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The Singing Marine

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The Singing Marine
Directed byRay Enright
Busby Berkeley (musical sequences)
Written byDelmer Daves (original screenplay)
Produced byJack L. Warner
Hal B. Wallis
StarringDick Powell
Doris Weston
Lee Dixon
CinematographyArthur L. Todd
Sidney Hickox (uncredited)
Edited byThomas Pratt
Music byHeinz Roemheld
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release date
  • July 3, 1937 (1937-07-03)
Running time
105 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Singing Marine is a 1937 American musical film directed by Ray Enright and Busby Berkeley and starring Dick Powell. It was the last of Powell's trio of service-related Warners films: 1934's Flirtation Walk paid tribute, of sorts, to the Army, and 1935's Shipmates Forever to the Navy. This one is distinguished by its two musical sequences directed by Busby Berkeley, and for introducing "The Song of the Marines".

Plot

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Robert Brent, a shy rookie private in the Marine Corps from Arkansas, is discovered to have a wonderful singing voice and wins a talent contest in New York City (based on Major Bowes Amateur Hour). The prospect of radio stardom causes him to develop a swollen head; he finds a manager, Aeneas Phinney, starts touring as "the Singing Marine", and hesitates to sail to Shanghai with his unit. Eventually he follows his duty. In Shanghai, the Marines are shown tap dancing in uniform in dance halls and decide to start a nightclub. Brent's agent falsely claims he has been kidnapped by Chinese bandits (i.e., Communists).[1][2] Brent also wins the heart of Peggy Randall, the restaurant cashier he was too nervous to tell he loves her.[3] The film ends with a mass rendition by the Marines of "The Song of the Marines".[4]

Cast

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Critical reception

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Variety described the film as "just a fair musical romance" that was let down by a mediocre storyline. The reviewer commented, "Songs are ok, comedy is pleasing, story is strictly musical comedy and the casting adequate."[5]

Modern Screen’s Leo Townsend described the film as "pleasant, but not startlingly original." He noted Dick Powell’s performance as "smooth and effective, even though the picture around him doesn’t offer the type of support to which he has become accustomed."[6]

References

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  1. ↑ Michael S. Shull; David Edward Wilt (2015) [1996]. Hollywood War Films, 1937-1945: An Exhaustive Filmography of American Feature-Length Motion Pictures Relating to World War II. Jefferson, North Carolina / London: McFarland. p. 91. ISBN 978-0-7864-2854-0.
  2. ↑ "Cinema: The New Pictures: Jul. 12, 1937". Time. July 11, 1937. p. 32.
  3. ↑ "The Singing Marine". TV Guide. Retrieved May 31, 2026.
  4. ↑ Shull and Wilt, p. 36.
  5. ↑ "The Singing Marine". Variety. July 7, 1937. p. 12. Retrieved July 7, 2026 – via Internet Archive.
  6. ↑ Townsend, Leo (October 1937). "The Singing Marine". Modern Screen. Vol. 15, no. 5. p. 107.
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