The Fleet's In (1942)

After a shy sailor is kissed by a female starlet as part of a publicity stunt, he becomes known as a stud; his friends then bet that he'll be able to defrost an icy nightclub singer.

Director:

Victor Schertzinger

Writers:

Walter DeLeon (screenplay), Sid Silvers (screenplay)

Stars:

Dorothy Lamour, William Holden, Eddie Bracken

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dorothy Lamour	...	The Countess
William Holden	...	Casey Kirby
Eddie Bracken	...	Barney Waters
Betty Hutton	...	Bessie Dale
Leif Erickson	...	Jake
Betty Jane Rhodes	...	Diana Golden
Barbara Britton	...	Eileen Wright
Cass Daley	...	Cissie
Jimmy Dorsey	...	Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra Leader (as Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra)
Gil Lamb	...	Spike
Jack Norton	...	Kellogg
Roy Atwell	...	Arthur Sidney
Robert Warwick	...	Admiral Wright
Jean Lorraine	...	Dance Specialty (as Lorraine and Rognan)
Roy Rognan	...	Dance Specialty (as Lorraine and Rognan)

Storyline

Shy sailor Casey Kirby suddenly becomes known as a sea wolf when his picture is taken with a famous actress. His buddies then make a bet with some other sailors that Casey can defrost an icy night club singer known as the Countess.

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Plot Keywords:

femme fatale | manipulative female | taming of the shrew | female sexual predator | woman cock teases man | 

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Taglines:

Every gob in the navy wanted her as his first mate!

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Genres:

Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 January 1942 (USA)

Also Known As:

Esquadra à Vista

Filming Locations:

San Francisco, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Final film of Barbara Kent.

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Connections

Remade as Sailor Beware (1952)

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Soundtracks

If You Build a Better Mousetrap
(uncredited)
Music by Victor Schertzinger
Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
Performed by Betty Hutton (voc) and Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra
Also performed by Bob Eberly (voc), Helen O'Connell (voc) and Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra

User Reviews

Dorothy Lamour! William Holden! Betty Hutton!

Typical 40s musical nonsense without a real plot, but this one is fun and boasts an interesting cast.

Gorgeous Dorothy Lamour stars as The Countess of Swingland, a singer at a local dance spot (and she's excellent). She rooms with Bessie (Betty Hutton in her feature film debut), who provides comic relief. Along come a coupla sailors: shy William Holden and geeky Eddie Bracken. Through a series of errors the guys on the ship think Holden is a major Romeo so they bet a bundle that he can't thaw out The Countess--a famous iceberg.

Lots of songs and variety numbers enliven this silliness plus the stars are all good. This is the film that introduced "Tangerine" here sung by Helen O'Connell and Bob Eberly (in Jimmy Dorsey's big band). Lamour and company also sing the very nice "I Remember You," which was remade into a semi-hit by Frank Ifield (I had the record). Hutton sings the comic "Arthur Murray Taught Me Dancing in a Hurry." Cass Daley (I had never seen her before) is sort of a cross between Martha Raye and Judy Canova but can sure sing. Lots of familiar faces here with Dave Willock, Leif Erickson, Robert Warwick, Jack Norton, Barbara Britton, Betty Jane Rhodes, and the odious Gil Lamb (a B version of Ray Bolger). And then there's a dance specialty called Lorraine and Rognan--very funny.

Certainly worth a look for Lamour, Hutton, and Holden.