Follow the Fleet
Encyclopedia
Follow the Fleet is a 1936
Hollywood musical
comedy film with a nautical theme and stars Fred Astaire
, Ginger Rogers
, Randolph Scott
, Harriet Hilliard
, and Astrid Allwyn
, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin
. Lucille Ball
and Betty Grable
also appear, in small supporting roles. The film was directed by Mark Sandrich
with script by Allan Scott and Dwight Taylor
based on the 1922 play Shore Leave by Hubert Osborne
.
Dance commentators Arlene Croce
and John Mueller
point out that, aside from the obvious weakness -- a discursive and overlong plot lacking quality specialist comedians to bring its whimsical elements to life, a flaw which also characterised Roberta
-- this film contains some of the Astaire-Rogers partnership's most prized duets, not least the iconic "Let's Face the Music and Dance
." According to Croce: "One reason the numbers in Follow the Fleet are as great as they are is that Rogers had improved remarkably as a dancer. Under Astaire's coaching she had developed extraordinary range, and the numbers in the film are designed to show it off." That this film's remarkable score was produced immediately after his smash-hit score for Top Hat
is perhaps testimony to Berlin's claim that Astaire's abilities inspired him to deliver some of his finest work. As an actor, however, Astaire makes an unconvincing attempt at shedding the wealthy man-about-town image by donning a sailor's uniform, while Rogers, in this her fifth pairing with Astaire, brings her usual comedic and dramatic flair to bear on her role as a nightclub entertainer.
Follow the Fleet was extremely successful at the box office, and during 1936, Astaire's recorded versions of "Let Yourself Go
", "I'm Putting all My Eggs in One Basket
", and "Let's Face the Music and Dance
" reached their highest positions of 3rd, 2nd, 3rd respectively in the US Hit Parade. Harriet Hilliard and Tony Martin made their screen debuts in this film. RKO borrowed Randolph Scott from Paramount and Astrid Allwyn from Fox for the production.
) and Sherry (Ginger Rogers
) are former dance partners, now separated, with Baker in the Navy and Sherry working as a dance hostess in a San Francisco ballroom, Paradise.
Bake visits the ballroom with his Navy buddy "Bilge" (Randolph Scott
) during a period of liberty
, reuniting with Sherry while Bilge is initially attracted to Sherry's sister Connie (Harriet Hilliard). When Connie begins to talk about marriage, Bilge quickly diverts his attention towards a friend of Sherry's, Iris (Astrid Allwyn
), a divorced socialite.
The sailors return to sea while Connie seeks to raise money to salvage her deceased sea-captain father's sailing ship. When the boys return to San Francisco, Bake attempts to get Sherry a job in a Broadway
show, but fails amidst a flurry of mistaken identities and misunderstandings. He redeems himself by staging a benefit show which raises the final seven hundred dollars needed to refurbish the ship.
After the concert, Bake and Sherry are offered a show on Broadway which Bake accepts on the proviso that Sherry asks him to marry her.
collaborated with Astaire on the choreography, which dwells on themes of sudden changes in tempo, rhythm and direction. Competitive challenge is another important component.
Note: Two songs, "Moonlight Maneuvers" and "With a Smile on My Face" were written for the film but unused.
1936 in film
The year 1936 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 29 - Fritz Lang's first Hollywood film Fury, starring Spencer Tracy and Bruce Cabot, is released.*November 6 - first Porky Pig animated cartoon...
Hollywood musical
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
comedy film with a nautical theme and stars Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
, Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers was an American actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in film, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the 20th century....
, Randolph Scott
Randolph Scott
Randolph Scott was an American film actor whose career spanned from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in a variety of genres, including social dramas, crime dramas, comedies, musicals , adventure tales, war films, and even a few...
, Harriet Hilliard
Harriet Nelson
Harriet Nelson was an American singer and actress. Nelson is best known for her role on the long-running sitcom The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.-Early life and career:...
, and Astrid Allwyn
Astrid Allwyn
Astrid Allwyn was an American stage and film actress.She studied dancing and dramatics in New York and later joined a stock company. Allwyn made her Broadway debut in 1929 in Elmer Rice's Street Scene. On the strength of her performance in Once in a Lifetime, she was given film work...
, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
. Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...
and Betty Grable
Betty Grable
Elizabeth Ruth "Betty" Grable was an American actress, dancer and singer.Her iconic bathing suit photo made her the number-one pin-up girl of the World War II era. It was later included in the LIFE magazine project "100 Photos that Changed the World"...
also appear, in small supporting roles. The film was directed by Mark Sandrich
Mark Sandrich
Mark Sandrich was a Jewish American film director, writer and producer.Sandrich was an engineering student at Columbia University when he began in the film business by accident. While visiting a friend on a film set, he saw that the director had a problem in setting up a shot; Sandrich offered...
with script by Allan Scott and Dwight Taylor
Dwight Taylor (writer)
Dwight Taylor was an American author, playwright, and film and television screenwriter.-Background:Taylor was the son of playwright Charles A...
based on the 1922 play Shore Leave by Hubert Osborne
Hubert Osborne
Hubert Benjamin Osborne was a Canadian-born playwright and screenwriter who worked in the USA.He was born in Kingston, Ontario and attended Queen's University for two years before progressing to Harvard University...
.
Dance commentators Arlene Croce
Arlene Croce
Arlene Croce founded Ballet Review magazine in 1965. She was a dance critic for The New Yorker magazine from 1973 to 1998. Prior to her long career as a dance writer, she also wrote film criticism for Film Culture and other magazines. The keynote of her criticism can be grasped from her ability to...
and John Mueller
John Mueller
John E. Mueller is a political scientist in the field of international relations as well as a scholar of the history of dance. He is recognized for his ideas concerning "the banality of ethnic war" and the theory that major world conflicts are quickly becoming obsolete.-Career:He received his A.B...
point out that, aside from the obvious weakness -- a discursive and overlong plot lacking quality specialist comedians to bring its whimsical elements to life, a flaw which also characterised Roberta
Roberta (1935 film)
Roberta is a 1935 musical film by RKO starring Irene Dunne, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, and Randolph Scott. It was an adaptation of a 1933 Broadway theatre musical of the same name, which in turn was based on the novel Gowns by Roberta by Alice Duer Miller...
-- this film contains some of the Astaire-Rogers partnership's most prized duets, not least the iconic "Let's Face the Music and Dance
Let's Face the Music and Dance
"Let's Face the Music and Dance" is a song written in 1936 by Irving Berlin for the film Follow the Fleet, where it was introduced by Fred Astaire and featured in a celebrated dance duet with Astaire and Ginger Rogers...
." According to Croce: "One reason the numbers in Follow the Fleet are as great as they are is that Rogers had improved remarkably as a dancer. Under Astaire's coaching she had developed extraordinary range, and the numbers in the film are designed to show it off." That this film's remarkable score was produced immediately after his smash-hit score for Top Hat
Top Hat
Top Hat is a 1935 screwball comedy musical film in which Fred Astaire plays an American dancer named Jerry Travers, who comes to London to star in a show produced by Horace Hardwick . He meets and attempts to impress Dale Tremont to win her affection...
is perhaps testimony to Berlin's claim that Astaire's abilities inspired him to deliver some of his finest work. As an actor, however, Astaire makes an unconvincing attempt at shedding the wealthy man-about-town image by donning a sailor's uniform, while Rogers, in this her fifth pairing with Astaire, brings her usual comedic and dramatic flair to bear on her role as a nightclub entertainer.
Follow the Fleet was extremely successful at the box office, and during 1936, Astaire's recorded versions of "Let Yourself Go
Let Yourself Go (Irving Berlin song)
"Let Yourself Go" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin for the 1936 film Follow the Fleet, where it was introduced by Ginger Rogers.-Notable recordings:*Fred Astaire *Tony Bennett - Bennett/Berlin...
", "I'm Putting all My Eggs in One Basket
I'm Putting all My Eggs in One Basket
"I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin for the 1936 film Follow the Fleet, where it was introduced by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.-Notable recordings:...
", and "Let's Face the Music and Dance
Let's Face the Music and Dance
"Let's Face the Music and Dance" is a song written in 1936 by Irving Berlin for the film Follow the Fleet, where it was introduced by Fred Astaire and featured in a celebrated dance duet with Astaire and Ginger Rogers...
" reached their highest positions of 3rd, 2nd, 3rd respectively in the US Hit Parade. Harriet Hilliard and Tony Martin made their screen debuts in this film. RKO borrowed Randolph Scott from Paramount and Astrid Allwyn from Fox for the production.
Synopsis
"Bake" Baker (Fred AstaireFred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
) and Sherry (Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers
Ginger Rogers was an American actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in film, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the 20th century....
) are former dance partners, now separated, with Baker in the Navy and Sherry working as a dance hostess in a San Francisco ballroom, Paradise.
Bake visits the ballroom with his Navy buddy "Bilge" (Randolph Scott
Randolph Scott
Randolph Scott was an American film actor whose career spanned from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in a variety of genres, including social dramas, crime dramas, comedies, musicals , adventure tales, war films, and even a few...
) during a period of liberty
Shore leave
Shore leave is the leave that professional sailors get to spend on dry land. It is culturally infamous for its excess. Sailors without family obligations and with basic lodging needs provided aboard ship may spend their wages for the journey in a brief period of extravagance ashore and return to...
, reuniting with Sherry while Bilge is initially attracted to Sherry's sister Connie (Harriet Hilliard). When Connie begins to talk about marriage, Bilge quickly diverts his attention towards a friend of Sherry's, Iris (Astrid Allwyn
Astrid Allwyn
Astrid Allwyn was an American stage and film actress.She studied dancing and dramatics in New York and later joined a stock company. Allwyn made her Broadway debut in 1929 in Elmer Rice's Street Scene. On the strength of her performance in Once in a Lifetime, she was given film work...
), a divorced socialite.
The sailors return to sea while Connie seeks to raise money to salvage her deceased sea-captain father's sailing ship. When the boys return to San Francisco, Bake attempts to get Sherry a job in a Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
show, but fails amidst a flurry of mistaken identities and misunderstandings. He redeems himself by staging a benefit show which raises the final seven hundred dollars needed to refurbish the ship.
After the concert, Bake and Sherry are offered a show on Broadway which Bake accepts on the proviso that Sherry asks him to marry her.
Cast
- Fred AstaireFred AstaireFred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
as Bake Baker - Ginger RogersGinger RogersGinger Rogers was an American actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in film, and on stage, radio, and television throughout much of the 20th century....
as Sherry Martin - Randolph ScottRandolph ScottRandolph Scott was an American film actor whose career spanned from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in a variety of genres, including social dramas, crime dramas, comedies, musicals , adventure tales, war films, and even a few...
as Bilge Smith - Harriet Hilliard as Connie Martin
- Astrid AllwynAstrid AllwynAstrid Allwyn was an American stage and film actress.She studied dancing and dramatics in New York and later joined a stock company. Allwyn made her Broadway debut in 1929 in Elmer Rice's Street Scene. On the strength of her performance in Once in a Lifetime, she was given film work...
as Mrs. Iris Manning - Betty GrableBetty GrableElizabeth Ruth "Betty" Grable was an American actress, dancer and singer.Her iconic bathing suit photo made her the number-one pin-up girl of the World War II era. It was later included in the LIFE magazine project "100 Photos that Changed the World"...
as Trio Singer - Harry BeresfordHarry BeresfordHarry Beresford was a stage actor in London and New York before going on the screen. He was also a screen writer and novelist.He was married to actress Kitty Gordon and their child was actress Vera Beresford....
as Captain Hickey - Russell Hicks as Nolan
- Brooks Benedict as David Sullivan
- Ray Mayer as Dopey Williams
- Lucille BallLucille BallLucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...
as Kitty Collins - Tony MartinTony Martin (entertainer)Tony Martin is an American actor and singer.-Career:Tony Martin was born on Christmas Day, 1913 as Alvin Morris in San Francisco, California to Jewish immigrant parents. He received a saxophone as a gift from his grandmother at the age of ten. In his grammar school glee club, he became an...
as Sailor - Jane HamiltonJane Hamilton (actress)Jane Hamilton was an American film actress. She appeared in over 20 films between 1933 and 1949.Modern viewers will recognize Hamilton in her appearances in several early Three Stooges films such as Three Missing Links and Start Cheering.Hamilton died in Malibu, California in 2004.-External links:...
as Paradise Ballroom Waitress - Mary Jane IrvingMary Jane IrvingMary Jane Irving was an American actress. She appeared in 58 films between 1917 and 1938.-Biography:Born in Columbia, South Carolina, Irving began her career as a child actor in silent films...
as Minor Role - Thelma LeedsThelma LeedsThelma Leeds , also known as Thelma Bernstein, was an American actress.-Life and career:...
as Minor Role - Doris LloydDoris LloydHessy Doris Lloyd was an English actress.She appeared in over 150 films between 1920 and 1967, including the 1933 low-budget Monogram Pictures version of Oliver Twist, in which she played Nancy...
as Mrs. Courtney - Kitty McHughKitty McHughKatherine "Kitty" McHugh was an American film actress. She appeared in more than 50 films between 1934 and 1953.-Career:...
as Minor Role - Gertrude ShortGertrude ShortGertrude Short was an American film actress of the silent and early sound era. She appeared in 132 films between 1912 and 1945.She was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and died in Hollywood, California, aged 66....
as Cashier, Paradise Ballroom
Key songs/dance routines
Hermes PanHermes Pan (choreographer)
Hermes Pan was an American dancer and choreographer, principally celebrated as Fred Astaire's choreographic collaborator on the famous 1930s movie musicals starring Astaire and Ginger Rogers.-Early life:...
collaborated with Astaire on the choreography, which dwells on themes of sudden changes in tempo, rhythm and direction. Competitive challenge is another important component.
- "We Saw The Sea": The film introduces Astaire with this song.
- "Let Yourself GoLet Yourself Go (Irving Berlin song)"Let Yourself Go" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin for the 1936 film Follow the Fleet, where it was introduced by Ginger Rogers.-Notable recordings:*Fred Astaire *Tony Bennett - Bennett/Berlin...
": Backed by a trio which includes Betty Grable, a nautically-attired Ginger sings this Berlin standardGreat American SongbookThe Great American Songbook is a hypothetical construct that seeks to represent the best American songs of the 20th century principally from Broadway theatre, musical theatre, and Hollywood musicals, from the 1920s to 1960, including dozens of songs of enduring popularity...
, which is followed after a short interlude by a comic tap duet with Astaire. This routine begins as a competitive challenge between Astaire-Rogers and another couple (Bob Cromer and Dorothy Fleischman, who soon withdraw) and develops into an energetic duet with much emphasis on galloping kicks, leg wiggling and scampering moves.
- "Get Thee Behind Me SatanGet Thee Behind Me Satan"Get Thee Behind Me Satan" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin for the 1936 film Follow the Fleet, where it was introduced by Harriet Hilliard...
": Sung by Harriet Hilliard, this number was originally intended for Ginger in Top HatTop HatTop Hat is a 1935 screwball comedy musical film in which Fred Astaire plays an American dancer named Jerry Travers, who comes to London to star in a show produced by Horace Hardwick . He meets and attempts to impress Dale Tremont to win her affection...
.
- "I'd Rather Lead A Band": After singing this number Astaire embarks on a tap solo in which he dances on, off and around the beat - an ability for which he had long been famous in theatre. After leading the band in the song, he discards the baton and begins the solo part of his routine. After this, he is joined by a chorus of sailors who are alternately led and challenged by him.
- "Let Yourself Go" (solo dance): This is Ginger Rogers' only solo tap dance in her ten films with Astaire.
- "I'm Putting all My Eggs in One BasketI'm Putting all My Eggs in One Basket"I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin for the 1936 film Follow the Fleet, where it was introduced by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.-Notable recordings:...
": As in the "I Won't DanceI Won't Dance"I Won't Dance" is a song composed by Jerome Kern, with lyrics written by Oscar Hammerstein II and Otto Harbach, for the 1934 London musical Three Sisters. However, Three Sisters flopped and was quickly forgotten, so when the time came to film the Kern-Harbach musical Roberta, the song was...
" number from Roberta, the song is preceded by a solo piano display by Astaire - a playing style he termed his "feelthy piano". Then Astaire and Rogers sing alternate choruses before embarking on a comic dance duet which plays on the notion of both dancers being unable to keep in step with each other. Incidentally, Lucille BallLucille BallLucille Désirée Ball was an American comedian, film, television, stage and radio actress, model, film and television executive, and star of the sitcoms I Love Lucy, The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy...
appears just before this number to put a sailor admirer down with the line "Tell me little boy, did you get a whistle or a baseball bat with that suit".
- "But Where Are You?": Sung by Harriet Hilliard.
- "Let's Face the Music and DanceLet's Face the Music and Dance"Let's Face the Music and Dance" is a song written in 1936 by Irving Berlin for the film Follow the Fleet, where it was introduced by Fred Astaire and featured in a celebrated dance duet with Astaire and Ginger Rogers...
": Astaire sings this to Rogers after which the dance begins slowly and culminates in a static exit pose. The dance is filmed in one continuous shot lasting two minutes and fifty seconds. During the first take, Ginger's dress, which was heavily weighted so as to achieve a controlled swirling action, hit Astaire in the face midway through the routine, though the effect is barely discernible. He nonetheless selected this take out of twenty overall for the final picture. The set - designed by Carroll ClarkCarroll ClarkCarroll Clark was an American art director. He was nominated for seven Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction. He worked on 173 films between 1927 and 1968...
under the direction of Van Nest PolglaseVan Nest PolglaseVan Nest Polglase was an American art director. He was nominated for six Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction. Best remembered as head of the design department at RKO Pictures, he worked on 333 films between 1925 and 1957.He was born in Brooklyn, New York and died in Los Angeles,...
- is frequently cited as a leading example of Art DecoArt DecoArt deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
-influenced art direction known as Hollywood Moderne. Film clips of this routine were featured in the 1981 film Pennies from HeavenPennies from Heaven (1981 film)Pennies from Heaven is a 1981 musical film. The film was based on a 1978 BBC television drama. In 1981, Dennis Potter adapted his own screenplay for a film of the same name for American audiences, with its setting changed to Depression era Chicago. Potter was nominated for the 1981 Academy Award...
- detested by Astaire, - where it was also reinterpreted by Steve MartinSteve MartinStephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer....
and Bernadette PetersBernadette PetersBernadette Peters is an American actress, singer and children's book author from Ozone Park, Queens, New York. Over the course of a career that has spanned five decades, she has starred in musical theatre, films and television, as well as performing in solo concerts and recordings...
with revised choreography by Danny DanielsDanny DanielsDanny Daniels is an American choreographer, tap dancer, and teacher.Daniels was a featured dancer in several 1940s Broadway musicals, including Billion Dollar Baby, Street Scene, and Kiss Me, Kate; although he continued performing during the 1950s and after, including a tour with the Agnes de Mille...
.
Note: Two songs, "Moonlight Maneuvers" and "With a Smile on My Face" were written for the film but unused.