This Man's Navy

Chief Petty Officer Wallace Beery is in the Navy Dirigible Corps. He wrangles with fellow CPO James Gleason, virtually adopts crippled Tom Drake, shepherds him through a romance with Jan Clayton, gets his legs fixed and a a Naval commission, then turns around into setting up a base in India and bs-ing his way into a rescue of Drake, who has gone down while flying over the Hump. All while Luftwaffe and Japanese planes punch holes in his dirigibles.

Every branch and sub-branch of the service got at least an Oscar-nominated short subject during the Second World War, and this is the Dirigible Corps' moment in the sun, quick, before the War is over. It looks dorky to the modern audience. Nowadays we think of the Goodyear Blimp, and that's it. But the Navy didn't retire its last dirigible until 1962. Of course, the Navy keeps a small forest in Indiana for wood to replace parts of the U. S. S. Constitution, so take that for what you will. If you're going to enjoy this movie, it will be for Beery's trademark aw-shucks charm, a chance to see his brother, Noah Beery Sr., in the same movie, and surprisingly, a charming performance by Selena Royle as Drake's mother. With Henry O'Neill, Steve Brodie, George Chandler, and Dell Henderson.

This wartime film follows a formula that MGM used on quite a few Wallace Beery films. Once again the over-age and over-weight Beery is supposed to be a career military guy. However, the big difference in this film is that his Navy man is with the Lighter Than Air service--balloons that were used for submarine patrols. I can't think of another movie that dealt with this important branch of the Navy--even though 12,000 men served with this service and they were incredibly successful.

Beery plays Ned Trumpet--a guy who is pretty much the same as he played in other films of the genre. He's got a heart of gold but also lies like a rug--and when his friend/rival Jimmy (James Gleason) talks about the exploits of his son, Ned talks all about his as well. The problem is that Ned NEVER was married nor has any kids! So, after meeting a nice young man, Jess (Tom Drake), he decides to unofficially adopt him and begins telling his friends about how great 'his boy' is! What Ned doesn't know is that Jess is disabled and cannot walk--and Ned's plans for Jess following him into the LTA service appear impossible. But, thanks to a nice-guy doctor who thinks he can cure Jess, the man is able to join the service. This only takes us to about midway through the film--what happens next is for you to see for yourself. Rest assured, however, that like most of these other films, it involves redemption and incredible coincidences!

Overall, like all the Beery military films, it's high on propaganda but also on entertainment. Sure, it does follow the formula, but it's well made and enjoyable throughout.

By the way, I read up on this and found that during WWII there was a single case where a blimp that was sunk by a sub. They lost one crew member in the attack. Otherwise, the blimps were incredibly successful and had a huge advantage over the subs and lost hardly a ship during their escort duties.

Of all the movies I have seen, and that's most of them, this is by far the best one made that is primarily about the U.S. Naval Airships (Blimps) during the WW-II era. Yes there are other good LTA related movies, but most use special effects more than any real-time shots. This Man's Navy has considerably more real-time footage of blimps etc. True, lots of corny dialog but that's what makes more interesting Hollywood movies, even today. P.S. I spent 10 years(out of 20) and have over 5,000 hours in Navy Airships of all types, from 1949 through 1959. Proud member of the Naval Airship Association etc. [ATC(LA/AC) USN Retired]

Wallace Beery (as Ned Trumpet) is a World War II blimp aviator; his unbelievable war stories have helped earn him the nickname "Old Gas Bag". Though he was never a husband or (presumably) father, Mr. Berry's stories include bragging about the exploits of his talented son; probably, this is to compete with bickering Navy man James Gleason (as Jimmy Shannon). In one of an unbelievable series of happenstances, Berry meets an fatherless young man, Tom Drake (as Jess Weaver), who makes an ideal son.

Trouble is, Mr. Drake's character is unable to walk without crutches; so, the crippled man doesn't match the son in Berry's stories. While the film scores points for the inclusion of a disabled character; ultimately, it presents the condition as unworkable. Certainly, Mr. Drake's disability provided him with heroics enough too impress Berry and his Navy friends. The dramatics are highlighted by a couple of exciting battles involving Berry's war blimp; the Japanese submarine attack is particularly good. The best comic scenes are near the end; when, in India, Berry is reunited with a friendly old elephant.

***** This Man's Navy (1/4/45) William A. Wellman ~ Wallace Beery, Tom Drake, James Gleason

Talkative Navy balloonist Ned Trumpet (Wallace Beery) falls out of his basket into the middle of nowhere. He befriends farm boy Jess Weaver. He has been telling tall tales about his fictional son which gets more and more elaborate. In reality, he never got himself a family. He tries to recruit Jess into the service and then Jess reveals a lame leg. He introduces unsuspecting Cathey Cortland (Jan Clayton) to Jess. Before he knows it, he has his fictional family.

This is Wallace Beery being Wallace Beery in a lower level wartime war movie. The family story is sentimentality mixed with Beery's sweet brutishness. I'm perfectly happy with that part. The war fighting is less convincing and the military drama is less engaging. It's fine for some wartime fare.