Delightful musical comedy with William Holden, as a shy sailor, beginning his illustrious career in films. After dazzling two women, sailors on the ship wager that he can conquer and defrost the Countess, well played by Dorothy Lamour, especially in a court room scene where she pulls out all the stops as a vamp.Bette Hutton and Eddie Bracken are along for the ride. They provide real comic antics while accidentally constantly derailing the budding romance between the Holden and Lamour characters.Benny Goodman is on hand with his band and the songs are delightfully staged- Tangerine, I Remember You and others. There is even a delightful comedy ballet in between.That court room scene and the brawl on the dance floor during a Conga dance are memorable.

This movie is a pure joy to watch. Filmed during the onset of the American involvement during World War II, an American sailor named "Casey Kirby" (William Holden) is accidentally mistaken for a ladies' man and bets are taken aboard his ship as to whether he can get a certain woman named "The Countess" (Dorothy Lamour) to kiss him in public. The problem is that the Countess is famous throughout the fleet for her ability to resist the charms of men and Casey doesn't really know much about dating. Anyway, what makes this film so special is the innocence of Casey pitted against the suspicious nature of the Countess. Likewise, the music of Jimmy Dorsey and his band was tailor-made for this film. That said, I especially enjoyed the singing of Bob Eberly and the beautiful Helen O'Connell. Additionally, Betty Hutton (as "Bessie Dale") and Eddie Bracken (as "Barney Waters") were very amusing as well. The only things I didn't like about this film were the skits involving "Lorraine & Rognan" and "Cissy" (Cass Dailey). But even so, the good parts of this movie certainly outweighed the bad. In short, if a person is looking for a good, clean comedy then this film is definitely worth viewing.

Between "Golden Boy" and "Sunset Boulevard," William Holden was stuck at Paramount playing light leading man parts. Here he's teamed with exotic Dorothy Lamour in a WW II musical, "The Fleet's In." Holden plays a sailor who is mistakenly believed to be a real Lothario - in fact, he's anything but. The rest of the sailors bet that he can't score with "The Countess," a club singer (Dorothy Lamour). If the plot sounds familiar, it was recycled for Elvis in "G.I. Blues." This plot is merely an excuse for some great music and performances. It's the film debut of vivacious Betty Hutton, who plays Bessie, the Countess' roommate.Pretty Helen O'Connell, whom I remember from an early interview show in the '50s, "Here's Hollywood," was a marvelous singer who worked with Jimmy Dorsey. Dorsey's band performs here, as does his other singer, Bob Eberly. O'Connell introduces the song "Tangerine" to audiences. Lamour sings the lovely "I Remember You." Hutton has the comic "Arthur Murray Taught Me Dancing in a Hurry." All three songs have Johnny Mercer lyrics, as do the numbers "Not Mine" and "If You Build a Better Housetrap" performed by several of the singers.Wonderfully entertaining, though not as well remembered as many other musicals.

The Fleet's In is a wonderful musical comedy that viewers will find irresitable. The star studded cast keeps you laughing throughout the entire movie and with Jimmy Dorsey's orchestra backing the singers how can anyone help but singing along to the catchy songs? Over all I'd say that the Fleet's In will endear it's self to anyone who watches it.