Saluting Our Troops - Follow the Fleet

RKO, 1936
Starring Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Harriet Hillard, and Randolph Scott
Directed by Mark Sandrich
Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin

This year's Veteran's Day review returns us to the glittering romantic comedy world of Astaire and Rogers. Scott's joining them again, this time for the tale of two gobs and their girls based the old play Shore Leave. How well does this nautical-themed backstage story hold up now? Let's head to a ship coming into port to find out...

The Story: Navy sailor Bake Baker (Astaire) is thrilled to be on shore leave with his buddy Bilge Smith (Scott). His former partner Sherry Martin (Rogers) wrote him and told him she was dancing in a fancy club. Turns out she's really a singer at a dime-a-dance hall. Her shy school teacher sister Connie (Hillard) is also seeking her. Bilge thinks she's cute but bland, until Kitty (Lucille Ball), one of the dance hall girls, finds her a gown and gets rid of her glasses. Now they're both attracted to each other. Connie claim she'll salvage her father's old sailing ship for him, even though it'll cost a bundle.

A few months later, Bilge is now being pursued by a glamorous widow (Astrid Allwyn) with a crush on him. Connie wants marriage, and he's afraid of commitment. Meanwhile, Bake attempted to set Sherry up with a job in a Broadway show, but a series of mistaken identities leaves her without a job and angry at him. He does a better with setting up a benefit show to earn the remaining money needed to raise the girls' ship...but he not only has to jump ship to do so, he needs to convince Bilge to help him do it.

The Song and Dance: The stars and the Irving Berlin score are the things here. Scott, while still a tad out of place, at least seems more comfortable as a seaman than he did as a football player in Roberta. Astaire and Rogers have a great time with their numbers, and Rogers even gets a rare solo dance routine. Lucille Ball has a short but fun role as the sarcastic dancer who gives Connie a dress, and later dealing with a sailor who tries to hit on her.

Favorite Number: Astaire and Rogers get three great duets here. "Let Yourself Go" at the Paradise Club begins with them competing with another couple, only to explode into a lot of kicks and prancing that's a lot of fun to watch. "I'm Putting All My Eggs In One Basket" is similar, only this time, they're challenging one another to keep up with their moves. Rogers gets her only solo in any of her movies with Astaire in an instrumental version of "Let Yourself Go" that shows she's no slouch in the dance department herself. Astaire challenges the entire fleet in his solo, "I'd Rather Lead a Band."

The big one is "Let's Face the Music and Dance." A mini-story within a story has Fred and Ginger as gamblers about to end it all before they find - and dance with - each other. It's by far the most dramatic number in any of the Astaire-Rogers films, and it comes off as a dark moment floating in a sea of fluffiness.

Trivia: Harriet Hillard became far better known when she married bandleader Ozzie Nelson and had two sons named Ricky and David with him. The four appeared on the radio and TV show The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet for over a decade.

What I Don't Like: The plot is even more ridiculous than Top Hat and lacks that movie's hilarious supporting cast. The entire side plot with Hillard and Scott is cliched and very dated. Scott may be happier in the Navy, but Astaire isn't. He never really worked very well in uniform. The down-to-Earth setting makes things feel a little grittier than usual. Fancy costumes are limited to the nightclub scenes and the finale, and there's none of the elaborate sets that mark many of their other films.

The Big Finale: Worth sitting through the silly plot if you love Astaire and Rogers or the musicals of the 1930's.

Home Media: Available for streaming and on DVD solo or packaged with other Astaire/Rogers films.

DVD
DVD - Silver Screen Icons: Astaire & Rogers Vol. 2
Amazon Prime