GurlyIamBeach Instant Favorite.

TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Kimball Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Scott LeBrun Gary Cooper stars in this WWII comedy, released several years after the wars' finish, about the various experiments that the Navy conducted with machines and equipment. Cooper plays John W. Harkness, a Reserve officer assigned to commandeer a ship that's been outfitted with a steam engine. He's basically as inexperienced as his misfit crew, and dealing with them occupies practically as much time as trying to make their infernal steam engine work.Likeable and lively, "You're in the Navy Now" was scripted by Richard Murphy, based on a New Yorker article by John W. Hazard, and directed by Henry Hathaway. While it may never be truly uproarious, it generates enough modest chuckles to keep it watchable. The "misfits make good" formula has been a part of cinema for a long, long time, and here it makes for a decent story, as we come to respect and admire these men when they learn how to work together, and keep that engine running. A subplot about beefy sailor Wascylewski (Charles Bronson) selected to represent the ship in a boxing match also takes up some of the running time.Cooper gets to do something a little different here, in contrast to the more accomplished heroes he'd played before. Here he is rather overwhelmed, and plays it just right. The lovely Jane Greer gets a handful of scenes as his supportive wife, but what is most impressive is the roster of actors filling out roles: Jack Webb, John McIntire, Ray Collins, Millard Mitchell, Eddie Albert, Richard Erdman, Harvey Lembeck, Ed Begley, etc. Real-life WWII veterans Bronson, Lee Marvin (in a bit part as a radio man), and Jack Warden made their film debuts here, along with Lembeck.Filmed with full military cooperation, the film does have the feel of authenticity, and moves along well to an amusing climax with a LOT of near misses.Seven out of 10.

Nojaa This movie is a very comical look at an actual incident that happened in the US Navy during World War II.* Warning -- Spoiler * Gary Cooper plays Lieutenant John W. Harkness, a naval reserve officer who, because the Navy was short of officers, went through their crash course on how to be an officer. On receiving his commission, he finds he has the unfortunate luck of being assigned to one of the Navy's "experiments" -- a sub chaser powered by an experimental steam engine. Due to his degree in mechanical engineering, or perhaps because of it, Lt. Harkness is the only person on board who knows anything about steam engines.Dubbed the "USS Teakettle," a nom de plume intended by the rest of the Navy as a slur against the ship, the crew takes the name and runs with it. Unfortunately, the ship is plagued with problems from the get go, and Lt. Harkness and his crew become the butt of many jokes. The crew manages to redeem themselves only through a base-sponsored boxing match.The "coup de grace" occurs when the Teakettle is on another test run with the program's commander, Rear Admiral L. C. Tennant. After completing a successful run, the throttles on the steam engine freeze wide open, causing the ship to slough through the harbor waters at break-neck speeds until it finally comes to rest smashed against an aircraft carrier. Honor is finally satisfied, however, when the Admiral proclaims the experiment a failure and refits the ship with a diesel engine.This movie is full of hilarious sequences and scenes of a ship commander who'd rather be someplace else.The movie stars Gary Cooper, Jane Greer, Edward Albert, Ray Collins, Jack Webb and Henry Slate. Directed by Henry Hathaway.

MEEdmo42 I enjoyed this movie very much, mostly because of the many excellent actors. Now (2006), most, if not all, of the actors have passed away. I greatly enjoyed Jack Webb's role probably the most as he also began his career and also the little that Charles Bronson (Buchinski)was featured was a good start for him. One interesting note: when the ship was on a test run with big brass on board, you can see that Lee Marvin is twins. He relays the message to go faster to the man at the back of the ship, which is also Lee Marvin. I got a big kick out of that. I am not a Gary Cooper fan, but I loved the movie as a whole, just watching the many good actors that are now gone.

helpless_dancer Surely to God the United States Navy didn't use tubs like this in World War Two. Did they? Enjoyable film, not in a small part because of all the familiar old faces. A few amusing moments were to be had, but I imagine the thing would have been a laugh riot 50 years ago.