''Navy Wife'' is a 1935 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by Allan Dwan and written by Sonya Levien and Edward T. Lowe Jr. It is based on the 1935 novel ''Beauty's Daughter'' by Kathleen Norris. The film stars Claire Trevor,

Ralph Bellamy Ralph Rexford Bellamy (June 17, 1904 – November 29, 1991) was an American actor whose career spanned 65 years on stage, film, and television. During his career, he played leading roles as well as supporting roles, garnering acclaim and ...

Jane Darwell Jane Darwell (born Patti Woodard; October 15, 1879 – August 13, 1967) was an American actress of stage, film, and television. With appearances in more than 100 major movies spanning half a century, Darwell is perhaps best remembered for her p ...

Warren Hymer Edgar Warren Hymer (February 25, 1906 – March 25, 1948) was an American theatre and film actor. Early life He was born in New York City. His father, John Bard Hymer (1875/1876 – 1953) was a playwright (with nine Broadway plays to ...

Ben Lyon Ben Lyon (February 6, 1901 – March 22, 1979) was an American film actor and a studio executive at 20th Century-Fox who later acted in British radio, films and TV. Early life and career Lyon was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of Alvine ...

and

Kathleen Burke Kathleen B. Burke (September 5, 1913 – April 9, 1980) was an American movie actress of the 1930s and former model. Early years Born in Hammond, Indiana, in 1913, Burke was a graduate of Hammond High School. She moved with her parents t ...

. The film was released on November 29, 1935, by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

Plot

When 50,000 sailors come to

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

, California, many of them check into the U.S. Naval Hospital due to sustaining injuries on rented motorcycles. Sailor Butch pretends to have dislocated his hip, although he actually has a double-jointed hip, so that he will have a reason to see the nurse Vicky Blake. After meeting the newly hired chief surgeon, Vicky becomes attracted to Quentin. After Quentin leaves to see his daughter in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Co ...

, Vicky comes to the conclusion that Quentin is not interested in her the same way due to not being over his wife's death. Through different circumstances, both Quentin and Vicky transfer to

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

, Hawaii. Doctor Pete Milford proposes to Vicky while on a boat, but Vicky says that she refuses due to her career. After Vicky tries to make Quentin jealous by pretending to date Pete, she eventually is honest with Quentin about her feelings because of Quentin's disabled daughter Susan who is in a wheelchair. While Vicky is helping Susan recuperate, Quentin becomes acquainted with Serena Morrison through Pete and the two of them spend time with each other for a few months. When Vicky comes back, with Susan who is now able to walk, Quentin visits Serena without telling Vicky that Serena called him to meet. After Pete tells Vicky how Quentin met Serena through him, the two of them get drunk together. Serena discovers that Quentin was leading her on to capture a spy ring that she was involved in, leading Serena to shoot Quentin. After Vicky finds out about the ordeal, she visits Quentin in his hospital room where the two embrace.

Production and release

Allan Dwan said that the film had nothing from the novel. The Fox Film Corporation joined with Twentieth Century Pictures as the film was entering production in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

. The film's exteriors were shot in Hawaii while a few scenes happened at the San Diego Naval Training Station Hospital.

was surprised about signing a contract for the film due to not having a lead role for a while. ''Navy Wife'' was the first film that deals with life as part of the Navy Nurse Corps and

Medical Corps A medical corps is generally a military branch or officer corps responsible for medical care for serving military personnel. Such officers are typically military physicians. List of medical corps The following organizations are examples of medica ...

of the United States Navy. A short feature about the science behind manufacturing and a

newsreel A newsreel is a form of short documentary film, containing news stories and items of topical interest, that was prevalent between the 1910s and the mid 1970s. Typically presented in a cinema, newsreels were a source of current affairs, inform ...

were shown alongside the film during its theatrical run.

Reception

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' said that the film was "likely to suffer" due to "coming at the tag end of a long flotilla of navy pictures" while praising the performances of the main cast. ''

The Film Daily ''The Film Daily'' was a daily publication that existed from 1918 to 1970 in the United States. It was the first daily newspaper published solely for the film industry. It covered the latest trade news, film reviews, financial updates, informatio ...

'' wrote that it has "a fine cast in a logically developed story" and that "the name of Kathleen Norris as author should mean something". '' The Paducah Sun-Democrat'' said that the film has "one of the most startling surprise climaxes ever conceived." The '' St. Louis Star and Times'' said that "scenes on board a passenger liner" are "unusual".

References

External links

* {{Allan Dwan 1935 films American drama films 1935 drama films Fox Film films 20th Century Fox films Films directed by Allan Dwan American black-and-white films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films