weezeralfalfa I don't know if it was planned this way, but through the first 6 films including Fred and Ginger, every other one included another developing romantic couple, with the male being classically handsome and charming, contrasting with Fred's emaciated ordinary looks. Gave the women another type of desirable man to relate to, along with Fred's dancing, singing and physical and verbal comedic skills. Tall, handsome, charming Randolph Scott returns in this one, from "Roberta", as Fred's shipboard buddy. It was hoped that Irene Dunn would again be romantically paired with Scott, as in "Roberta", but this wasn't in the cards. Thus, band singer and ex-vaudevillian Harriet Hilliard, now wife of band leader Ossie Nelson, took Irene's place, in her first feature film role. Like Irene, she shared the female solo singing roles with Ginger. Unlike Irene, she got two rather unmemorable songs, in contrast to some memorable songs and dances for Ginger.This is the first major musical I'm aware of with the plot centered on sailors, with much of the action supposedly taking place on a ship. It was fun seeing Fred and buddy Scott(Bilge) clowning around in sailor suits, instead of Fred's typical ballroom tux and, sometimes, top hat, attire. Of course, later, Gene Kelley and Frank Sinatra would play sailor buddies in the musical comedies "Anchors Aweigh" and "On the Town". Other sailor-oriented MGM musicals of this era include "Two Girls and a Sailor" and "Hit the Deck". But, those of you who prefer to have Fred and Ginger dancing in ballroom formal attire and surroundings won't be entirely disappointed. The last musical number, to "Let's Face the Music and Dance" fits this description. The lyrics, initially sung by Fred, had personal relevance to the characters played by Fred and Ginger. You see, Fred was due to spend some time in a military prison, for going AWOL to do this show, to finish fixing up an old private ship inherited by Harriet's character, who is scripted as Ginger's sister. Thus, they will have to 'face the music' and wait until he is released to continue their romantic relationship. But, in the present, they can 'face the music' and dance.The interconnected romantic scenario is not much different from the previous one that included Scott, in "Roberta". Again, we have Fred trying to rekindle a romance with Ginger, after a few year's absence. Again, Scott is trying to juggle two women during part of the film. However, achieving these connections is presented as much more plausible in this film than in "Roberta", or the earlier "Flying Down to Rio", which also had an additional developing romantic couple. True, there are other implausibilities in this film. In this screenplay, Scott is presented as more of a heel, when it comes to women, than in "Roberta". Clearly, unlike Harriet's character, he is not interested in matrimony in the near future, only in hanging out with 'hot' women, as Harriet discovers when the fleet arrives back in SF, Scott made a bee line for the slender blond socialite Iris, rather than her, as anticipated. Since Iris has a chauffeured limo, presumably she is wealthy, which presumably also impresses Scott. But Harriet hasn't quite given up the chase, and Fred cools Scott's infatuation with Iris by staging a date with her, with Iris's puzzling collusion. In revenge, Scott had Fred's leave to perform in a staged show cancelled. Fred jumps ship anyway, and Scott is assigned the duty of bringing him back, to serve some prison time. The crescendo in this drama is reached when Fred tells Scott some info about why the show is being done, and Scott has to decide whether to take Fred back now, or wait until the show is over, risking his own punishment.The film starts right off with a shipboard Fred-led group sing to "We Saw the Sea". The lyrics are rather trivial. However, it's a catchy tune, and effectively expresses the frustrations of the sailors....On the whole, I can't say that the songs and dancing are superior to most of the other Fred & Ginger films. It's more the interactions between the principle characters and superior comedy that makes this one of my favorites of the Fred & Ginger films. Scott's failure to recognize Harriet, after her Ginger-inspired makeover, is but one of many comedic elements.Unfortunately, Harriet's scripted schoolmarmish character, despite a humorous introduction to Scott's character, spends much of the film being inhibited or moping, in contrast to her reported gay private personality, which more fit Ginger's advice in her song "Let yourself Go". Despite considerable dance training , she wasn't given any show dancing role. Although a natural blond, her hair was died dark to provide more contrast with Ginger, and presumably to enhance her schoolmarmish image. Ironically, Ginger, with naturally dark hair, always appeared in films as a blond.Irving Berlin was given the honor of scoring the film, after doing the same for "Top Hat": perhaps the highest rated of the Fred & Ginger films. The Gershwins or Jerome Kerns & Dorothy Fields would score the last two of the classic Fred & Ginger films. Irving then scored the much inferior "Carefree", which RKO didn't put much resources in, sensing that the public was tiring of Fred & Ginger. Of course, Irving also scored the classic Bing & Fred films "Holiday Inn" and "Blue Skies",as well as the Fred & Judy "Easter Parade", in the '40s.

Tad Pole . . . Fred Astaire as Seaman "Bake" Baker has convinced me that any recruiting center I may enter will be playing "Anchors Aweigh!" In the Navy, according to FOLLOW THE FLEET, multiple rich chicks seem to fight over any sailor who's halfway decent-looking. In the Navy, you can then leave the girls for months at a time to make "their hearts grow fonder" (and/or give them a chance to refurbish giant ships for your eventual personal use). In the Navy, you have lots of free time between ports to conduct jazz bands and perfect dance routines. In the Navy, it's okay for enlisted guys to punch out officers, as long as it's at a social gathering during off-duty hours (you even can deck them aboard ship while on-duty, if you have a really good reason!). In the Navy, you can study for and pass tests to become a civilian ship captain the minute you're mustered out. In the Navy, they have cooks and galleys, so you don't have to settle for C-rations, or K-rations, or any other kind of alphabet soup. In the Navy, you're never ordered to dig fox holes. In the Navy, there's not as much of that noisy shooting you have to put up with in the Army or in the Marines. As far as I'm concerned, FOLLOW THE FLEET!

mark.waltz "Shore Leave" has an interesting history. It was a play on Broadway in the early 1920's, then a 1925 hit musical called "Hit the Deck!" with songs by Vincent Youmans. RKO made a movie of that in 1930 (which has apparently vanished off the face of the celluloid earth) and MGM re-made that version in 1955 with an all-star cast. Somewhere in the middle came this, RKO's version of the same story with new songs and their hot team of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.When Astaire pops up in the opening sequence to sing a very funny navy song about seeing the world ("What did we see? We saw the sea!"), the compass is set for a musically outstanding film that has an ordinary plot but rises above it because of its songs and dances. Ginger sings the bouncy "Let Yourself Go!" (with chorus girls Betty Grable and Lucille Ball), then Fred comes in with "I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket". The musical rhythms that Berlin uses are so smart, twisting certain refrains and stanzas much like Stephen Sondheim would do much later. Just when you're ready to call it a day for the romantic tales of two sailors (Astaire and Randolph Scott), in comes "Let's Face the Music and Dance". Dramatically, it seems totally out of place in the movie, although Astaire's routes as a dancer are mentioned to give it plausibility as to why he would do a show while on leave. It seems to be closer to something from Berlin's previous Astaire/Rogers effort, "Top Hat", which had a more sophisticated theme than this pre-cursor to "Anchor's Aweigh" and "On the Town"."Let's Face the Music and Dance" is still one of the classic cannons of the Astaire/Rogers pairing, and probably my favorite. The set-up is worthy of a movie itself, a young woman seemingly contemplating suicide and a gambler whose luck (and money) have run out. So what do they do? Dance to one of the most romantic musical numbers in film history. Famously re-done by Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters in 1981's "Pennies From Heaven", the musical number grabs you and never lets go. Even if the rest of the movie was a dog, this number would increase my rating to where it is now.While "Follow the Fleet" may not rank highest in my list for story (that goes to "Swing Time", released the same year"), it certainly will wow you with its sophistication, wit, and above all, its music and dancing. Those last two things are all that an old movie buff can really ask for.

james higgins 79/100. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers never made anything but great films together. Although this is not one of their best, it is an excellent musical. There are a few outstanding musical numbers, good support from Randolph Scott. Two notable appearances, Betty Grable and Lucille Ball make memorable early screen performances. Ball is particularly good, and a blonde as well. The "Let's Face the Music and Dance" is one of the musical duo's best numbers ever. Harriet Hilliard, better know as Harriet Nelson of "Ozzie and Harriet" plays Ginger Roger's sister. The basic plot is pretty familiar, but with a cast this exceptional, it works. Excellent art direction and score.