EARLY JAMES CAGNEY MILITARY COMEDY 'HERE COMES THE NAVY'

YEAR: 1934 Rates: ****

James Cagney as feisty construction worker/dance-contest running Chesty O'Brien has a row with Navy braggart Pat O'Brien, so he joins-up to simply punch out his rival in Lloyd Bacon's HERE COMES THE NAVY, another early Cagney programmer, here with most of the screen-time onboard the doomed/legendary U.S.S. Arizona aircraft carrier, in 1934...

Cagney, along with his usual tubby comic-relief sidekick Frank McHugh, meet up in a 90-day boot camp that flies by too quickly.... 

But with HERE COMES THE NAVY, featuring bad (as in flirtatious two-timing) dancing girl Dorothy Tree followed by the token perfect girl who just happens to be O'Brien's little sister Gloria Stuart predictably falling for Cagney yet in an equally mutual fashion, the best scenes showcase how Chesty cuts corners onboard the Arizona, from taking an illegal liberty to working extremely hard to NOT have to work as hard as everyone else... That's until the inevitable tables turn and Cagney goes from snarky clown to intrepid hero, equally a stretch to how and why he'd joined in the first place... but it's all lightweight fare with the resilient young Cagney once again making pure adventure out of just a few locations. 

James Cagney in HERE COMES THE NAVY

Pat O'Brien in HERE COMES THE NAVY

Dorothy Tree in HERE COMES THE NAVY

Gloria Stuart in HERE COMES THE NAVY

Frank McHugh in HERE COMES THE NAVY

James Cagney in HERE COMES THE NAVY

James Cagney in HERE COMES THE NAVY

James Cagney in HERE COMES THE NAVY with the U.S.S. Arizona

James Cagney in HERE COMES THE NAVY

Dorothy Tree in HERE COMES THE NAVY

James Cagney in HERE COMES THE NAVY with Dorothy Tree

Pat O'Brien in HERE COMES THE NAVY with Dorothy Tree

James Cagney in HERE COMES THE NAVY with Frank McHugh

James Cagney in HERE COMES THE NAVY with Frank McHugh

James Cagney in HERE COMES THE NAVY with Frank McHugh

James Cagney in HERE COMES THE NAVY with Gloria Stuart

James Cagney in HERE COMES THE NAVY with Frank McHugh on the U.S.S. Arizona

James Cagney in HERE COMES THE NAVY with Gloria Stuart on the U.S.S. Arizona

James Cagney in HERE COMES THE NAVY with Gloria Stuart on the U.S.S. Arizona

James Cagney in HERE COMES THE NAVY