JohnHowardReid Associate producer: Harry Rapf. Producer: Irving Thalberg. Copyright 25 July 1933 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp. U.S. release: 12 August 1933. New York opening at the Capitol: 11 August 1933. U.K. release: 3 February 1934. 87 minutes. SYNOPSIS: Down-and-out tugboat skipper is determined that her young son will make the grade as captain of an ocean liner.NOTES: With a domestic rentals gross of $1.5 million, "Tugboat Annie" came in at 9th place (in which it tied with Metro-Goldwyn- Mayer stablemates Dancing Lady and Queen Christina) as one of the most popular movies of 1933.A sequel "Tugboat Annie Sails Again" was released in 1940. A 39- episode half-hour TV series The Adventures of Tugboat Annie with Minerva Urecal hit the airwaves in 1957.COMMENT: A very entertaining picture, at turns movingly sentimental (in a shamelessly tough sort of way), funny, sad, nostalgic and highly dramatic; splendidly produced on a no-holds-barred budget on real locations enhanced by absolutely thrilling special effects; and most entrancingly acted by all concerned, particularly Beery, Dressler, Young and the lovely, charming Maureen O'Sullivan. Even Frankie Darro is tolerable (admittedly his footage is brief). LeRoy's direction is a model of unobtrusive yet highly effective direction. When you let strong actors loose with a strong script and indulgent production values, you don't need assertively flashy, self-conscious direction. True, there are some low camera angles, but they are dramatically apposite points-of-view from one of the characters on screen. Toland's attractively gray-toned, atmospheric photography also conjures up exactly the right mood for each scene. In fact, "Tugboat Annie" doesn't look the least bit like an M-G-M picture at all. The cramped yet extensive sets, dingily realistic (not aggressively "modern" with lots of space and curved white lines) are the work of Merrill Pye, working alone without the usual supervision of Cedric Gibbons. When executive producer Thalberg died, M-G-M virtually abandoned this style of "A"-budget film-making to concentrate on "the stuff that dreams are made of."

tavm This is one of the few movies I've seen with Marie Dressler, and the only talkie I've yet seen of hers. This was her second teaming with Wallace Beery. He's her often-drunk husband who co-captains the sea ship Narcissus. Robert Young is their now-grown son and Maureen O'Sullivan is his fiancé. There are both some funny scenes and some more dramatic moments. There's no music score as this was an early talkie so sometimes, one may feel bored with some of the silences. The film meanders quite a bit though since the running time is less than 90 minutes, it doesn't wear out its welcome by much. Ms. Dressler would die about a year after this movie, but it's obvious by her performance she's not that easy to forget. So on that note, I recommend Tugboat Annie.

PamelaShort Marie Dressler gives a fine, sensitive and very touching performance in this second and last pairing with Wallace Beery. The movie was one of the top moneymakers of the depression era, and beloved by the public as well as the critics. Based on the Saturday Evening Post stories about a very capable female tugboat captain and her alcoholic but lovable husband.The plot has the couple's son ( Robert Young ) ashamed of his drunken father, and Annie trying to make a living and trying to keep up a good family appearance for the sake of her son. Wallace Beery settles into his role perfectly, but Marie Dressler's acting is absolutely darling as she is forever exasperated by her drunken husbands embarrassing antics. Wallace Beery tried teaming with actress Marjorie Main in an attempt to recapture the chemistry he'd had with Dressler, but it was not a successful pairing. No one could ever compare to the unique Marie Dressler.Tugboat Annie is an enjoyable example of this beloved actress at her best.

MartinHafer This film is awfully campy and is a pretty insignificant film. However, this isn't really that bad a thing, as the acting and writing make this movie so much fun. I loved Marie Dressler's wonderful performance in the title role--it was funny and incredibly entertaining. And, combining her with Wallace Beery was a brilliant idea--they worked well together. The only odd thing about this movie was casting Robert Young as their grown son. I can't imagine WHAT a child of this ugly union would look like, but I would imagine it would look more like Mike Mizurki or Victor McLaglen! A great example of wonderful old-fashioned fun from MGM.