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Wallace Beery and director William A. "Wild Bill" Wellman had more in common besides long and celebrated film careers: They were flyboys who loved piloting their own planes. This Man's Navy returns both—in feisty, fighting form—to the skies in a thrilling and sentimental World War II tale that salutes the lighter-than-air airships of the US Naval and Marine Corps.
Ned "Old Gasbag" Trumpet (Beery) skippers a dirigible training unit and, per his nickname, spins tall tales, including one about a fictitious son, rankling fellow corpsman Jimmy Shannon (James Gleason, a perfect partner in bluster to Beery). Ned "adopts" young Jess Weaver (Tom Drake) as his "son," securing an operation to fix Jess' disabled legs and enabling Jess to earn his Navy wings as a combat pilot. Their bond is tested on a submarine patrol mission when miscommunicated bombing orders cost lives, ending in disgrace for Ned. But another combat mission affords a second chance for "father" and "son" to fly their true heroic colors, and steer This Man's Navy home to glory.
Original Release
01/04/1945
US Release
01/04/1945
Links
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Wallace Beery | Ned Trumpet |
Tom Drake | Jess Weaver |
James Gleason | Jimmy Shannon |
Jan Clayton | Cathey Cortland |
Selena Royle | Maude Weaver |
Noah Beery | Joe Hodum |
Henry O'Neill | Lt. Cmdr. Roger Graystone |
Steve Brodie | Timothy Joseph Aloysius 'Tim' Shannon |
George Chandler | Bert Bland |
Donald Curtis | Operations Officer |
Directors
Writers
Borden Chase, Herman E. Halland, Hugh Allen, Allen Rivkin, John Twist
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Wallace Beery | Ned Trumpet |
Tom Drake | Jess Weaver |
James Gleason | Jimmy Shannon |
Jan Clayton | Cathey Cortland |
Selena Royle | Maude Weaver |
Noah Beery | Joe Hodum |
Henry O'Neill | Lt. Cmdr. Roger Graystone |
Steve Brodie | Timothy Joseph Aloysius 'Tim' Shannon |
George Chandler | Bert Bland |
Donald Curtis | Operations Officer |
Arthur Walsh | Cadet Rayshek |
Will Fowler | David |
Frank Fenton | Captain Grant |
Paul Cavanagh | Sir Anthony Tivall |
Dick Crockett | Sparks |
Carlyle Blackwell Jr. | Mechanic |
Ralph Brooke | Minor Role |
Keye Chang | Minor Role |
Richard Collin | Shore Patrolman |
Douglas Cowan | NATS Pilot |
Producers
Name | Role |
---|
Samuel Marx | Producer |