Edgar Allan Pooh . . . which will put Today's viewers in mind of newly sworn Commanders-in-Chief who've never Soldiered a rifle. "Why have nuclear bombs if you never use them?" you'd expect such a Creature to Tweet. FOLLOW THE FLEET provides a lot more food for thought along these lines. If Japan Pearl Harbored America because FLEET had implied a few years before this Sneak Attack that the only thing our Navy was good at was tap-dancing, won't North Korea nuke us because the only thing our Chief Commander has done is to host an Emmy-losing Game Show? (Any country that could mistake transvestite Dennis Rodman for Condoleezza Rice might easily Misperceive D.J. Rump as someone important.) FOLLOW THE FLEET also emphasizes another Rump Dictum: When seas get rough, just put on a show. We can expect Rump's kids to come out tap-dancing upon the smoldering Ground Zero Ruins of Our Future Nuked USA, wearing matching hats bearing the slogan, "Make America Breathe Again." So don't hesitate to make YOUR move if you see a Rumpster fried to a post-Apocalyptic U.S. Sidewalk. What's a little spatula prying among fiends, after all?

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.

Claudio Carvalho The dancer Bake Baker (Fred Astaire) has joined the navy to forget his former partner and love Sherry Martin (Ginger Rogers) that has declined to marry him, but he misses her. Now his ship is anchored in San Francisco and he goes with his pal, the sergeant Bilge Smith (Randolph Scott), to the Paradise nightclub.Meanwhile at Paradise, the intellectual teacher Connie Martin (Harriet Hilliard), who has just come from Bellport, visits her sister Sherry that is working there and she stumbles with Bilge at the entrance. She goes to Sherry's dress room and her sister produces Connie with a new dress and make-up, changing her old-fashioned style to a modern look. Sherry meets Bake in the joint and they rekindle their love, and Bake decides to get a better job for Sherry. Meanwhile Connie is infatuated with Bilge, but he is not ready to commit to marriage.When Bake returns to the vessel, he is ordered to sail and leaves Sherry unemployed without any notice. Meanwhile Connie repairs a salvage to give her to Bilge after their wedding. However, Bilge is dating the divorced and wealthy Mrs. Iris Manning (Astrid Allwyn) and is not ready to settle down. When Sherry has an audition with New York theatrical producer Jim Nolan (Russell Hicks) and is ready to sign a contract with him, Bake arrives in the office and overhears that a girl will sign a contract with Nolan without knowing that she is Sherry. He decides to sabotage her audition with bicarbonate soda. But sooner their misunderstandings resolve and they dance together again.Like most of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers films, "Follow the Fleet" is sappy, naive and delightful. The story is a silly romance, but supported by funny gags and wonderful musical numbers.The blonde Harriet Hilliard makes fun with blondes in her debut in a feature. The sabotage of Bake Baker with bicarbonate soda is hilarious. And Bake Baker luring Mrs. Manning and Bilge Smith in her apartment is also very funny. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Nas Águas da Esquadra" ("In the Fleet's Waters")

Alex da Silva ....but it all ends well! Bake (Fred Astaire) and Bilge (Randolph Scott) belong to the US navy. At the end of the film, they don't........Let me start with something that didn't need to happen - the extra story time given to Connie (Harriet Hilliard). The film could have survived with Bake and Sherry (Ginger Rogers) carrying the story. Hilliard is a bit of a soppy, wet fish. And as for Randolph Scott.....my goodness me. How's this for an intro to a girl you like - "Hey, babe..."....what class! The film goes on for a little too long but the songs and dances are all good value.