Pretty cool USNA movie from back in the day

Tom Nicholas

Tom Nicholas

Cogito Ergo Sum
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Navy Blue And Gold

Jimmy Stewart plays "Truck" Cross an enlisted soldier who has been accepted into the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. Truck meets Roger "Rog" Ash (Robert Young) and Richard "Dickie" Gates Junior (Tom Brown). Three very different young men become roommates. Truck Cross has a secret he doesn't want let out. Ash is full of himself and needs to learn to be part of a team. Gates seems to just want to belong to something get away from his mother (played by Billie Burke, whom you will instantly remember as Glinda the Good Witch)

The boys make it through their Plebe year (Freshman) year, and into the Sophomore year is when the plot really begins to thicken, Truck's secret is found out, and the outcome could mean expulsion, Ash thinks he's not Navy at all and it could lead to expulsion as well, Captain Dawes (played by the incomparable Lionel Barrymore) always seems to be in the right place at the right time to help make things happen for this threesome. Will the three of them make it to the Army versus Navy Game and who will wind up with Gates' sister Pat?
 
Ironic casting as JS went on to serve as a decorated ARMY combat pilot and finished as an AF general officer.
www.wearethemighty.com

This famous actor was a bomber pilot in WWII

Remember It's a Wonderful Life? The 1946 movie where an angel visits a man to convince him not to kill himself? The actor who portrayed the man was Jimmy Stewart, and <a href="https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-S…
www.wearethemighty.com www.wearethemighty.com
 
Like the old Notre Dame shift from the four horsemen during the thirties. Not legal now. Great pictures of the court and Chapel.
 
Davis, Blanchard etc. My Father said they gave them a choice, Draft or play football for USMA. They had some great teams and their names are displayed at the stadium. But it is a long walk up that hill.
 
@rguthy01 Yes, the movie Annapolis is great too. There are some super lessons in there- hard work and persistence, realizing the value of teamwork, integrity and honor, deep respect of Memorial Hall.. so much to appreciate.
 
rguthy01 said:
Annapolis is also a great USNA film!
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Errhhmm... To each their own and no disrespect intended, but I simply cannot let that go by as a universally accepted opinion. 😬 We watched this film over PPW because DS was "encouraged" to by his detailers... 2 hours of my life that I will never get back. DS took the detailers' encouragement as tongue in cheek, and TBH our family generally had a good time laughing at how BAD it was. I guess may be worth watching as a part of amassing USNA mythology/media knowledge? But, Ooof!
 
The Navy categorically refused all official endorsement and support for “Annapolis,” because of the gross inaccuracies and lack of value to the Navy. As far as I can see, no location shooting was allowed.

IMPO, “Annapolis” was a poorly made film which was very far from accurate, and is often mentioned jokingly. Whether it was watchable as a good story as movie entertainment, that’s in the eye of the beholder.

Compare to “Top Gun,” in which the “Hollywood” Navy PAO Office was heavily involved. The credits are littered with actual Navy pilots who flew Navy planes. The then-NAS Miramar locations were accurate. Some of the scenes were filmed in the Bldg I BOQ at NAS North Island. Local invitation-only premieres were held in San Diego for the fighter community. It felt “right,” because it had the right look and feel. Now, there was a lot of BS and only-in-the-movies stuff too, as has been discussed in other threads here on SAF and online, but overall, there was good alignment of Navy and Hollywood.

If you want a brainlessly enjoyable dive into “Top Gun” behind the scenes trivia, which gives a good glimpse of the extent of Navy involvement, check out this link (understanding it is in no way an official source):

m.imdb.com

Top Gun (1986) - Trivia - IMDb

Top Gun (1986) - Trivia on IMDb: Cameos, Mistakes, Spoilers and more...
m.imdb.com m.imdb.com
 
Annapolis is a terrible film. (My opinion but also everyone in our family’s opinion - and you know what they say about opinion...). It was so bad that our oldest son sent our plebe 40 copies of the DVD case over the course of the plebe summer as his idea of a joke.
 
The first time I watched Annapolis I didn't get through it because I thought the Jamie Foxx character was a jerk. A few years later I watched it again and saw some things I liked:

a) The damage control training scene and the lesson learned.
b) The idea of the main character working in a ship yard, his mom supporting him but his dad having less ambitious expectations for him. And later his dad coming around and them seeing the other side of the coin- the guys making the ship and the guys who would eventually use it.
c) When the Jamie Foxx character has the conversation with the main character in Memorial Hall, asking him why he's really there and helps him realize/recognize the sacrifice of those who served before him- that there's a much bigger picture to consider.
d) When the main character learns no man is an island- that to succeed there has to be team work and he asks for help from the female Lt.
e) The relationship between the main character and his roommate- the two of them helping each other through challenges.

It's funny how when we're in a non-academy school we're taught to strive independently, however, when we enter the business world it's suddenly about teamwork. At least at the service academies, there seems to be good emphasis on teamwork in a lot of areas.
 
Just got done watching NavyBlue and Gold. A pretty good movie. It’s a Wonderful Life in Annapolis. But not bad. Our son refused to watch it. At least it was filmed on location.
 
ders_dad said:
Just got done watching NavyBlue and Gold. A pretty good movie. It’s a Wonderful Life in Annapolis. But not bad. Our son refused to watch it. At least it was filmed on location.
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My son is definitely not the same history buff as I am. I love watching those old films. Not so much for the acting, but for the scene locations. The water was right up to Tecumsah in the 1930's! And the trees were a lot smaller on Stribling. That sort of stuff just fascinates me.

Another good one is "Shipmates Forever." They show that on TMC every-so-often. Great location shots.
 
If you want a bad movie whose story line is based on actual events and is cheesily fascinating:

Love’s Deadly Triangle: The Texas Cadet Murder

Plot from real life: USNA female plebe and USAFA male doolie cadet conspire to murder another HS senior to prove the purity of the then-future cadet’s love for the future plebe. It all came out during that first summer. Icky but fascinating. I was at USNA on staff when the story broke. It was the USNA JAG who thought something wasn’t right and called the TX county sheriff to ask about any open murder cases of a HS girl in the previous year.

They must not have mentioned that in interviews or essays during the application process. No DODMERB test for psychopaths.
 
Capt MJ said:
If you want a bad movie whose story line is based on actual events and is cheesily fascinating:

Love’s Deadly Triangle: The Texas Cadet Murder

Plot from real life: USNA female plebe and USAFA male doolie cadet conspire to murder another HS senior to prove the purity of the then-future cadet’s love for the future plebe. It all came out during that first summer. Icky but fascinating. I was at USNA on staff when the story broke. It was the USNA JAG who thought something wasn’t right and called the TX county sheriff to ask about any open murder cases of a HS girl in the previous year.

They must not have mentioned that in interviews or essays during the application process. No DODMERB test for psychopaths.
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Thanks a lot... Now I'm going to actually have to watch it!
 
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