All Ashore
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''All Ashore'' is a 1953 American
comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...
musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serv ...
directed by Richard Quine and starring
Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Ninnian Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nearly nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last survivi ...
,
Dick Haymes Richard Benjamin Haymes (September 13, 1918 – March 28, 1980) was an Argentine singer, songwriter and actor. He was one of the most popular male vocalists of the 1940s and early 1950s. He was the older brother of Bob Haymes, an actor, televi ...
, Peggy Ryan and Ray McDonald. In the tradition of
MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
's '' Anchors Aweigh'' and '' On the Town'', the film tells the stories of three sailors (Rooney,
crooner A crooner is a singer who performs with a smooth, intimate style that originated in the 1920s. The crooning style was made possible by better microphones that picked up quieter sounds and a wider range of frequencies, allowing the singer to acce ...
Dick Haymes Richard Benjamin Haymes (September 13, 1918 – March 28, 1980) was an Argentine singer, songwriter and actor. He was one of the most popular male vocalists of the 1940s and early 1950s. He was the older brother of Bob Haymes, an actor, televi ...
and dancer Ray McDonald) on
shore leave Shore leave is the leave that professional sailors get to spend on dry land. It is also known as "liberty" within the United States Navy, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps. During the Age of Sail, shore leave was often abused by the members of the ...
on
Santa Catalina Island, California Santa Catalina Island (; ) often shortened to Catalina Island or Catalina, is a rocky island, part of the Channel Islands (California), Channel Islands, off the coast of Southern California in the Gulf of Santa Catalina. The island covers an ...
, where much of the film was shot. A former MGM contract star, McDonald was married to Peggy Ryan at the time, with ''All Ashore'' being the last film for both of them.


Plot

Three
petty officer A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies. Often they may be superior to a seaman, and subordinate to more senior non-commissioned officers, such as chief petty officers. Petty officers are usually sailors that have ...
s have returned from Korea on the battle cruiser , and disembark for long-awaited shore leave in California. Skip and Joe have no money due to losses in a crap game, but their shipmate Francis "Moby" Dickerson has $300 ($ today) he won in
poker Poker is a family of Card game#Comparing games, comparing card games in which Card player, players betting (poker), wager over which poker hand, hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, with varying rules i ...
. Skip and Joe have constantly taken advantage of Moby throughout their cruise and once again beg some money off him. Moby wishes to spend his leave on Santa Catalina but his shipmates take an unwilling Moby to an off-limits clip joint bar where bargirls and a bartender
drug A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via insufflation (medicine), inhalation, drug i ...
and rob them of all their money. Waking up broke and guilty but wiser, Joe is determined to get Moby to Santa Catalina by using his scheming ability. Joe arranges their passage and $5 each in exchange for Moby working on the ship. Skip meets dancer Gay Knight where an impromptu dance session earns them some more money that entertained passengers throw at them. Gay takes them to her
trailer park A trailer park, caravan park, mobile home park, mobile home community or manufactured home community is a temporary or permanent area for mobile homes and travel trailers. Advantages include low cost compared to other housing, and quick and e ...
where the three have enough money for two of them to rent a cabin; Moby has to sneak in at night and sleep at the floor. Skip arranges more money and meals for a second day by having Moby work as a waiter in a night club. Moby meets Nancy, the daughter of the trailer park owner, when she hits him in the head with a horseshoe, but Skip later sweeps her off her feet and takes her for his own girl. After entering the wrong cabin and unsuccessfully hiding from the two women living there, Moby becomes further dejected when he feels out of place accompanying his shipmates and their girlfriends to the beach. The unwanted Moby decides to return to the mainland. Having to wait half an hour for the next ship, Moby's luck changes when he meets Jane, whose motorboat is not working. In fixing the engine, Moby is thrown in the water. Jane takes Moby to her father's yacht where his uniform can dry out. She invites Moby to a party and her father, the Commodore, invites Moby to sail with them to the mainland. On the way to the party Jane's boat fails again with both Moby and Jane being thrown into the water as the boat comes to life and motors off without them. Moby gets his confidence back by saving Jane, who cannot swim, and using his navigation skills to get them back to safety in
Avalon Avalon () is an island featured in the Arthurian legend. It first appeared in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 1136 ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' as a place of magic where King Arthur's sword Excalibur was made and later where Arthur was taken to recove ...
. Jane's grateful father throws a party for Moby where he turns the tables on his scheming shipmates when the sheriff, who had arrested Joe and Skip, turn them over to Moby where he has them fanning him and Jane in the manner of servants.


Cast

*
Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Ninnian Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nearly nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last survivi ...
as Francis 'Moby' Dickerson *
Dick Haymes Richard Benjamin Haymes (September 13, 1918 – March 28, 1980) was an Argentine singer, songwriter and actor. He was one of the most popular male vocalists of the 1940s and early 1950s. He was the older brother of Bob Haymes, an actor, televi ...
as Joe Carter * Peggy Ryan as Gay Knight * Ray McDonald as Skip Edwards * Barbara Bates as Jane Stanton * Jody Lawrance as Nancy Flynn *
Fay Roope Fay Roope (born Winfield Harding Roope; October 20, 1893 – September 13, 1961) was a Harvard graduate and a character actor who appeared in American theater in New York City from the 1920s through 1950, and in American film and television from ...
as Commodore Stanton *
Jean Willes Jean Donahue (born Jean Willes; April 15, 1923 – January 3, 1989) was an American film and television actress. She appeared in approximately 65 films in her 38-year career. Early years Born Jean Willesin Los Angeles to William Simmons Willes ...
as Rose * Rica Owen as Dotty * Patricia Edwards as Susie (as Patricia Walker) * Eddie Parker as Sheriff Billings (as Edwin Parker)


See also

* List of American films of 1953


References


External links

* {{Richard Quine 1953 films Films directed by Richard Quine Military comedy films 1953 musical comedy films Columbia Pictures films American musical comedy films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films English-language musical comedy films