. . . 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?

The idea that a musical must always be trivial in content was particularly prevalent in the pre-Second World War era. Legend has it that it was not until the appearance of OKLAHOMA! on Broadway that producers actually realized that musicals could make some important points about the worlds they embodied.Mark Sandrich's film proves otherwise. While FOLLOW THE FLEET contains ingredients familiar to the Astaire/Rogers canon (comic by-play between the two protagonists, a romantic subplot involving Bake Baker's (Astaire's) best buddy Bilge Smith (Randolph Scott) and Connie Martin (Harriet Hilliard), and the inevitable misunderstandings (for example, a neat episode involving a tin of bicarbonate of soda), the film makes some important points about friendship and love. True to the spirit of times, it posits marriage, family and children as the ideal for most human beings. While the sailors are obviously happy together, they can only embrace male bonding, which is a poor substitute for marriage. Hence Bake and Bilge are always on the lookout for suitable partners - for example Connie and Sherry Martin (Rogers). The only snag is that the men are two self-centered to understand their girlfriends' feelings; Bill prefers the more overt charms of divorcée Iris Manning (Astrid Allwyn). The girls are left to bemoan their fate, apparently doomed to be old maids forever, despite their obvious beauties.Such complications are only resolved on board Connie's recently- purchased boat - in other words, in a confined space where the four characters have to confront their feelings of loneliness and try to overcome them. Bake and Sherry do this in a memorable dance set against an Art Deco background, to the strains of "Let's Face the Music and Dance." Irving Berlin's lyrics sum up the importance of the sequence; people have to set aside their troubles, or their neuroses, and learn to enjoy the pleasures of the moment - preferably as couples. The film ends with the four protagonists brought together - even though Bake and Sherry have to be apart for just a little longer, as Bake has to spend some time in custody for going AWOL.FOLLOW THE FLEET achieves the unique feat of integrating the songs with the plot; all of them sum up how the characters are feeling, from the serio-comic "We Saw the Sea" (summing up the loneliness of the sailors' life), to "But Where are You?" (sung by Connie as she believes that Bilge will never come back to her), to "I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket" (where Bake declares his everlasting love for Sherry). The dance sequences - choreographed by Hermes Pan - are memorable, especially the one where Astaire and Rogers end up pushing one another off the stage as they compete for the viewers' attention. This is perhaps one of the most memorable of all the films they did together, with a tuneful score and witty script (by Dwight Taylor and Allan Scott).

Follow the Fleet is a lot of fun and very charming. It isn't quite as good as Top Hat and Swing Time, but fans of Fred and Ginger won't be disappointed and will be enthralled instead. Like with almost all of their outings the story is somewhat silly and plays second fiddle to everything else and Harriet Hilliard, apart from her two wonderfully done solos(especially But Where are You?), is a little dull. However, while perhaps not as audacious or sophisticated as Swing Time, it is beautiful to look at with the photography particularly pleasing, the standout being Let's Face the Music and Dance. Irving Berlin's score and songs are not quite as consistent as his ones for Top Hat but are still wholly memorable and put a smile on your smile. Let's Face the Music and Dance is the jewel of the crown, helped also by Fred and Ginger's best ever dance routines, but Let Yourself Go and I'd Rather Lead a Band also stand out among the songs. The choreography is energetic and poised, Let's Face the Music and Dance once again comes to mind but Let Yourself Go positively makes you want to tap your toes. The dialogue is smart, funny and sweet, while charmingly swaggering Fred Astaire and sassy Ginger Rogers, in their graceful and full-of-personality dancing and in their performances, are entirely captivating. Randolph Scott is appropriately virile and doesn't look too out of his depth(considering that he's better known for his westerns), one wishes though that he had a stronger partner in Hilliard, who comes to life in her musical numbers but is lacking elsewhere. In conclusion, great fun and easy to like. 9/10 Bethany Cox

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.