The Fleet's In is a 1942 movie musical produced by Paramount Pictures, directed by Victor Schertzinger, and starring Dorothy Lamour and William Holden. Although sharing the title of the 1928 Paramount film starring Clara Bow 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. The score, under the musical direction of Victor Young, includes the popular hits "Tangerine", "Arthur Murray Taught Me Dancing in a Hurry" and "I Remember You".

The Fleet's In
Theatrical poster
Directed byVictor Schertzinger
Screenplay byWalter DeLeon
Sid Silvers
Ralph Spence
Story byMonte Brice
J. Walter Ruben
Based onSailor, Beware!
by Kenyon Nicholson and Charles Robinson
Produced byPaul Jones
StarringDorothy Lamour
William Holden
Eddie Bracken
CinematographyWilliam C. Mellor
Edited byPaul Weatherwax
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • January 24, 1942 (1942-01-24)
Running time
93 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1,650,000 (US rentals)[1]

Jimmy Dorsey 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 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

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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

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The Score

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Victor Schertzinger (music) and Johnny Mercer (lyrics) wrote ten songs for the movie, only eight were used.

The songs used are:

  • "When You Hear the Time Signal" Dorothy Lamour and Jimmy Dorsey 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.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "101 Pix Gross in Millions" Variety 6 Jan 1943 p 58
  2. ^ "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
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