An historic treasure
This film deserves a 10 just for its preservation of navy history in the pre-war years. The filming inside the 14 inch gun turrest is spectacular. What a treasure.
shareI absolutely agree. As a naval history buff I was enthralled by this film. The ships (BBs especially, but also CVs, CAs, CLs, DDs), the uniforms (right arm rates, undress blues, officers in bicornes and epaulettes), the daily routine of the battleship Navy (liberty passes, bugle calls, hammocks, etc.) It was awesome. Add in the fact that this is USS ARIZONA and there is something very poignant about it too, because we are aware of her tragic future fate. Many sailors at that time stayed with their ships much longer than is customary now, and there is a good chance that some of the extras here were still onboard her December 7th seven years later.
I was going to raise the Bravo Sierra flags (Baker Sugar in 1934) on Chesty's getting the Navy Cross for his actions in the turret until I looked it up and found that prior to 1942, the Navy Cross was awarded for both combat and peace time heroism. The Navy Marine Corps Medal, which is what I thought he would have rated, was created at the same time the Navy Cross become a combat-only medal.
I'm still not sure about the direct appointment from seaman deuce to warrant boatswain. It wouldn't happen now, but as the movie portrays, a lot of things were different in the Navy then. And even if it didn't happen then either, I'll cut them some slack for story purposes
-CPO, USN (ret)
Also of historic note, the dirigible U.S.S. Macon is seen toward the end of the film. The Macon was lost in a storm in February of 1935, less than a year after this film was shot. Blessedly, only two crew members were lost.
shareI find this film a historic treasure for another reason. James Cagney buys a pass from a black sailor, and he dons "blackface" to get off the ship!
shareThere were Arizona sailors in that film who were lost during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Also, movie footage of Arizona and contemporary battleships are quite rare at this point in time. I've only seen one clip of ships including the Arizona along with Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, and Nevada. Only one ship left from that era being the USS Texas and her future given the condition is quite murky at present. If anybody is inclined they should see it moored in SE Texas before anything happens to it. The navy has the power to have such ships scrapped if they deteriorate too much.
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