In the Navy (1941)

Synopsis: A famous crooner is tired of being famous and decides to enlist in the Navy under his real name. A photographer tracks him down and sneaks into his ship, with the purpose of taking pictures of him that she will sell to a magazine.
Appraisal: This is a comedy starring a comic duo where one is a tall lean guy and the other is a short chubby guy. The tall one enjoys putting the chubby one in situations of trouble, generally by encouraging him to do silly things. The film has many humorous set-pieces that rely almost invariably on visual humor. They are amusing but some are a little crude. The comic duo displays genuine talent, especially the chubby guy: his sense of timing is impeccable. The film has many musical numbers, some of them featuring the 'famous crooner' character, who is a good singer, and others featuring a trio of female singers, who are good singers too. I am not so sure I can be a good judge of the quality of the songs, but having heard them once I found them average. The premise of the plot dismisses the myth (it's not a widespread myth, I think; a lot of people are aware of the truth) that the phenomenon of female mass hysteria over popular singers began in the late fifties with rock-and-roll. The development of the plot is plodding and repetitive; the subplots are generally uninteresting. The film is marred by military songs and marches.
Rating: 47