Follow The Fleet [1936]

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
Of the nine films Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers completed for RKO Pictures, Follow the Fleet falls short of the top echelon. Coming between series peaks Top Hat and Swing Time, Fleet repeats the mistake (à la Flying Down to Rio and Roberta) of casting Fred and Ginger as the comic couple, while the romantic roles went to Randolph Scott and Harriet Hilliard (before she went on to fame with her husband, Ozzie Nelson, in Ozzie and Harriet). Fred puts down his top hat to become sailor Bake Baker (yet another of his alliterative screen names), while Ginger plays old flame Sherry Martin. The two are reunited when Fred takes shore leave in San Francisco, and soon their efforts turn to helping Ginger's sister Connie (Hilliard) land Fred's shipmate Bilge (Scott). (Look for Lucille Ball and Betty Grable in small roles.) Too much screen time is spent on Hilliard and Scott, but Fred and Ginger make up for it with plenty of laughs and some classic musical numbers, and Irving Berlin's score is one of the best of the series, with cunning lyrics and melodies that linger in the memory. Highlights include Fred and Ginger in a dance contest, a Ginger solo tap number, and "I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket," their best comic dance. The pièce de résistance is "Let's Face the Music and Dance," a show within a show in which Fred and Ginger don their customary evening formals. Effortlessly flowing from pantomime to song to dance, this sublime piece of storytelling is one of Fred and Ginger's defining moments. --David Horiuchi

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Customer reviews

review by: zetajonesadmirer date: 2003-06-04 rating:
Fred is Fleet of Foot in this 1936 classic
The jauntiness of several of Irving Berlin's songs in this film is counteracted by the romance of 'Let's Face the Music and Dance.' Although Torville and Dean were good in this music, nobody does it like Fred and Ginger. They also perform the brilliant tap routine 'I'm Putting all my Eggs in one Basket', which features Astaire playing the piano. Fred does two numbers on board a naval ship, 'We Saw the Sea' and 'I'd Rather Lead a Band', both of them performed to perfection. There's a cute monkey and the decision to not let the boy get the girl at the end of the plot makes a novel contrast to so many of the earlier Astaire-Rogers outings. Innovative.


review by: dancing-girl date: 2001-08-29 rating:
Terrific Tappers!
The tap dancing is this film is absolutely first rate and the storyline is, as always, charming and gripping! Fred and Ginger also sparkle in a way, never seen before, as the difference between "Follow the Fleet" and other Astaire-Rogers movies is that this one does not have the typical 'boy meets girl' plotline. I would definitely recommend this title to everyone! Also watch out for Gingers sparkling tap solo performed to 'Let yourself go'!

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Similar products

Shall We Dance
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Video . DVD & VHS . Categories . Classics . Comedy
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Video . DVD & VHS . Categories . Comedy . All Comedy
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Video . Video . Categories . Classic Films . Actors . Astaire, Fred
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