Here Come the Waves
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Mark Sandrich
Bing Crosby
Betty Hutton
Sonny Tufts
Ann Doran
Gwen Crawford
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Women all over the United States give up their jobs to contribute to the war effort and join the WAVES, the Women's Reserve branch of the Navy. One night, after New York nightclub singers the Allison Twins perform a rousing version of "Join the Navy," Rosemary, the smarter of the pair, tells her dizzy blonde sister Susie that she is tired of just singing the song, and intends to join up. Susie reluctantly enlists with her sister and they join the other recruits at the United States Naval Training School in the Bronx. After five weeks of training, Rosemary and Susie use their night off to see the performance of Susie's heartthrob, singer Johnny Cabot. Rosemary is appalled by the screaming and fainting women who comprise Johnny's audience. Later, at a nightclub, they are introduced to Johnny by their childhood friend Windy, and while Rosemary snubs Johnny because he is still a civilian, Susie faints when she dances with him. Unknown to Rosemary, it is Johnny's fervent wish to follow his father's footsteps in the Navy, but he has been rejected because he is color blind. When the Navy lowers their physical requirements, Johnny enlists and is stationed at the Naval Training Center in San Diego, California, where Susie and Rosemary are also stationed. Windy and Johnny compete for Rosemary's affections, but Rosemary falls in love with Johnny. When Johnny receives orders to ship out on the same ship on which his father served, Susie, unaware of her sister's affection, forges Johnny's name on a letter in which she suggests that Johnny's talents be used to recruit more WAVES. Johnny is mystified when he is then assigned to produce, stage and appear in a theatrical production to recruit WAVES, and angrily blames Windy for keeping him from active duty. To punish Windy, Johnny makes him his assistant, and Windy vengefully convinces Rosemary that Johnny has willfully sidestepped active duty. Susie confides in Windy, who keeps the ruse a secret, and they destroy her original letter. Johnny casts Susie and Rosemary in the show, but Rosemary, now disenchanted with Johnny, drops out and is reassigned to the air traffic control tower. Rosemary changes her mind, however, so that she can convince her infatuated sister of Johnny's cowardice. When Windy learns that Johnny intends to propose to Rosemary, he and Susie formulate a plan in which Susie impersonates her sister, and successfully drives a wedge between Rosemary and Johnny. Disgusted by his situation, Johnny goes AWOL, hoping to rejoin his ship for active duty, but Windy and Susie forestall him, confess the truth, and trick him into missing his plane. Johnny goes on with the show and Rosemary apologizes for the misunderstanding, and is then responsible for Johnny's reassignment to his ship. After Susie discovers there is no "magic" to kissing Johnny, he reunites with Rosemary. Susie then kisses Windy farewell, and faints.
Director
Mark Sandrich
Cast
Bing Crosby
Betty Hutton
Sonny Tufts
Ann Doran
Gwen Crawford
Noel Neill
Catherine Craig
Marjorie Henshaw
Harry Barris
Mae Clarke
Minor Watson
Roberta Jonay
Guy Zanett
Dorothee Jarnac
Joel Friend
Florence Johnson
Maxine Fife
Kay Linaker
Terry Adams
Louise Laplanche
Odessa Lauren
Mona Freeman
Carlotta Jelm
Albert Ruiz
Ben Gerien
Jack Norton
Mimi Doyle
Norma Gene Nelson
Ellen Hall
Lillian Bronson
Jimmie Dundee
William Haade
Jerry Jerome
Al M. Hill
Alex Havier
James Flavin
Weldon Heyburn
Edward Emerson
Kit Guard
Babe London
George Turner
Larry Thompson
Bill Murphy
Jon Gilbreath
William Meader
William Forrest
Gordon Warner
Buddy Wilkerson
Jerry James
Oscar O'shea
Don Kramer
Eddie Kover
Ruth Miles
Cyril Ring
Nan Holliday
Frances Morris
Gloria Marlen
Charles D. Brown
Helena Phillips Evans
Greta Granstedt
Gwen Kenyon
Pauline Drake
Stan Johnson
Carmelle Bergstrom
Lorraine Krueger
Shirley Hunter
Beatrice Gray
Maeve Murray
Jean Willes
Evellyn Dockson
Mary K. Wells
Yvonne De Carlo
Crew
Roland Anderson
Maxine Ardell
Harold Arlen
Guy Bennett
Haskell Boggs
Clarice Chambers
C. C. Coleman Jr.
John Cope
Danny Dare
Yeoman Second Class Virginia E. Debolt
Kenneth Deland
Robert Emmett Dolan
Jan Domela
Hans Dreier
Farciot Edouart
Ken Englund
Hugo Grenzbach
Milt Gross
Edith Head
Ellsworth Hoagland
Gordon Jennings
Wallace Kelley
Alice Kirby
Charles Lang Jr.
Sam Ledner
Paul Lerpae
Joseph J. Lilley
Vera Marshe
Charles Mayon
Johnny Mercer
Ray Moyer
Zion Myers
Helen Gladys Percey
Harry Perry
Lieutenant (j.g.) Kathleen C. Quinn
Specialist (s) Second Class Dorsey M. Reed
Specialist (t) First Class Lorraine Robarge
Irmin Roberts
Dorothy Robinson
Troy Sanders
Mark Sandrich
Allan Scott
Specialist (y) Third Class Marie Shale
Yeoman Second Class Margaret A. Sharp
Lieutenant (j.g.) Rebecca M. Stribling
George Templeton
Wally Westmore
Lieutenant Commander Louise K. Wilde
Philip Wisdom
Film Details
Technical Specs
Award Nominations
Best Song
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The film's opening credits include the following acknowledgment: "We are grateful for the cooperation of the United States Navy, particularly the Womens Reserve." Hollywood Reporter news items reported the following about the production: Mark Sandrich consulted with Capt. Mildred Helen McAfee, the director of the Women's Reserve of the Navy, on his plans for this film. High school students Kay Scott and Gloria Saunders were to make their feature film debuts in this film, but neither actress is credited in reviews or the CBCS. Although the Variety review noted that Vera Marshe was billed as Betty Hutton's double, she did not receive onscreen credit, but was credited on the billing Paramount released to the press. According to a Hollywood Reporter news item, second unit footage was shot in San Diego, CA. This film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Music (Song) for "Accentuate the Positive."
