Synopsis
The father of a star football player at Annapolis wants his son to follow the family pattern and join the Marines.
1938 Directed by James Cruze
The father of a star football player at Annapolis wants his son to follow the family pattern and join the Marines.
Typical cadet mischief with Richard Cromwell being the reluctant student. Ended-up being the last film James Cruze would direct. He'd been in the business since the early 1910s, though his films the last few years had been stinkers. Come On, Leathernecks! (1938) was a slight upgrade, but the script is super lightweight. Thankfully he did get some personality out of his cast to carry the experience. He had done some good ones earlier in the 30s, especially those working with Will Rogers, like Mr. Skitch (1933) and David Harum (1934), along with Claudette Colbert's I Cover the Waterfront (1933). There are also several solid ones from the silent era, though he was fairly conservative in his approach to directing.
Low budget adventure has a few perks-a 20 year old Marsha Hunt and the ever delightful Edward Brophy as comic relief but it's standard stuff. Leon Ames is fine as the bad guy though what kind of gunrunner is dumb enough to wear a white seersucker suit in the mountains while trying to smuggle contraband?!