Sunday, November 29, 2020

Here Comes the Navy (1934)

 

This film is an absolute time capsule of disasters. Most of it takes place aboard the USS Arizona, seven years before it would sink in the attack on Pearl Harbor. We see a Navy zeppelin three years before the Hindenburg disaster. James Cagney at one point puts on blackface to sneak off of the ship before society realized how problematic that was - though his black shipmates definitely don't seem pleased. Then there are the smaller (by comparison) issues of toxic masculinity with a touch of homophobia.

Cagney's character joins the Navy because he wants to fight an officer he runs into while working in Seattle. Then, of course, he falls for the guy's sister. Despite being the protagonist and saving the day a couple times, Cagney's character has few redeeming qualities and is really just a horrible human being.

20 to go...

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