Baby And The Battle Ship, The

2555. THE BABY and THE BATTLESHIP (19S6-England) COLOR. With JOHN MILLS,
RICHARD ATTENBOROUGH. Attenborough and Mills were two of England’s most popular actors in the post-World War II years. They headline a solid cast in this sweet and endearingÑ and veddy British Ñ farce. Their roles are Knocker White and Puncher Roberts, a pair of Seabee buddies assigned to lhe H.M.S. Gillingham, a ship that patrols the Mediterranean. Knocker is the type of sailor who has a girl in every port and a picture of each in his wallet to prove it. Puncher is more on the shy side and is a bit befuddled, but is a likable chap nonetheless. Their ship docks in Naples, and Knocker takes Puncher along with him on his date with a lovely lass named Maria. She is the daughter of a jolly baker, who promptly introduces his thirteen children. The first dozen are daughters. The youngest is the cutest and sweetest infant boy this side of a baby food jar, Puncher and the bambino join Knocker and Maria on their excursion. A series of spiraling events leaves Puncher and the baby separated from the other two. He has no way of returning the child to its family, so he ends up smuggling him aboard ship! As luck would have it, the Gillingham heads out to sea earlier than expected, leaving Knocker stranded ashore with Maria. As you can imagine, babies and battleships have as much in common as elephants and fly swatters. The laughs pile up fast and furious as Puncher attempts to keep the baby hidden from his superiors, and he and his rough-and-tumble mates go goofy and mushy over their new “”crew member.” 96 minutes Comedy