Capt. Mildred H. McAfee, USNR, accompanied by Rear Adm. George S. Bryan, USN, inspects the WAVES on duty at the Hydrographic Office, Suitland, MD. She is saluting the colors as WAVES pass in review.
The photo comes from the National Archives.
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Eleanor Roosevelt, Part II
First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, visiting to the officer training at Smith College in Northampton, MA with WAVE Commander Mildred McAfee.
The photograph comes from the Schlesinger Library at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies, Harvard University.
Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt was a staunch ally of the WAVES, both advocating for women to be in the military at the same rank and pay as men, and visiting WAVES stations from time to time.
This is a visit to the officer training at Smith College in Northampton, MA.
The photograph comes from the Schlesinger Library at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies, Harvard University.
The Film
One last post to end our series on the film Here Come the WAVES.
We’ll leave you with a quote from the film, an exchange between Rosemary and Susan, twin sisters both played by actress Betty Hutton.
Susan: Only I wish… I wish…
Roemary: What?
Roemary: I wish that I had been born twelve minutes earlier than you, and I’d have had all the brains.
And if you have some time this Sunday, check out the full film, below.
Accentuate the Positive
Here Come the WAVES was nominated for one Oscar, for best music original song Accentuate the Positive. The song was written by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer.
It didn’t win. It Might as Well be Spring from the Rogers and Hammerstein musical State Fair took the award that year.
Here’s a version of the song (not from the film), sung by Bing Crosby and the Andrew Sisters.
Mellizas Peligrosas
Here Come the WAVES was released worldwide, including in Sweden (Flottans farliga flickor, November 1945), Finland (Laivaston heilat, December 1946), Turkey (Gönüllü melekler, 1947), Denmark (En rigtig sailor, August 1947), and Portugal (A Tentação da Sereia, May 1949).
The poster above is from the Argentinian version of the film, known as Mellizas Peligrosas, or Dangerous Twins. The poster below from the Denmark release, which translates as A Real Sailor.
Hollywood’s Secret
Betty Hutton, star of Here Come the WAVES, in an advertisement timed to coincide with the theatrical release of the film in December 1944.
Here Come the WAVES
The theatrical poster for the film Here Come the WAVES, filmed in cooperation with the US Navy and released in December 1944.
December 1944, Back Cover
And look what we found on the other side of the December, 1944 WAVES Newsletter. An ad for the new film Here Come the WAVES.
The Betty Hutton/Bing Crosby vehicle was filmed on Navy bases and at the Hunter College Boot Camp. It went into pre-release at Navy facilities across the United States before going into theatrical release December 18, 1944.
December 1944
Happy December!
The December, 1944 edition of the WAVES Newsletter finds a photograph of a WAVE stepping out of a plane. We’d probably expect a Christmas-themed cover these days….
Hinges of History 