The Navy Lark

An Inshore Minesweeping Unit has been forgotten by the Navy after World War II on the peaceful island of Boonsley and they have adapted to their circumstances. The men still wear uniforms and the proper reports are filed, although the reports of hundreds of mines are exaggerated. The captain spends his time fishing, the Number One is busy romancing the only Wren on the island and The Chief Boatswain runs a wine smuggling business. Unfortunately the Navy start to get suspicious.

Cast

Cecil Parker

as Cmdr. Stanton

Ronald Shiner

as CPO Banyard

Leslie Phillips

as Lt. Pouter

Elvi Hale

as Leading WREN Heather

Cardew Robinson

as Lt. Binns

Gordon Jackson

as Leading Seaman Johnson

Hattie Jacques

as Fortune Teller

Nicholas Phipps

as Capt. Povey

Harold Kasket

as Gaston Higgins

Harold Kasket

as Lt. Bates R.N.

Reviews

Similar Movies

Carry On Jack

Tenth entry in the Carry On series. Able seaman Poop-Decker signs up for adventure on the high seas with the wicked Captain Fearless. Those swabbing the decks include Juliet Mills, Charles Hawtrey and Donald Houston. The film was originally to be titled Up the Armada, but the British Board of Film Censors objected to such a rude title.

⭐ 5.9

The Bulldog Breed

Norman Puckle, a well-meaning but clumsy grocer's assistant, can't seem to do anything right. After being rejected by Marlene, the love of his life, he attempts suicide, but can't even do that. He is saved from jumping off a cliff at 'Lover's Leap' by a Royal Navy petty officer. He persuades Puckle to join the Royal Navy, where he'll meet 'lots of girls'. Life in the Navy proves not to be as rosy as it's been described, and Puckle fails at every task during basic training. But despite this, he's regarded by the Admiral in charge of a rocket project to be a 'typical average British sailor', and chosen to be the first man to fly into outer space in an experimental rocket.

⭐ 5.7

Yellowbeard

For years Yellowbeard had looted the Spanish Main, making men eat their lips and swallow their hearts. Caught and convicted for tax evasion, he's sentenced to 20 years in St. Victim's Prison for the Extremely Naughty. In a scheme to confiscate his fabulous treasure, the Royal Navy allows him to escape and follows him, where saucy tarts, lisping demigods and some awful puns and punishments await.

⭐ 5.5

Barnacle Bill

A seasick sea captain commands an amusement pier despite local opposition. Released in the U.S. as 'All at Sea'

⭐ 6.4

The Baby and the Battleship

After a quayside mix-up with the Italian family of his fiancée, Able Seaman Knocker White finds himself literally left holding the baby. Unable to return it before his ship sails he enlists the help of best mate Puncher Roberts to smuggle the child aboard. But babies are surprisingly demanding and gradually the whole crew is drawn into helping keep it fed and washed - and undiscovered. Even so, the officers above deck start to puzzle over the increasingly strange happenings on board.

⭐ 6.0

HMS Pinafore

Captain's daughter Josephine and common sailor Ralph Rackstraw are in love. However, their relationship is complicated by her arranged marriage to the high-ranking Sir Joseph Porter. A secret about the characters' true identities revealed by Little Buttercup, which leads to a farcical resolution. Filmed live from the 1980 Stratford Festival in Ontario.

⭐ 7.0

Above Us the Waves

In World War II, the greatest threat to the British navy is the German battleship Tirpitz. While anchored in a Norwegian fjord, it is impossible to attack by conventional means, so a plan is hatched for a special commando unit to attack it, using midget submarines to plant underwater explosives.

⭐ 6.1

The Cruel Sea

At the start of World War II, Cmdr. Ericson is assigned to convoy escort HMS Compass Rose with inexperienced officers and men just out of training. The winter seas make life miserable enough, but the men must also harden themselves to rescuing survivors of U-Boat attacks, while seldom able to strike back. Traumatic events afloat and ashore create a warm bond between the skipper and his first officer

⭐ 6.9

In Which We Serve

The story of the HMS Torrin, from its construction to its sinking in the Mediterranean during action in World War II. The ship's first and only commanding officer is Captain E.V. Kinross, who trains his men not only to be loyal to him and the country, but—most importantly—to themselves.

⭐ 6.8

The New Amazon

This intriguing and beautifully-shot newsreel features sea-faring heroes, feisty females and a generous lick of paint for a Mississippi steamship.

⭐ 0.0

The Silent Enemy

The Mediterranean, 1941/42 - Axis forces are using frogmen and manned torpedoes to attack previously impregnable harbours. The Allied forces need to come up with something to answer this threat, which they find in the form of Lt. Lionel "Buster" Crabb.

⭐ 5.6

Churchill's Darkest Decision

The background to, events of and consequences of the Battle of Mers-El-Kebir on 3 July 1940. In that battle, Royal Navy ships fired on the French Fleet in order to prevent it from falling into German hands. A French battleship was sunk and several other ships damaged. Nearly 1,300 French sailors were killed.

⭐ 7.0

The Battle of the River Plate

In the early years of the World War II, the Royal Navy is fighting a desperate battle to keep the Atlantic convoy routes open to supply the British Isles, facing the great danger posed by the many German warships, such as the Admiral Graf Spee, which are scouring the ocean for cargo ships to sink.

⭐ 6.2

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

After an abrupt and violent encounter with a French warship inflicts severe damage upon his ship, a captain of the British Royal Navy begins a chase over two oceans to capture or destroy the enemy, though he must weigh his commitment to duty and ferocious pursuit of glory against the safety of his devoted crew, including the ship's thoughtful surgeon, his best friend.

⭐ 7.2

We Dive at Dawn

A gripping tale of WWII naval warfare in the Baltics, starring John Mills as Lt. Freddie Taylor, a British submarine Captain. The crew of the Sea Tiger are summoned from leave on shore with their families, and sent on a secret mission to intercept the Nazi battleship Brandenburg. In the ensuing battle the British submarine is damaged by a German destroyer. The submarine is leaking fuel so badly that the crew won't be able to make it back to Britain before running out somewhere along the Danish coast. When it seems that their only option may be to blow up the submarine and try to escape to Denmark, seaman James Hobson hatches a plan...

⭐ 6.4

H.M.S. Defiant

Defiant's crew is part of a fleet-wide movement to present a petition of grievances to the Admiralty. Violence must be no part of it. The continual sadism of Defiant's first officer makes this difficult, and when the captain is disabled, the chance for violence increases.

⭐ 6.6

Brown on Resolution

Forever England gives John Mills his first leading role as Brown. Born after a brief affair between his mother and a naval officer, he joins the Royal Navy during the First World War. There his bravery and marksmanship keeps a German ship in port so a British ship can sink it. He becomes a hero, but at what cost?

⭐ 5.8

The White Ship

Although released anonymously, as was the custom with all films produced by the Italian Navy, La Nave Bianca is the first feature-length effort directed by Roberto Rossellini; it is also very much the work of its co-writer and supervisor Francesco De Robertis. The film combines a documentary look at the Italian Navy during World War II with newsreel combat footage and a scripted love story performed by non-professional actors.

⭐ 5.4

They Met in the Dark

A Royal navy Commander is tricked by a pretty girl who is working for the Nazis. She tricks him into revealing some military secrets and he is court martial. He vows to track her and her accomplices down.

⭐ 6.3

Tyrant of the Sea

In 1803, the only thing standing between Napoleon and his plan of world domination is England and the British Navy. The admiralty, learning that Napoleon has assembled an invasion fleet decides to send out one of its vessels to destroy it the French flagship under cover of fog. Forced out of retirement, ruthless, tyrannical and temperamental Captain William Blake is put in command. He wields his command with sadistic fury until an epidemic of scurvy attacks the crew and, when he refuses to go ashore for needed provision, mutiny and insubordination results...and, then, the French flagship arrives.

⭐ 6.0