utgard14 Three young men (James Stewart, Robert Young, Tom Brown) who enter the Naval Academy became fast friends. Each one is a different clichéd character. Brown's the naive kid, Young's the cynical tough guy, Stewart's the nice one with a mystery. Brown and Stewart play to type well but Young steals the show as the hard case with a hidden heart of gold. We follow the ups and downs of each of these men at the academy, leading up to the big Army-Navy football game that they all play in.There's nothing really new here, even for 1937, but it's undeniably enjoyable due to the generally upbeat tempo and likable leads. Nice supporting cast includes Lionel Barrymore, Billie Burke, Florence Rice, and Samuel S. Hinds. Dennis Morgan has a cute scene dancing with Burke. Sentimental, patriotic, and fun movie. Really hard to dislike this one.

David_Brown I love sports films and this is one of the best: Spoilers ahead. My favorite scenes are where a teacher calls John Cross's (James Steart)dad, a coward and you can really see the anger when it wants him to take it back (Of course, his dad eventually gets exonerated, and Stewart helps beat Army and gets the girl Pat (Florence Rice)and when Rog (Robert Young) gives up ringing the Victory Bell so that "Skinny" Dawes (Lionel Barrymore) could ring it perhaps for the last time. Now it really helps to be a fan or attended Navy (or Army) to understand this. But years ago, when Napoleon McCallum volunteered to come back and do an extra year at Annapolis (Naval Academy), and set a rushing yardage record, and gave the game ball to the Academy Superintendent, and the Admiral broke down and cried. Of course, this is not the only film Stewart and Barrymore did together ("Its A Wonderful Life" & "You Can't Take It With You" are the others where Stewart was a decent man facing adversity). However, this film is the first film where we saw the Stewart that most of us know. Prior to that we saw some strange casting choices like ""Rose Marie" and "Another Thin Man" (Stewart as the killer in both films does not work), and in some cases after "No Time For Comedy"( His worst by far) comes to mind as does "Its A Wonderful World" (Although I liked that one despite the fact he was playing a Bogart-type Detective with a mustache no less)). For sports and Stewart fans this should be a must see.

MartinHafer Intellectually speaking, this is a very clichéd film. So many of the typical 1930s and 40s gimmicks for this sort of movie are all present...ALL. Yet, despite this, I really had a hard time disliking the movie. It was highly entertaining and the actors really made it shine.The film is about three roommates who all have just been admitted to the prestigious US Naval Academy. They are all stereotypes, but the most ridiculously stereotyped is the guy played by Robert Young. I am surprised they didn't nickname him 'Blackie', as he was the archetypal dishonorable bad guy who just doesn't understand or want to understand the importance of teamwork and humility. He's an exceptional football player (despite Young being 30 at the time he played this part) and knows it...and doing it for anyone but himself is out of the question. Tom Brown plays the sweet rich guy who is the embodiment of niceness and pluck--sort of like a Horatio Alger character who is ALREADY rich. He gives up his wealth and status to serve his country--and women who went to see this film must have all felt a tremendous urge to hug him! The final guy is played by Jimmy Stewart. Like Brown, he's an alright guy and gained admittance to the Academy through the ranks--and he's got a secret that comes out late in the film. While receiving second billing, I think this film did a lot more for Stewart's career than for any other in the movie. I thought Brown was also very good, but today he's an all but forgotten actor--and that's a shame.The film has it all...lots of sentiment, a strong dose of patriotism, an old man who just happens to be on the brink of death when the big game comes up with Westpoint, you name it! In many ways, the film seems even more clichéd and prototypical for a college football film than even "Knute Rockne, All-American"! But, because the dialog, characters and direction are all so good, you can accept the huge doses of sentiment, schmaltz and all the familiar (very familiar) plot devices. Very well done and a must-see for fans of classic films.

slymusic Directed by Sam Wood, "Navy Blue and Gold" is a pleasantly charming movie about life at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. The story focuses on three first-year midshipmen with very different backgrounds (except for a common love of football) who become roommates. My favorite actor James Stewart is the very definition of decency and patriotism with his characterization of "Truck" Cross, a shy, hard-working young man who has been passionate about the Navy for virtually his whole life, serving his country on a ship before being enrolled in the Academy. Tom Brown is fine as Richard Arnold Gates, Jr., the decent son of a wealthy New York family who is sometimes teased (and hazed) because of his size. Robert Young is superb as the very cynical Roger Ash, who is not nearly as straitlaced as his two roommates and who often involves himself in minor scrapes with Navy regulations. These three very different young men become the best of friends at the Academy.By far the best scene in "Navy Blue and Gold," and perhaps James Stewart's finest & most dramatic moment on film to date, is the scene in which Truck does a slow burn as he listens to one of his instructors relate a story about Truck's father, a former commanding officer who was dishonorably discharged from the Navy for alleged derelict of duty. Enraged, Truck rises to his feet and passionately defends his father by telling the true story. As a result of his outburst, Truck finds himself in danger of being dismissed from the Academy, and it is this climactic moment that helps to bring out the better qualities of Roger Ash. He decides to do away with his cynicism, say a heartfelt prayer for Truck, and work harder on the gridiron. At the closing of this film, when Truck has been exonerated and the Navy has defeated the Army in football, Ash still maintains his integrity by surrendering his chance to ring the victory bell to the man who he feels really won the game, the elder Captain "Skinny" Dawes (Lionel Barrymore)."Navy Blue and Gold" is a fine and heartwarming story. Aside from the three principal young actors portraying the plebes, this film boasts excellent performances from Florence Rice, Billie Burke, Lionel Barrymore, Samuel S. Hinds, Barnett Parker, Paul Kelly, Frank Albertson, and many others. For James Stewart, "Navy Blue and Gold" was a definite step in the right direction; when the famed director Frank Capra watched Stewart's performance in this film, he immediately recognized Stewart's idealism and decency, eventually offering Stewart major parts in three of his own classic pictures: "You Can't Take It with You" (1938), "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" (1939), and "It's a Wonderful Life" (1946).