Ship A Hooey! (1932) User Reviews (2)

No Women Permitted On Submarines

[boblipton · 5/10 · 26 November 2021]

Glenn Tryon has smuggled Mary Carlisle aboard the submarine, and the officers have ordered the men to find her. This incites fellow submariner Bobby Vernon into a competition with Tryon for Miss Carlisle's affection, in which struggle Shore Patrolman Walter Long gets involved.

It's the last on screen appearance of Vernon; neither did Tryon appear much subsequently. Both retreated behind the screen as writers, directors and producers. This effort shows why two such polished comedy veterans would do so; its start-and-stop pacing is caused by the fact that they and director Harry Edwards were veterans of silent comedy, and the imposition of dialogue, as well as a constant cranking speed, ruined their timing. They could and would figure out how to do better for performers more used to speaking, but their times had passed.

One dumb premise after another sink this short.

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 4 December 2021]

When I watch comedies, I can often suspend disbelief and accept a dumb premise. But when they come one after another after another, you know you're going to be in for a rough ride. Such as it is watching "Ship A Hooey!"!

When the story begins, a sailor sneaks a lady aboard his submarine...which really makes no sense at all. Soon, other nonsensical plot elements are introduced...such as a sailor donning the woman's clothes and the sailors suddenly believing it's a lady. Bobby Vernon was not a macho looking guy...but clearly looked like a guy. What also was really dumb was when the woman was crying loudly...and one of the sailors pretended it was him crying...when anyone with half a brain would see it couldn't be him. The bottom line is that although the film has some decent actors in it, the writing in this Al Christie production is poor to say the least.

To put the quality of this short in perspective, around the same time Laurel & Hardy made such naval comedies as "Two Tars" and "Men 'O War"...and they are STILL enjoyable and great fun....so why not just watch them and skip this third-rate comedy?