Third Mate (uncredited)
William H. O'Brien	...	Clerk at Hearing (uncredited)
Cyril Ring	...	Mr. Reynolds - First Officer (uncredited)
Franklin D. Roosevelt	...	Himself (voice) (uncredited) (archive footage)
Hans Schumm	...	U-51 Captain Recognizing Kroner (uncredited)
Robert R. Stephenson	...	First Officer of 'Odin' (uncredited)
Fred Sweeney	...	Lookout (uncredited)
Sigfrid Tor	...	German First Officer (uncredited)
Nicholas Vehr	...	U-Boat First Officer (uncredited)
Wilhelm von Brincken	...	Captain of 'Odin' (uncredited)
Hans Heinrich von Twardowski	...	U-Boat Captain (uncredited)
Malcolm Waite	...	Top Lookout (uncredited)
Max Waizmann	...	German Agent (uncredited)
Mary Young	...	Mrs. Duttson (uncredited)

Directed by
A. Edward Sutherland

Writing credits
Borden Chase		(story "Pay To Learn")
Earl Baldwin		(adaptation) and
John Twist		(adaptation)
Roy Chanslor		(screenplay) and
Æneas MacKenzie		(screenplay) (as Aeneas MacKenzie)

Produced by
Islin Auster	....	producer

Original Music by
Roy Webb

Cinematography by
Nicholas Musuraca

Film Editing by
Samuel E. Beetley

Art Direction by
Carroll Clark
Albert S. D'Agostino		(as Albert D'Agostino)

Set Decoration by
Harley Miller
Darrell Silvera

Costume Design by
Renié		(gowns)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Edward Killy	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Bailey Fesler	....	sound recordist
James G. Stewart	....	sound (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Vernon L. Walker	....	special effects

Music Department
C. Bakaleinikoff	....	musical director

Other crew
James A. Randall	....	technical advisor (as Captain James A. Randall U.S.N. retired)

Production Companies

• RKO Radio Pictures

Distributors

• RKO Radio Pictures (1942) (USA) (theatrical)
• C&C Television Corporation (1955) (USA) (TV)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German | Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #8509)

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

The world premiere was held on Navy Day, 27 October 1942 at the Treasure Island Naval Base in San Francisco, California, USA.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The destroyer momentarily seen through the U-boat's periscope after the first fight was USS Preble (DD-345). The picture was obviously from well before the war, since Preble was converted to a minelayer (DM-20) in 1937. Further, she served in the Pacific, not the Atlantic.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Moonlight Serenade (1998)

Soundtrack:

Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean

Two Navy Guys With History

Pat O'Brien and George Murphy play a couple of Navy guys with some bad history between them. When Murphy was an officer, O'Brien testified against him and got him busted out of the service. After Pearl Harbor Murphy enlists as an ordinary seaman and as it is in these films, he's assigned two O'Brien's gunnery crew. The two also have Jane Wyatt who is O'Brien's sister and who Murphy was going out with also as part of their history.

Which is assigned to a merchant marine ship to defend it from enemy attack. If you remember in Action In The North Atlantic such a Navy gun crew was assigned to Humphrey Bogart's and Raymond Massey's vessel in that film.

So far it's the normal run of World War II flag wavers, but after they're at sea, the plot goes totally off the charts. Jane Wyatt is a Navy nurse now and she's on the ship tending to the wounded. And a German speaking member of their crew gets a vital piece of information and has captain Ray Collins and O'Brien diverting the merchant vessel from its course on a mission all its own.

Other members of the cast and part of O'Brien's gun crew are eager kid Jackie Cooper, career Navy man Max Baer, Desi Arnaz who came up from Cuba to fight, Carl Esmond who was the German speaking man and a former musician, and Frank Jenks the obligatory guy from Brooklyn whose main concern is getting a radio transmission of the Dodgers game.

I can't go into the incredible ridiculousness of the plot except to say it involves our guys attempting to sabotage Admiral Doenitz's fleet of U=Boats all by themselves. You have to see it to believe it.

The Navy Comes Through with some interesting and colorful performances which is the main reason to see the film as well as some nice special effects from RKO which got an Academy Award nomination has not held up well over the years. Did the American movie-going public really buy this stuff even then?