The Fleet's In


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 includes the popular hits "Tangerine", and "I Remember You".
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.

Premise

When unassuming sailor Casey Kirby goes backstage for a famous actress' 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