Steineded How sad is this?

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Tayyab Torres Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Fatma Suarez The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

edwagreen Delightful musical comedy with William Holden, as a shy sailor, beginning his illustrious career in films. After dazzling two women, sailors on the ship wager that he can conquer and defrost the Countess, well played by Dorothy Lamour, especially in a court room scene where she pulls out all the stops as a vamp.Bette Hutton and Eddie Bracken are along for the ride. They provide real comic antics while accidentally constantly derailing the budding romance between the Holden and Lamour characters.Benny Goodman is on hand with his band and the songs are delightfully staged- Tangerine, I Remember You and others. There is even a delightful comedy ballet in between.That court room scene and the brawl on the dance floor during a Conga dance are memorable.

bkoganbing The Fleet's In is a wonderful wartime musical that was the last effort of director Victor Schertzinger. You can't really go wrong with a film that stars William Holden, Dorothy Lamour, Betty Hutton, and Eddie Bracken. That together with one of the most popular bands of the era Jimmy Dorsey's Orchestra with vocalists Bob Eberly and Helen O'Connell.It's a really slim plot to hang a lot of nice songs on. William Holden is a shy sailor, the type that Frank Sinatra would play over at MGM in a few years. He gets a picture taken with movie star Betty Jane Rhodes while he was just asking for an autograph. Immediately he gets the reputation of a wolf. And a challenge comes with it, to see if he can get to first base with 'The Countess' as USO entertainer Dorothy Lamour is known for her unapproachable demeanor. A lot of money is riding on this including money from Holden's pal Eddie Bracken.If you don't know where this is going you haven't seen too many musicals. But the plot's not important here, just sit back and enjoy the numbers.William Holden after his war service which started next year looked to get out of parts like this which he described as his 'Smiling Jim' roles. It's hard to believe this is the same guy who is the opportunistic Joe Gillis from Sunset Boulevard, the cynical Sefton from Stalag 17 or the resourceful Shears from The Bridge on the River Kwai. Yet at the beginning of his career these nice kid roles were all that his two studio masters, Paramount and Columbia, saw him in.Director Victor Schertzinger died suddenly right after completing this film in 1941. It was not released until the following year. Note there are no references to any war per se. Schertzinger not only was a film director, but a talented composer. He may have done his best work however in this film in collaboration with lyricist Johnny Mercer. Besides the numbers here he wrote One Night of Love for Grace Moore for that same titled film which he directed and he wrote for Dorothy Lamour in The Road to Singapore, The Moon and the Willow Tree. He directed both The Road to Singapore and The Road to Zanzibar and learned early on to just let Crosby and Hope have a loose rein.Betty Hutton got her first notice in this film with the song Arthur Murray Taught Me Dancing In A Hurry. This was her first feature film role and she was a star after The Fleet's In. She was paired with Eddie Bracken and I've no doubt that Preston Sturges saw them together and had the idea to team them again for The Miracle of Morgan's Creek.Jimmy Dorsey had one of the best bands of the era and this may have been his best showing on the big screen. The band sang Amapola which was already big hit for them, but also they introduced Tangerine and I Remember You from this score. Tangerine was very popular in its day, a big hit for Jimmy Dorsey and his band singers Helen O'Connell and Bob Eberly. But I Remember You has had a lasting popularity down to this day. If you remember it was used as the theme song for James Caan's character in the Bette Midler film, For The Boys. I think The Fleet's In is worth watching for the Dorsey band alone.But if you like all the other performers in it so much the better. Though The Fleet's In is not one of those films that Bill Holden would have liked to have been remembered for, still seeing him as 'Smiling Jim' is something different than most. And seeing Betty, Dotty, and Eddie in the same film is also a blessing.

padutchland-1 It has all the winning elements – romance for the ladies, fighting Navy men for the guys, and great music, singing, dancing and acting for everyone. Credit for music lyrics went to Johnny Mercer. The fleet is in and naturally, the males are pursuing their favorite sport of trying to charm the females. Through a series of misunderstandings, a very young William Holden is thought to be a lady's man. The fleet is betting he can get the Countess (played by Dorothy Lamour) to kiss him in public. She is the top singer at a San Francisco nightclub and has the reputation of being unapproachable. William Holden is convinced to give it a try by his buddy (played by Eddie Bracken) who will get beat up by Spike if he loses the bet. Thus, the story line is set and goes on from there as a musical comedy based on love-hate relationships. The acting was all top-notch. Dorothy Lamour was about 28 years old in this movie and very beautiful, her acting superb. William Holden was about 24 but somehow seemed to possess more maturity. Remember him playing the jet pilot in Bridges of Toko Ri? In real life, his younger brother was a Navy pilot killed in WWII. He was voted one of the 100 sexiest stars in a magazine and was best man for Ron and Nancy Reagan. Betty Hutton had a sizable part but I would like to have seen even more of her. Now there - is a blonde bombshell exploding with energy, talent and appeal. She came through as cute, cute, cute and used expressive eyes to demonstrate her own style of comedy while singing and acting. She is a rare talent we have not seen since, nor will we likely see repeated in today's array of actresses. Her boyfriend in the movie was played by Eddie Bracken, always a very capable funny man who was not afraid to play the self-effacing, bumbling types in films. In real life, he was married for over 60 years then he and his wife died within 3 months of each other. I also enjoyed seeing him in "Hail the Conquering Hero" opposite another beauty, Ella Raines. I like to look beyond the first row of stars and see who is hiding there. One of the sailors was Rod Cameron being miscast with dialog for someone of slighter build. In later years, he is better remembered playing tough guys in cowboys and other TV and movie works. In real life he divorced his wife and married her mother – now I've heard of loving your mother-in-law, but wow! Gil Lamb played Spike who was also miscast as the guy going to beat up Eddie Braken. Gil Lamb reminds one of Ray Bolger if you get the idea. It would have been better to give Rod Cameron his speaking parts and switch Cameron's to Lamb. No complaints otherwise. Gil Lamb did much character work on TV and in the movies. Cass Daley played a singer and comedian who resembled and reminded me of a combination of Martha Raye and Mary Wickes. There is a slight coincidence from the film in that both Cass and William Holden died as the result of a fall and laceration – Cass to the throat and William to the forehead. Pretty Barbara Britton had a small part in this and she will be remembered as Mrs. North in Mr. & Mrs. North and the Revlon Girl for 12 years. Most people don't know that she also played Laura Petrie in the pilot of The Dick VanDyke show that eventually went to Mary Tyler Moore. Then there was the great music of the Dorsey Band with Helen O'Connell singing and vocalist Bob Eberly and the dance routine of Lorraine and Rognan. If you have an opportunity to see this one, I do not think you will be disappointed.

donaldgreybarnhouse "Hey there, mister! You'd Better Hide Your Sister, 'Cause the Fleet's In!" That is the vivacious opening of a film that captures the spirit of an era fondly remembered by those who lived it. I remember the film specially since it was one of the first I ever saw. I saw it as a teenager when it came out, and enjoyed it greatly. There were laughs, which would sound rather dated now, perhaps, but charmingly innocent. William Holden as an innocent young sailor is a wonderful contrast to the roles he played later. In spite of the impression left by the words of the opening song, the sailors were very polite, and the film is a romance as well as a comedy. The high point for me was an extraordinarily beautiful vocal by Betty Hutton, in a serious vein, of the song: "It's Somebody Else's Moon Above, Not Mine." Dorsey's orchestra is fine, and Helen O'Connell, but Betty Hutton's heartbroken rendering of that moving song steals the show. A winner.