''The Fleet's In'' is a 1942 movie musical produced by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

, directed by

Victor Schertzinger Victor L. Schertzinger (April 8, 1888 – October 26, 1941) was an American composer, film director, film producer, and screenwriter. His films include ''Paramount on Parade'' (co-director, 1930 in film, 1930), ''Something to Sing About (1937 fi ...

, and starring

Dorothy Lamour Dorothy Lamour (born Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton; December 10, 1914 – September 22, 1996) was an American actress and singer. She is best remembered for having appeared in the ''Road to...'' movies, a series of successful comedies starring Bing C ...

and

William Holden William Franklin Holden (né Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film '' Stalag 17'' (1953) and the Pri ...

. Although sharing the title of the 1928 Paramount film starring

Clara Bow Clara Gordon Bow (; July 29, 1905 – September 27, 1965) was an American actress who rose to stardom during the silent film era of the 1920s and successfully made the transition to "talkies" in 1929. Her appearance as a plucky shopgirl in the ...

and Jack Oakie, it was not a remake. It was actually the second film version of the 1933 Kenyon Nicholson–Charles Robinson stage play ''Sailor, Beware!'', enlivened with songs by Schertzinger and lyricist

Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Wallichs Music Cit ...

. The score, under the musical direction of Victor Young, includes the popular hits "

Tangerine The tangerine is a type of citrus fruit that is orange in colour, that is considered either a variety of the mandarin orange (''Citrus reticulata''), or a closely related species, under the name ''Citrus tangerina'', or yet as a hybrid (''Citr ...

", "Arthur Murray Taught Me Dancing in a Hurry" and " I Remember You".

Jimmy Dorsey James Francis Dorsey (February 29, 1904 – June 12, 1957) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer and big band leader. He recorded and composed the jazz and pop standards " I'm Glad There Is You (In This World of Ordinary Peopl ...

and his band are prominently featured in the movie. Supporting cast members include Eddie Bracken, singers Betty Jane Rhodes and Cass Daley, and

Betty Hutton Betty Hutton (born Elizabeth June Thornburg; February 26, 1921 – March 12, 2007) was an American stage, film, and television actress, comedian, dancer, and singer. She rose to fame in the 1940s as a contract player for Paramount Pictures, appea ...

in her film debut. This was the final film of Schertzinger's long directorial career. He died in October 1941, before this production's release.

Plot

When unassuming sailor Casey Kirby goes backstage for a famous actress's autograph, he winds up kissing her for a publicity photo. The photo circulates, and Kirby earns a reputation as a ladies man among his fellow sailors. They bet on the chances of him kissing the stand-offish star "The Countess" of the Swingland club during a four-day leave in San Francisco. When they arrive in San Francisco, Kirby attempts to win the bet and finds that he has earnestly fallen in love with the Countess and wants to marry her. Their romance is complicated by the Countess finding out about the bet and assuming that his advances are only to win the bet, although she finds that she has fallen in love with him.

Cast

as the Countess *

as Casey Kirby * Eddie Bracken as Barney Waters *

as Bessie * Betty Jane Rhodes as Diana Golden * Barbara Britton as Eileen *

as himself * Cass Daley as Cissie (uncredited)

The Score

Victor Schertzinger (music) and Johnny Mercer (lyrics) wrote ten songs for the movie, only eight were used. The songs used are: *”The Fleet's In" Betty Jane Rhodes. Reprised by Eddie Bracken and male chorus *"Tangerine" Bob Eberly and

Helen O'Connell Helen O'Connell (May 23, 1920 – September 9, 1993) was an American singer, actress, and hostess, described as "the quintessential big band singer of the 1940s". Early life Born in Lima, Ohio, O'Connell grew up in Toledo, Ohio. By the ti ...

with

and His Orchestra *"When You Hear the Time Signal"

and Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra *"If You Build a Better Mousetrap"

with

and His Orchestra. Reprised by Bob Eberly and

with

and His Orchestra *"Not Mine" Dorothy Lamour, Eddie Bracken, Bob Eberly with Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra *"I Remember You" Dorothy Lamour, Bob Eberly, Helen O'Connell with Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra. Reprised by Lorraine and Rognan, dancers, with Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra *"Arthur Murray Taught Me Dancing in a Hurry" Betty Hutton with Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra *"Tomorrow You Belong to Uncle Sammy" Cass Daley with Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra Three of these songs have lived on and become part of the Great American Songbook — "Tangerine", "I Remember You", and "Arthur Murray Taught Me Dancing In a Hurry". Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra released recordings of these three and "Not Mine" — "Tangerine" and "Not Mine" with Bob Eberly and Helen O'Connell, "I Remember You" with Bob Eberly and "Arthur Murray Taught M Dancing in a Hurry" with Helen O'Connell."The Fleet's In", Robert Kimball, Barry Davis,Miles Krueger, Eric Davis, ''The Complete Lyrics of Johnny Mercer'', Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2009, pp. 121-125

References

External links

* 1942 films 1942 musical comedy films American musical comedy films American romantic musical films American black-and-white films American films based on plays Films directed by Victor Schertzinger Films set in San Francisco Paramount Pictures films Films about the United States Navy 1940s romantic musical films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films English-language romantic musical films English-language musical comedy films {{musical-comedy-film-stub