How old?
Some of these midshipmen are pretty old looking. Dick Powell was 31 when he made this flick, and he's one of the younger looking ones. Is this just Hollywood, or did they take older students back in the day?
shareI couldn't give an informed answer on that, but as far as the Powell character goes his father is an admiral -- so I'm speculating that the son had that advantage for entering the academy.
On the other hand, actors and actresses often played characters younger than themselves. Powell might have been playing someone in his late twenties, so being in reality 31 years of age isn't that much of a stretch.