''Oh, Sailor, Behave!'' is a 1930 American

Pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known ...

musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

film produced and released by

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

, and based on the play ''See Naples and Die'', written by

Elmer Rice Elmer Rice (born Elmer Leopold Reizenstein, September 28, 1892 – May 8, 1967) was an American playwright. He is best known for his plays ''The Adding Machine'' (1923) and his Pulitzer Prize-winning drama of New York tenement life, '' Street Sce ...

. The film was originally intended to be entirely in

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

and was advertised as such in movie trade journals. Due to the backlash against musicals, it was apparently released in black-and-white only.

Plot

An American newspaper reporter named Charlie Carroll ( Charles King) is sent to Venice to interview a Romanian general, who is played by Noah Beery. While in Venice Charlie falls for a young heiress named Nanette Dodge ( Irene Delroy). When Charlie is unable to get an interview with the Romanian general, a local siren named Kunegundi (

Vivien Oakland Vivien Oakland (born Vivian Ruth Andersen; May 20, 1895 – August 1, 1958), was an American actress best known for her work in comedies in Hollywood in the 1920s and 1930s, most notably with the Hal Roach Studios. Oakland appeared in 157 films ...

), who is the general's favorite helps him. Meanwhile, Nanette learns that her sister is being blackmailed by Prince Kasloff of Russia (

Lowell Sherman Lowell J. Sherman (October 11, 1888 – December 28, 1934) was an American actor and film director. In an unusual practice for the time, he served as both actor and director on several films in the early 1930s. He later turned exclusively to d ...

), to whom she wrote some incriminating letters. Nanette attempts to vamp the Prince in order to obtain the love letters. The Prince, however, tricks her and demands that Nanette marry him if she wants to save her sister. After being repeatedly rebuked by Nanette, the prince hires the Romanian general (

Noah Beery Noah Nicholas Beery (January 17, 1882 – April 1, 1946) was an American actor who appeared in films from 1913 until his death in 1946. He was the older brother of Academy Award-winning actor Wallace Beery as well as the father of prominen ...

) to kidnap her and force her into marriage. Charlie, thinking she has eloped, consoles himself with Kunegundi (

) and almost marries her until he realizes the truth about Nanette and that she has been kidnapped by the Prince. Charlie sets out to rescue her and when the Prince shows up disguised as the general he shoots Prince Kasloff. Charlie and Nanette are happily reunited. Ole Olsen and

Chic Johnson Harold Ogden "Chic" Johnson (March 15, 1891 – February 28, 1962) was the barrel-chested half of the American comedy team of Olsen and Johnson, known for his strangely infectious, high-pitched "Woo-Woo" laugh. Background Johnson was born of S ...

provide comic relief that is completely unrelated to the main story. They play the part of two American sailors stationed in Naples who attempt to find a wooden-legged thief who has robbed the navy storehouse in Venice. Louisa, a local siren (played by Lotti Loder) leads them on and embroils them in trouble.

Music

*"When Love Comes In The Moonlight" *"Leave A Little Smile" *"Highway to Heaven" *"The Laughing Song" *"Tell Us Which One Do You Love"

Production background

* Charles King recorded three songs for the film for

Brunswick Records Brunswick Records is an American record label founded in 1916. History From 1916 Records under the Brunswick label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, a company based in Dubuque, Iowa which had been manufacturing prod ...

: Brunswick 4840 (Highway to Heaven/When Love Comes in the Moonlight); Brunswick 4849 (Leave A Little Smile). The other side of Brunswick 4849 featured a song from the aborted

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

revue ''

The March of Time ''The March of Time'' is an American newsreel series sponsored by Time Inc. and shown in movie theaters from 1935 to 1951. It was based on a radio news series broadcast from 1931 to 1945. The "voice" of both series was Westbrook Van Voorhis. ...

'' (1930). *This was to be Charles King's last musical movie. He went back to the Broadway stage, since movie audiences had grown tired of musicals, and never returned to the screen. *Due to the public apathy towards musicals, Warner Bros. did not debut this film in the usual prestigious movie theaters. The film was immediately placed in general release with no fanfare. *Comedians Olsen and Johnson were added to the film due to growing public apathy towards serious stage actors such as King and Delroy. The movie was marketed as a

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

with these comics billed as "America's funniest clowns".

Preservation

The version of the film released in the United States, late in 1930, survives intact. A print is at the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

, and is in the

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of At ...

film library as well as the Library of Congress.''Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress'', page 130 c.1978 by The American Film Institute The complete soundtrack also survives on

Vitaphone Vitaphone was a sound film system used for feature films and nearly 1,000 short subjects made by Warner Bros. and its sister studio First National from 1926 to 1931. Vitaphone was the last major analog sound-on-disc system and the only one ...

disks. The film was released on DVD through the

Warner Archive Collection The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the inte ...

in 2014.

References

External links

* * {{Archie Mayo 1930 films 1930 musical comedy films American musical comedy films American films based on plays Films directed by Archie Mayo Warner Bros. films American black-and-white films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films