Let's Go Navy! (1951) User Reviews

Bowery Boys flick

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 20 February 2022]

Slip and Sach lose over $1600 in charity money when they get robbed at gunpoint by two men dressed as Navy sailors. The guys are either looked upon with suspicion or dismissed by the likes of the police. Slip comes up with the idea to join the Navy to find the two crooked sailors.

This is a Bowery Boys film. It's a good setup but the guys don't actually solve the case. I would have prefer them bumbling through an investigation that actually had a chance. It would have been interesting if they ended up on the same ship as the two criminals. There would be more opportunities for comedy and drama. Otherwise, this is a perfectly fine Bowery Boys film.

It's great to see the New York skyline again. It'll look a lot better if all those buildings weren't in the way!

[sol1218 · 5/10 · 11 September 2010]

***SPOILERS*** After being mugged of $1,683.00 that they collected in a charity dance for the needy families of the Bowery by two sailors, Red & Jones, on shore leave Slip and his "Bowery Boys" Sach Whitey Chuck & Butch end up enlisting in the US Navy, by mistake, in them trying to track down the sailors who mugged them. With one of the sailors having a tattoo of a heart with an arrow and the name Marie on it the boys expect to check out the chests of every sailor in the US Navy to find the culprit! With thousands of sailors having the exact same tattoo that's quite an undertaking. Even worse the two "sailors" who mugged Slip & Sach of the $1,683.00 weren't even sailor but were impersonating them! Making the search for them in the US Navy a not just a very difficult but virtually impossible task!

It's after Slip Sach & the "Bowery Boys" inflict almost as much damage on the US Navy, with their screwball antics, as the Japanese did at Pearl Harbor that they finally hit pay-dirt in the most unusual and unexpected way. It's when their battleship that their assigned to ends up in the port of New York with the boys loaded with cash, due to Sach's pet parrot Davie Jones sharp eye in a shell game aboard ship, and their given shore leave is when they run into the very same phony sailors, Red & Joe, who had earlier mugged them! With Red & Joe staying at hotel over Louie Dumbrowsky's Sweet Shop that they got the news, in a letter from Sach to Louie, of the boys good luck at the shell game table. Now both Red & Joe are, in planing to mug them again, ready for an encore event! But this time around with the "Bowery Boys" are more then ready for them things turned out a whole lot different!

One of the few "Bowery Boys" misfires that was only saved by a number of comedy set pieces involving the Boys superior officer on board Chief Petty officer Longnecker who's always getting himself wet, at sea and on dry land, with him ending up knocked cold, by Sach, on a Bowery street as a NYC sanitation street cleaner washes him down. There's also the ship's Lt.Commander Tanner who has an amazing ability of blowing bubbles after mistakingly gulping down a soap sandwich, which he mistook for cheese, and washing it all down with a cup of tea.

***SPOILERS*** For all their trouble in finally tracking down their muggers and getting their $1,683.00 back the Boys in expecting to get a commendations from the US Navy for their great work ended up again, also by mistake, re-enlisting in the US Navy with those who's enlistment papers got mixed up with their navy commendations awards!

"I just been infused with a brilliant idea."

[utgard14 · 5/10 · 21 June 2016]

Twenty-third entry in the Bowery Boys series from Monogram has Slip & Sach being robbed by a couple of crooks posing as sailors. The police are no help so the boys, along with the rest of their gang, join the Navy to try and find the crooks. That turns out to be as good an idea as you might expect. The cast of regulars are all enjoyable, with the focus as usual being on Slip (Leo Gorcey) and Sach (Huntz Hall). Hall seems to be trying extra hard in this one but getting little juice for his squeeze. The problem is the script isn't the best and if the boys are doing any of their notorious ad-libbing here, they weren't coming up with anything particularly funny. Very few malapropisms from Leo Gorcey, which is one of the series' funniest elements. William Benedict and David Gorcey are both fine although I think they only had a dozen lines between them the whole film. This is not only the last film in the series to feature Buddy Gorman, it's also Gorman's last film altogether. I think he speaks once or twice in this so no great loss. Bernard Gorcey is a highlight in his scenes as Louie the Sweet Shop owner. The rest of the cast includes Allen Jenkins, Paul Harvey, Jonathan Hale, and future murderer Tom Neal. Not one of the Boys' best, in my opinion, but entertaining enough. More amusing bits than anything laugh out loud funny.

Bowery Boys #23

[Michael_Elliott · 29 September 2010]

Let's Go Navy (1951)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Silly but charming entry has Slip (Leo Gorcey) and Sach (Huntz Hall) getting held up by a couple sailors who take off with nearly two grand. The boys decide to join the Navy to track down the thieves not knowing that the men were just in costume. It goes without saying but once on board the boys do non-stop damage. The 23rd entry is a pretty good one even though we're certainly not going to bear witness to any ground breaking comedy or Oscar-winning performances. I think the film does benefit from a better than normal screenplay that features a lot of longer takes that let the jokes come at a smaller but better pace than many of the previous entries. One of the best examples of this is a rather long sequence where the boys try to swab the decks but Sach keeps doing on dumb thing after another, which eventually gets under the skin of the CPO (Allen Jenkins). The scene goes on a good five minutes and instead of just one or two quick jokes the screenplay allows the scene to play out by letting the actors get into a rather good grove and actually perform. This sequence is followed with an even better one where Slip is feeding the Captain but doesn't realize the cheese on the plate is actually soap. Once again we could have had a couple simple jokes but instead the screenplay allows the scene to expand and really deliver something more than the obvious joke. It goes without saying but there are quite a few jokes that don't work and this includes a rather annoying talking bird that Sach becomes friends with. The actual robbery subplot doesn't have much going for it but I guess they were just looking for any cheap way to get the boys on the boat. Both Gorcey and Hall are up to their usual standards, although it seems like poor Sach is getting dumber with each new film. Charlita doesn't earn an Oscar but she's certainly worth looking at. Warner character actor Jenkins is in good form here and takes quite a beating but it was fun seeing him here. LET'S GO NAVY would appear to be a lazy entry just because the plot of a group of dummies going into the navy isn't original but the familiar set up actually leads to quite a few good jokes so fans of the series should find themselves entertained.

This trip wasn't necessary

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 21 May 2016]

Let's Go Navy finds Leo Gorcey getting another grand idea and getting his sidekicks to join in. When the Boys are robbed outside Louis's Sweet Shop by two men posing as sailors, he gets the brilliant idea to have them all join the Navy to find the crooks. They don't even really join as they find the enlistment papers of five guys who had some second thoughts. They all should have had second thoughts especially Huntz Hall.

Which is really just a convenient plot to hang a series of funny gags where the Boys become the shipboard nemesis of the captain Paul Harvey and CPO Allen Jenkins. Making a sailor out of Huntz Hall is as funny as making one out of Lou Costello.

The sad part was the trip wasn't necessary. You'll have to watch Let's Go Navy to see what I mean.

Calling all comics-to stay OUT of the service!

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 14 October 2010]

Joe E. Brown was a "Son of a Sailor"; Buster Keaton and Jimmy Durante were "The Dough Boys"; Abbott and Costello were "In the Navy" and "Buck Privates", Martin and Lewis were "At War with the Army", and Bob Hope was "Caught in the Draft". Now, Slick, Sach, and the other Bowery Boys get their turn to turn military discipline upside down, all on account of a bunch of fake sailors who robbed them of charity money. Deciding to enlist to find the culprits, the boys end up on a ship where they create all sorts of chaos for their captain and supervisor (Larry Keating and Allen Kenkins). These boys are so dumb (how dumb are they?) that they think that the entire navy is restricted to this entire ship. Several of them do nothing but run around, pulling up other sailor's shirts, to find the one with the particular tattoo that one of the robbers had.

It's absurd, it's insulting, it's unpatriotic, and it's hysterically funny! Yes, this is one of the Bowery Boys films that actually provides a lot of genuine laughs. In every one of these films, there is a sucker who always ends up getting the pie in the puss, and here it's Jenkins, who manages to be in the wrong place at the wrong time at every turn, ending up soaking wet because of the boy's antics. Leo Gorcey comments, "If they want the ship to be this wet, why don't they just turn the ship upside down?", while swabbing the deck. Te captain asks him why it seems like he effortlessly keeps getting into trouble, to which Gorcey responds, "Oh, it's no effort at all." This is the type of silliness to expect, and it's difficult not to love it.

The ship ends up in Hawaii where they encounter sarong clad Belita, a Dorothy Lamour look-alike. But back in New York, old pal Louis (Bernard Gorcey) encounters the actual thieves and tries to get ahold of the boys. Louis seems to always pop up, no matter where the boys end up, just so he can be an unofficial part of the gang. While most of the Bowery Boy movies focus on bad malapropisms while lamely fighting criminals, "Let's Go Navy!" is one of the best of the series, and certainly the best of their 50's films, which honestly were really bad. It has more laughs than most of their films put together, and features the funniest talking parrot since "The Fuller Brush Girl". A rare winner in the Bowery Boys catalog.

Let's Go Navy! (1951) **1/2

[JoeKarlosi · 6/10 · 13 September 2010]

The Bowery Boys (or at least Slip and Sach, ie: Leo Gorcey and Huntz Hall) get robbed of over $1600 by two men dressed in bogus sailor suits. So the gang figure they can get into the Navy temporarily and recover their cash by searching everyone aboard ship for a revealing tattoo which one of the crooks wore on his chest. Pretty predictable comic mayhem occurs at sea, like the boys having to swab the decks and dishing out slapstick routines to their superiors in the process. It's not a bad entry in this long-running series. Huntz Hall seems to have drank a lot of coffee while shooting this one, as he's really rather charged up. Or maybe by now he's just really full force into his dimwitted Sach characterization. **1/2 out of ****

The 'boys' are nearly too old to enlist in this naval film!

[planktonrules · 4/10 · 20 February 2022]

In their later films, I always marveled that the boys in The Bowery Boys were in their 30s. By the time the series ended, they were nearly 40! And, since the gang join the navy, you have to wonder if maybe they were too old to enlist back in 1951!

When the story begins, the Boys have been collecting for charity. However, two crooks dressed as sailors jump Slip and Sach and steal the money. To make it worse, there's no sign of the crooks and folks in the neighborhood begin wondering whether Sach and Slip stole the money and just blamed it on 'some sailors'. Given that the police seem to have no leads, the gang decides to join the navy and look for the crooks. After all, one has an unusual tattoo...and if they find the tattoed man, they'll solve the crime.

I always find it funny how easy it is to join and quit the service...as Abbott & Costello, Laurel & Hardy, The Three Stooges, Martin & Lewis, and the Bowery Boys join up only to civilians by their next movie! I also find it funny that the Boys want to find two specific sailors...at a time when there were probably a couple hundred thousand sailors (give or take)!

So is this any good? Well, like all the Bowery Boys films, it's NOT a film the average peson will enjoy. However, fans of the series should enjoy it well enough. While I am a bit of a fan, I must admit that the story makes less sense than usual, Sach might even be stupider than usual AND the inclusion of a 'funny' talking parrot is a mistake.

WHY WE LOVE LEO GORCEY & HUNTZ HALL!

[tcchelsey · 10/10 · 18 February 2022]

PURE SLAPSTICK. 10 STARS.

The guys are absolutely insane here, joining the Navy to retrieve stolen charity money. This was also the first episode in which they left the country, and according to future series writer and director Ed Bernds, it had to be believable --to a degree. It turns out that a couple of creeps, dressed in naval uniforms, pulled the job. Now all they have to do is find them???

There are endless gags, and Huntz Hall is outrageous. You have to credit ace director William Beaudine for letting him just do his thing. Additionally, this is an early credit for comedy writer Leonard Stern (who used the name Max Adams?), soon to write classic episodes for THE HONEYMOONERS, and many other top tv sitcoms.

Hilarious scene between Sach and the serious captain (played by Jonathan Hale, best known as Mr. Dithers in BLONDIE). Sach radios him and asks "who am I talking to?" The captain shouts, "This is the captain!" Sach asks back, "Do you know WHOOO you are talking to?" NO! Sach exhales.... "BYEEEEE!"

There is a way crazy running gag where poor Allen Jenkins (as Longnecker?) gets wet every time he encounters Sach, and nearly slides off the ship into the Atlantc Ocean!

Leo Gorcey has fun accidentally serving soap, instead of cheese to his commanding officer. SOAP BUBBLES ALL OVER THE PLACE! This had to have been borrowed from the THREE STOOGES.

A true labor of love from all the Bowery Boys who you can tell were having a good ole time. And that is the secret to great comedy. Leo Gorcey's daughter, Brandy, said her dad was a true comedian and he knew his stuff. Spot on.

PS: Sach's alias name is Hobernocker!

According to film notes Variety, the Hollywood Reporter and the Motion Picture Herald noted, this was one of the funniest episodes to date. The writers at the Herald added that a test audience started laughing 30 seconds into the film!

Great supporting cast of well known character actors, such as Tom Neal (as Joe), future director Richard Benedict (as Red), veteran actor Tom Kennedy (as Donovan) and Peter Mamakos as Nuramo. Actress Charlita plays pretty Princess Papoola.

Best bit is the sped up shell game between Sach, the parrot and a con-man. This was the final film by producer Jan Grippo, who retired after his wife died. Variety would pay tribute to his great work. Jerry Thomas would replace him, producing a string of classic early 50s episodes. Next up, CRAZY OVER HORSES! Do not miss that one.

Remastered by Warner Brothers, who were very wise to purchase the series and released them to TCM. WB features 6 to 8 films per dvd box set.

One of the better B.B.s

[JohnHowardReid · 7/10 · 22 September 2016]

By Monogram standards, this entry is surprisingly well produced. Evidently, the navy was unaware of Monogram's true status. And Dorothy Ford is even in the huge cast line-up, although she doesn't come until the second half. Huntz Hall's performance tends to be too mechanical, although Leo Gorcey is as lively as usual. Assisted by the redoubtable Paul Harvey, Gorcey even manages to breathe some amusement into that old wheeze of eating soap. Another pleasant cast surprise (and it is, by Monogram standards, an enormous cast at that!) is Allen Jenkins, who enjoys some mirthful encounters with Huntz Hall. And whilst on the subject of credits, let's not forget "Max Adams", the alleged screenwriter. Actually the movie carries no writer at all except one for additional dialogue, namely Bert Lawrence.

The Bowery Boys Slip Up

[wes-connors · 4/10 · 11 September 2010]

"Dansant (meaning 'Dance and') Chowder party" chairman Leo Gorcey (as Slip Mahoney) and "Eagle Beak" sidekick Huntz Hall (as Sach Jones) celebrate raising $1,683 for needy New York City families, but are robbed by two crooks posing as sailors, before they delivering the funds to a local charity. To wit, Mr. Gorcey, Mr. Hall, William "Billy" Benedict (as Whitey), Buddy Gorman (as Butch), and David Gorcey (as Chuck) decide to track down the crooked sailors by joining the Navy. Gorcey asks, "Who but a silly moron would ever suggest looking for two sailors in the navy?"

"The Bowery Boys" spend much of their time swabbing the deck, which leads to the expected slip-ups. They look for the distinctive tattoo one of the robbers had on his chest, but everyone seems to keep their shirt on in this Navy. The showers don't turn out to be a good place to look for suspects, either - in once scene, Hall showers in full bed clothes and cap. "Let's Go Navy!" could be described as an average entry in the sitcom series. Possibly, Gorcey sneaks in the word "pee" for "tea" during once scene. Blustery Allen "Top Cat" Jenkins (as Mervin Longnecker) is a welcome guest star.

**** Let's Go Navy! (7/29/51) William Beaudine ~ Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Allen Jenkins, William 'Billy' Benedict

The Bowery Boys at Sea

[hogwrassler · 7/10 · 20 February 2022]

The Bowery Boys turned the army upside down in "Bowery Battalion" and now it's the navy's turn to taste the slapstick humor of the BBs. In this one, Slip and Sach has collected over $1600 to help needy families in The Bowery. But two stickup men disguised as navy sailors rob them and get away, thanks to security team Chuck, Butch, and Whitey snoozing away in their "armored" car.

The cops aren't much help so Slip decides that the best way to find two sailors is to join the navy, temporarily. One of the thieves has a distinctive tattoo on his chest. So, they sign up and are assigned to a battleship, which they proceed to demolish with their own brand of deck swabbing. Sach somehow acquires a talking parrot, which turns out to be the smartest member of The Bowery Boys gang. Slip falls prey to a fast moving shell game, but Sach plays and manages to recover the lost money with some to spare. That is, with an assist from the parrot.

The funniest bits occur with the deck swabbing, and when Sach crawls into the barrel of a naval gun, which about to be fired.

Meanwhile, back at Louie's Sweet Shop, the robbers have been renting the room above the place. They turn out to be phony sailors, but how are the guys going to nab them?

Watch early in the movie for Tom Kennedy as police officer Donovan, who talks to Slip about the robbery. He is best remembered as Detective Gahagan in the "Torchy Blane" series.

Louie's role is somewhat diminished but Chuck, Butch, and Whitey all have increased screen time and lines.

Let's Go Navy (1951) is one of the better entries in the Bowery Boys series.

"You know fellas, this has been a very buzzling and intricating situation".

[classicsoncall · 6/10 · 22 May 2016]

With this entry the Bowery Boys created mayhem in almost as many military service branches as Abbott and Costello, who one upped them with a stint in the Army Air Corps. Probably a good thing too, can you see Sach taking over the controls of an airplane?!

The entire premise for this story was rather silly, but when wasn't it for the Boys? Slip (Leo Gorcey) and his gang manage to get inducted into the Navy when another group of five potential recruits ditches the idea as one of them winds up expecting a new member of the family. They quickly accommodate to their circumstances, each with a different name corresponding to the mistaken induction papers. Actually, it turns out this was just what Slip had in mind to track down a couple of hoods dressed as sailors who robbed them of sixteen hundred dollars to open the story - "I'm just being infused with a brilliant idea"!

A frequent James Cagney sidekick is on hand as one of the Navy officers; Allen Jenkins has his own set of run-ins with Sach (Huntz Hall) on board ship, each time requiring a change of uniform. I thought it would have been a pretty nifty idea for Dorothy Lamour to make a cameo here in the role of native girl Princess Papoola, but I'm pretty sure the budget wouldn't have allowed it. Even so, actress Charlita handled things pretty well during one of the lay overs. The gang even managed to pick up a talking parrot who helped Sach out of a jam with a shell game operator.

Stay attentive during that scene below decks when Slip and the gang attempt to search the sleeping Marines for the 'Marie' tattoo. Speaking to Butch (Buddy Gorman) and Chuck (David Gorcey), Slip calls his real life brother 'Dave' instead of using his character's name in the story.