If it worked once before why not try it again: so after the overwhelming success of Buck Privates, Abbott and Costello are back in the service (this time the navy), doing their routines to the background of various songs, dance numbers and a straight plot (in this case, Dick Powell is a radio idol who enlists in the navy); the Andrews Sisters are back, and once again they’re tormented by an authority figure (in this case, singing cowboy Dick Foran). Normally the romantic male leads of Abbott and Costello were played by unknowns so it’s a surprise to see Dick Powell in that role (this was in the awkward stage of his career, after he’d left Warners and before he re-invented himself as a tough guy then later director). The guts of his story concerns Powell’s character being stalked by a female paparazzo – which is a kind of mean-spirited story, mainly because the paparazzo (Claire Dodd) is so unlikeable.The Andrews Sisters have a bigger role here – well, one of them, at least (she’s Costello’s love interest) – as usual, the third Andrews sister just kind of hangs out awkwardly on the side. Like the summer camp army in Buck Privates, there’s plenty of time in the navy to sing, tap dance, watch Andrews Sisters concerts and socialise in Hawaii.
The scene where Abbott fleeces Costello into losing his money in a gambling con – a hilarious moment - has resonance with the knowledge that both men great slabs of their fortune through gambling. But that was part of the appeal of their humour, based in cruelty and the nasty things humans do to each other. There’s also the brilliant “7 x 13 = 28” routine, a classic of surrealistic logic in the vein of “Who’s on First”. It doesn’t have the freshness of Buck Private, and has the not-very-nice female lead but is still entertaining. (NB all the characters are at Pearl Harbour by the end – does this mean they all get killed come Dec 7 1941?)
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