''That Navy Spirit'' is a 1937 American
sports film
A sports film is a film genre in which any particular sport plays a prominent role in the film's plot or acts as its central theme. It is a production in which a sport, sporting event, athlete (and their sport), or follower of sport (and the spor ...
directed by
Kurt Neumann and starring
Lew Ayres
Lewis Frederick Ayres III (December 28, 1908 – December 30, 1996) was an American actor whose film and television career spanned 65 years. He is best known for starring as German soldier Paul Bäumer in the film '' All Quiet on the Western Fr ...
,
Mary Carlisle
Mary Carlisle (born Gwendolyn Witter; February 3, 1914 – August 1, 2018) was an American actress, singer, and dancer, best known for her roles as a wholesome ingénue in numerous 1930s Musical film, musical-comedy films.
She starred in more ...
and
John Howard
John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the s ...
.
[Quinlan p.274] It is also known by the
alternative title
An alternative title is a media sales device most prominently used in film distribution. Books and films are commonly released under a different title when they are screened or sold in a different country. This can vary from small change to the t ...
''Hold 'Em Navy''. It follows two members of the
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
team at the
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...
in
Annapolis
Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...
who compete over the same girl before the varsity game against
West Point
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...
.
Plot
As first-year "plebes" at the Naval Academy, newcomers Tommy and Stuffy are subjected to rude treatment by the upperclassmen. After one of them, Chuck Baldwin, gives him a hard time, Tommy decides to invite Chuck's sweetheart Judy to a school ball.
Tommy is also a talented football quarterback, but because Chuck informs on him being out after curfew, Tommy is suspended from the team and Navy loses the game. Judy is upset with Tommy, but a year later, when the situation is reversed and Chuck is caught out after dark, Tommy vouches for him. Chuck plays and helps Navy defeat Army in the big game, then dedicates the victory to Tommy.
Main cast
*
Lew Ayres
Lewis Frederick Ayres III (December 28, 1908 – December 30, 1996) was an American actor whose film and television career spanned 65 years. He is best known for starring as German soldier Paul Bäumer in the film '' All Quiet on the Western Fr ...
as Tommy Graham
*
Mary Carlisle
Mary Carlisle (born Gwendolyn Witter; February 3, 1914 – August 1, 2018) was an American actress, singer, and dancer, best known for her roles as a wholesome ingénue in numerous 1930s Musical film, musical-comedy films.
She starred in more ...
as Judy Holland
*
John Howard
John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the s ...
as Chuck Baldwin
*
Elizabeth Patterson as Grandma Holland
*
Benny Baker
Benny Baker (born Benjamin Michael Zifkin; May 5, 1907 – September 20, 1994) was an American film and theater actor and comedian, and appeared in over 50 films between 1934 and 1988. He died in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California.
Filmogr ...
as Stuffy Miller
*
Archie Twitchell
Archie Raymond Twitchell (November 28, 1906 – January 31, 1957) was a pilot for over three decades between the 1920s and the 1950s. He also had a second profession as a movie actor. He was a captain in the US Army Air Force. He was killed ...
as Jerry Abbott
*
Tully Marshall
Tully Marshall (born William Phillips; April 10, 1864 – March 10, 1943) was an American character actor. He had nearly a quarter century of theatrical experience before his debut film appearance in 1914 which led to a film career spanning alm ...
as The 'Admiral'
*
Billy Daniel
Billy may refer to:
* Billy (name), a name (and list of people with the name)
Animals
* Billy (dog), a dog breed
* Billy (pigeon), awarded the Dickin Medal in 1945
* Billy (pygmy hippo), a pet of U.S. President Calvin Coolidge
* Billy, a young ...
as Midshipman Steve Crenshaw
*
Richard Denning
Richard Denning (March 27, 1914 – October 11, 1998) was an American actor who starred in science fiction films of the 1950s, including ''Unknown Island'' (1948), ''Creature from the Black Lagoon'' (1954), '' Target Earth'' (1954), ''Day the ...
as Midshipman Jepson
*
John Hubbard as Midshipman Hopkins
*
Lee Bennett as Midshipman Blake
Alan Ladd
Alan Walbridge Ladd (September 3, 1913 – January 29, 1964) was an American actor and film producer. Ladd found success in film in the 1940s and early 1950s, particularly in films noir and Westerns. He was often paired with Veronica Lake ...
has a small role.
See also
*
List of American football films
The following is a list of American football films.
See also
* List of sports films
* List of highest grossing sports films
Notes
References
{{American football in the United States
American football
Films
A film also ...
References
Bibliography
* Quinlan, David. ''The Film Lover's Companion: An A to Z Guide to 2,000 Stars and the Movies They Made''. Carol Publishing Group, 1997.
External links
*
1937 films
1930s sports films
Films directed by Kurt Neumann
Paramount Pictures films
American football films
Films set in Maryland
American black-and-white films
1930s English-language films
1930s American films
{{sport-film-stub