Oh Sailor Behave

Oh, Sailor, Behave! is a 1930 American pre-Code musical comedy film produced and released by Warner Brothers, and based on the play See Naples and Die, written by Elmer Rice.[1] The film was originally intended to be entirely in Technicolor and was advertised as such in movie trade journals. Due to the backlash against musicals, it was apparently released in black-and-white only.

An American newspaper reporter named Charlie Carroll (Charles King) is sent to Venice to interview a Romanian general, who is played by Noah Beery. While in Venice Charlie falls for a young heiress named Nanette Dodge (Irene Delroy). When Charlie is unable to get an interview with the Romanian general, a local siren named Kunegundi (Vivien Oakland), who is the general's favorite helps him. Meanwhile, Nanette learns that her sister is being blackmailed by Prince Kasloff of Russia (Lowell Sherman), to whom she wrote some incriminating letters. Nanette attempts to vamp the Prince in order to obtain the love letters. The Prince, however, tricks her and demands that Nanette marry him if she wants to save her sister. After being repeatedly rebuked by Nanette, the prince hires the Romanian general (Noah Beery) to kidnap her and force her into marriage. Charlie, thinking she has eloped, consoles himself with Kunegundi (Vivien Oakland) and almost marries her until he realizes the truth about Nanette and that she has been kidnapped by the Prince. Charlie sets out to rescue her and when the Prince shows up disguised as the general he shoots Prince Kasloff. Charlie and Nanette are happily reunited.

Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson provide comic relief that is completely unrelated to the main story. They play the part of two American sailors stationed in Naples who attempt to find a wooden-legged thief who has robbed the navy storehouse in Venice. Louisa, a local siren (played by Lotti Loder) leads them on and embroils them in trouble.

The version of the film released in the United States, late in 1930, survives intact. A print is at the Museum of Modern Art, and is in the Turner Classic Movies film library as well as the Library of Congress.[2] The complete soundtrack also survives on Vitaphone disks. The film was released on DVD through the Warner Archive Collection in 2014.