BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Fatma Suarez The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

wes-connors Tugboat captain Marie Dressler (as Annie) manages to rear a son and run the family business, with only spotty help from alcoholic husband Wallace Beery (as Terry Brennan). "Tugboat Annie" sailed to the top of box office lists, helmed by the tremendous appeal of Ms. Dressler. This is one of her finest and most fondly remembered performances. Dressler would be good anyway, but gets terrific help from Mr. Berry. He and Dressler possess the chemistry and craft to pull off the slightly weak and episodic story.The weakness is in the bland relationship essayed by Robert Young (as Alexander "Alec" Brennan) and pretty Maureen O'Sullivan (as Patricia "Pat" Severn). Frankie Darro (as young Alec) is fine, studying algebra and history with Dressler in the early scenes, but you wonder how Dressler plus Berry (or anyone) could have netted Mr. Young. The relationship between Dressler and Berry is the story's strength, with the co-stars putting comic pathos in the classic "love triangle" involving wife, husband and alcohol.******* Tugboat Annie (8/4/33) Mervyn LeRoy ~ Marie Dressler, Wallace Beery, Robert Young, Maureen O'Sullivan

bkoganbing Tugboat Annie reunited Wallace Beery and Marie Dressler for a second time after the big hit they made with Min And Bill. Although that first film was more dramatic and Dressler got her Best Actress Award for Min And Bill, Tugboat Annie still has a lot of laughs and heart in it as Marie Dressler cares for her husband, child, and business which is running a salvage tug out of Puget Sound.Marie of course is in the title role and she skippers the USS Narcissus and works in a man's world. She lives on the tug with her husband and child Frankie Darro who grows up to be Robert Young. Beery is her shiftless drunken husband, but she's determined to raise their son to make something of himself.Flashing forward several years, Robert Young is now captain of an ocean liner and working for a former rival of Dressler's, Tammany Young who has worked his way up from the salvage business. Young is engaged to Tammany's daughter Maureen O'Sullivan, but he's not that crazy of his parents stepping into society, Marie doesn't fit and she knows it, and Beery is just Beery.Who periodically goes off on a toot and always lets his family down. However in the end during a crisis on the Narcissus, Beery does come through. It's why she loves and puts up with him.MGM put a little money into Tugboat Annie doing a whole lot of location shooting in Puget Sound. I don't know whether the cast got up there or their footage was done on the sound stage, but it certainly was blended in nicely with background shots.In real life Beery and Dressler hardly got along, then again Wallace Beery got along with very few people in the world. Still their on screen chemistry is not to be denied in Tugboat Annie which holds up every bit as good for today.

GJValent I saw this some years ago as a 'late night' flick. It's pretty standard 1930s gritty/humor stuff. Annie Brennan, (Marie Dressler), and husband Terry, (Wallace Beery), are tugboat runners in Puget Sound. They have a son, Alec,(Robert Young), who's now the skipper of a fancy ocean liner. They're proud of him, but, they stay out of his way, and his new life and sweetie, Pat,(Maureen, 'Jane', O'Sullivan). After all, they're only tugboat people. One night, during a terrible storm, they have the only tug available to save his ship. The Narcissus has always had problems, but, to accomplish their mission, Wallace has to enter the boiler, while it's fully stoked and fired, to patch some leaking water/steam tubes. Hard to watch for anyone, Marie has to. His pain, and her concern and horror, showcase what superb actors both were. For a prequel with both lead actors playing similar characters, check out Min and Bill.

Ron Oliver TUGBOAT ANNIE, the `old sea cow,' pilots her beloved Narcissus around Puget Sound, constantly on the lookout for the shenanigans of her drunken husband. Their son strives to become the skipper of a great liner, but his success will imperil his father's life & break his mother's heart...Marie Dressler & Wallace Beery are nothing short of wonderful in this funny, touching film. The roles are a comfortable fit - they wear them like old clothes. With their life-worn faces & rumpled bodies, they embody a decent commonality which gives their acting the little something extra that pushes it over the top and makes their performances very special.Dressler was queen of the box office when she made this film, absolutely beloved by millions of American movie fans. Almost a force of nature, a cinematic Earth Mother, she was already carrying the cancer which would kill her the very next year. Beery would go on to other memorable roles, but his teamings with Dressler would always remain unique.Robert Young & Maureen O'Sullivan nicely play the young people, but they are completely overshadowed by the two old pros.Location settings help the movie's ambiance terrifically. The film is based on stories written by Norman Reilly Raine and published in the Saturday Evening Post.