272:, they go to visit an old friend who is a baker. He is the father of 12 daughters and, to his great pride and relief, an infant son. So that one of them can take the eldest daughter out that night, they are required to take the son with them to an outdoor dance. 'Puncher' has a reputation for fighting and drinking and, despite his best efforts to live up to his pledge to reform his behaviour, he is provoked by two sailors from another ship and starts a fight while his friend 'Knocker' is dancing with the eldest daughter. During the brawl, Puncher Roberts is knocked unconscious while Knocker and the sister run away on the arrival of police, abandoning the baby in the square. Puncher regains consciousness and finds the square empty, except for the baby. Unable to find his friend Knocker, or the child's adult sister, he smuggles the baby aboard their ship, leaving a message in chalk on the wharfside telling Knocker he has taken 'Number 13' on board. He elicits the help of his fellow sailors to care for the baby while hiding it from their superiors, all while in the midst of a series of joint operations with Allied navies off the coast of
276:. Knocker seeks the help of his rather casual shore-based senior officer but to little avail as the ship also maintains radio silence. Knocker makes the most of the unexpected time among the baker's extended family which becomes tense as the return of the baby is delayed. When Puncher's ship is about to have to surrender to superior forces during training exercises, the Captain is able to use the presence of the baby to extricate himself from an embarrassing loss. The ship returns to port and the entire family is re-united on board.
31:
462:, and language misunderstandings. Consequently, the slender nature of the joke causes the film to peter out after its early stages. Those involved put on a brave front and the baby is quite endearing, but flair and sparkle are, for the most part, absent."
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wrote: "This predictable script strenuously exploits all the humour to be derived from such situations as the officer/ordinary seaman relationship, the
Cambridge "intellectual" who reads
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BRITISH. FILMS MADE MOST MONEY: BOX-OFFICE SURVEY The
Manchester Guardian (1901-1959) 28 Dec 1956: 3
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was one of the ten most popular films at the
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provided much cooperation with sequences filmed aboard
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549:(264): 102. 1 January 1956 – via ProQuest.
491:Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television
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489:Vincent Porter, 'The Robert Clark Account',
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577:. Vol. 32, no. 3. p. 259.
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515:"The Baby and the Battleship(1956)"
127:Distributors Corporation of America
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729:Films set in the Mediterranean Sea
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414:Vittorio Vittori as Third Brother
724:Films scored by Humphrey Searle
405:Vincent Barbi as Second Brother
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268:sailors go ashore on leave in
16:1956 British film by Jay Lewis
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759:English-language comedy films
734:Films based on British novels
537:"The Baby and the Battleship"
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324:as Chief Petty Officer Blades
749:1950s English-language films
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714:Films directed by Jay Lewis
655:The Baby and the Battleship
593:The Baby and the Battleship
471:The Baby and the Battleship
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318:as Commander Geoffrey Digby
210:The Baby and the Battleship
157:30 September 1957
24:The Baby and the Battleship
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744:Films about the Royal Navy
417:Martyn Garrett as The Baby
213:is a colour 1956 British
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235:Gilbert Hackforth-Jones
739:Military humor in film
390:as The Marshal's Aide
150: (London, England)
142:10 July 1956
111:Jay Lewis Productions
709:British comedy films
348:as Lieutenant Setley
292:Richard Attenborough
227:Richard Attenborough
165: (New York, USA)
77:Richard Attenborough
754:1950s British films
429:as American Captain
671:A Home of Your Own
605:The New York Times
423:as Sailor at Dance
376:D. A. Clarke-Smith
306:as Professor Evans
288:as Puncher Roberts
124:British Lion Films
114:British Lion Films
63:Antony Darnborough
704:1956 comedy films
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396:as Carlo Vespucci
384:as Sub-Lieutenant
354:as Master-at-Arms
340:Clifford Mollison
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294:as Knocker White
264:When a group of
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519:. Retrieved
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427:Robert Ayres
421:Barry Foster
358:Lisa Gastoni
316:Ernest Clark
304:Bryan Forbes
298:André Morell
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239:Bryan Forbes
231:André Morell
217:directed by
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174:Running time
87:Harry Waxman
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400:Ferdy Mayne
372:as Whiskers
322:Harry Locke
215:comedy film
59:Produced by
41:Directed by
699:1957 films
694:1956 films
688:Categories
477:References
466:Box office
300:as Marshal
286:John Mills
266:Royal Navy
249:Birmingham
243:Royal Navy
223:John Mills
199:Box office
178:96 minutes
161:1957-09-30
146:1956-07-10
104:Production
73:John Mills
643:Jay Lewis
440:Reception
336:as George
219:Jay Lewis
106:companies
54:Jay Lewis
45:Jay Lewis
460:Berenson
445:Critical
433:Sam Kydd
411:as Harry
360:as Maria
342:as Sails
191:Language
93:Music by
69:Starring
503:BFI.org
252:and in
241:. The
194:English
186:England
183:Country
159: (
144: (
674:(1964)
666:(1961)
658:(1956)
575:Screen
521:31 May
366:as PMO
330:as Joe
270:Naples
456:Freud
274:Italy
254:Malta
598:IMDb
523:2012
458:and
280:Cast
260:Plot
247:HMS
237:and
229:and
129:(US)
596:at
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148:)
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