Artivels Undescribable Perfection

XoWizIama Excellent adaptation.

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Taraparain Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

vincentlynch-moonoi I have mixed feelings about this film. As an Abbott & Costello outing, it's darned good. As funny as probably any of their films, with one of my favorite bits -- the math problem. It gets sorta silly toward the end, but that's what Abbott & Costello are supposed to be.So what are my reservations? The use here of Dick Powell. Powell here is relegated to an almost minor supporting actor. Yes, he has a couple of decent songs, but his screen time is pretty brief overall. I would have rewritten the script substantially to eliminate Powell all together, and utilize Dick Foran, who was a good enough singer to handle the songs here. If I had been Powell, I would have been pretty unhappy about this casting.So for Abbott & Costello0 fans, you'll be quite pleased with this film...and in that regard, so am I. If you're a Dick Powell fan, you're not going to be a happy camper.Getting better treatment are the Andrews Sisters, who have several good numbers, and Patty is Lou Costello's love interest here. They shine.In general, this is a fairly standard service comedy. Lots of silly hi-jinks on a ship, including a very funny dream action sequence which nearly sunk the Navy's cooperation in making the film.As usual, Lou Costello carries the comedy here, with Bud Abbott pretty much just providing the straight lines, although Abbott is very good in the shell game sequence.One of the better Abbott & Costello efforts.

Spikeopath In The Navy does at times feel rushed, you sense that it was what is commonly known today as a cash cow !, it was rushed thru to capitalise on the success of Buck Privates the previous outing from the duo. Abbott & Costello are widely regarded and lauded for saving Universal Studios bacon, so with that in mind I feel that it would be churlish of me to downgrade the film for its forced feel, but sadly it is evident regardless.Yet for me to even suggest that the film is less than entertaining would be doing a big disservice to all involved, all the expected formula's are in here, the gags from the boys hit the mark, with the "find the submarine sequence" particularly mirth inducing, and of course the musical warbling of The Andrews Sisters offers foot tapping relief. The film does exactly what it says on the tin, open it up expecting fun and light relief, and you will get it in spades, a safe 6/10.

gridoon Lou: "I'll fight these men in a field of honor"Bud: "But they have no honor"Lou: "That's okay, I ain't got no field!"One of the earliest Abbott & Costello films, "In the Navy" has a better balance of humor and music than, say, the Marx Brothers outings of the same period. The songs, although dated, are still quite catchy, and there is also a spectacular tap-dancing number by the Condos Brothers (OK, the Hawaiian song is perfectly awful, but at least nobody plays a harp for 10 minutes here). The comedy is visual, verbal, and at times even surreal (Costello draws a line with a piece of chalk on a blackboard - and then hangs his cap on it!). This film is not great cinematic art, but it does offer some great laughs. (**1/2)

JoeKarlosi Thus continued a standard (and at the time of its release, winning) formula for Abbott & Costello's earliest films which you need to take with a grain or two of salt in order to appreciate them. With IN THE NAVY, Universal wanted to capitalize on the monstrous success of the earlier BUCK PRIVATES, so now we've got another "service comedy" from the team, with some tried and true funny segments that work, scattered along with the now customary dashes of song, dance, and sub-plotting.In the area of humorous routines, Bud and Lou are a hit with the "Lemon Shell Game," the "Sons of Neptune" initiation prank, Lou trying to get some sleep in a cockeyed hammock, and then Costello later trying to prove to Abbott that "7x13 = 28". We've even got Shemp Howard of the Three Stooges on hand to help out with some of these gags. This is all fine and dandy.But then again, every once in awhile it's obligatory that the three Andrews Sisters have to pop in with another song and dance number. While I actually didn't mind the ladies in BUCK PRIVATES, I didn't care for any of their songs in this film. Even worse, some time is wasted on a silly romance between lead singer Patty Andrews and chubby little Lou. This doesn't go anywhere and is more of a liability than a help.Dick Powell gets big billing along with Abbott and Costello, and a good portion of the story deals with his being a successful singer, idolized by hordes of adoring women, who'd like nothing more than to sneak into the navy just to get away from all the fanfare. Unluckily for him, there's a female photographer who's hot on his trail and is determined to spring up with her ever-intrusive camera to snap all the pictures she can of him. This also becomes rather tiring. Yet thankfully, A&C are constantly in their hilarious prime to keep bringing us back to the laughs, which is always the chief reason we keep wanting to watch. **1/2 out of ****