Salt Water Daffy

In Salt Water Daffy, Jack Haley’s best friend Shemp Howard is a kleptomaniac! After stealing a naval officer’s precious watch, they run from the police, into a recruiting station, and unwillingly join the Navy! Then …

Salt Water Daffy (1933) starring Jack Haley, Shemp Howard

Salt Water Daffy is an entertaining Vitaphone short, with Jack Haley and Shemp Howard. 

Recruiting station

Jack and Shemp don’t want to enlist, so they try to get out of it by pretending to be near-sighted and deaf. Which almost works, but the Chief Petty Officer (CPO) happens to be there … The doctor’s ready to dismiss them both, when the CPO throws a silver dollar on the floor. They both hear it, see, where it landed, and jump for it! They’r in the Navy now …

Drill routine

Both Jack and Shemp are comically inept, though not maliciously so. And drive the drill sergeant — their CPO — to distraction.

Shaving the wrong people

Trying to minimize the damage the duo can do, the CPO assigns them to shaving the heads of new recruits. Unfortunately, the telephone repair man walks in, and they take him for a recruit! And a Count has arrived on the base, to study American naval tactics. And he nearly gets his head shaved as well!

A token of our esteem

Having shaved the wrong man — them seemingly having shaved the Count! — Jack and Shemp are in trouble. And they try to lessen it by giving the (stolen) watch to the CPO as a token of their affection! Which the Captain recognizes later on, and then recognizes the two thieves! But before that happens …

Garbage detail

The Count is actually an imposter — a spy. He’s trying to take photographs of the military installation, when he’s accidentally prevented — and captured — by Shemp and Jack.

KP duty

Cast of characters

• Jack Haley (The Wizard of Oz; One Body Too Many) … Elmer Wagonbottom
• Shemp Howard (Private Buckaroo; Heavenly Daze) … Wilbur the Kleptomaniac
• Carleton Macy (Seven Keys to Baldpate) … Captain
• Charles Judels (Pinocchio; Swiss Miss) … Count Fille du Pax Imposter
• Lionel Stander (Mr. Deeds Goes to Town;The Kid from Brooklyn) … Chief Petty Officer Lambert
• Paul Everton (Merrily We Live) … Doctor

Additional Cast

• Jules Epailly … Count Fille du Pax (uncredited)
• Ralph Sanford (The Bullfighters; Copacabana) … Cop (uncredited)

Trivia

• Abbott and Costello’s Buck Privates borrows the set-up (running away, accidentally signing up for the military) and drill routine from Salt Water Daffy (1933). Shemp appeared in both.
• Elmer Wagonbottom says, “Whadda ya want for $30 a month? Perfection?” In 2022, that would equate to about $650.
• This is one of director Ray McCarey‘s earlier efforts. He previously had directed primarily documentaries, although he had directed both Our Gang and Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy by this time.