Follow the Fleet
(1936)
An odd choice for my First Film of the New Year, but it was the only one I hadn't watched since getting the complete Fred & Ginger. Pretty much as I remembered: an even flimsier plot than usual, a disastrously bad romantic subplot between square-jawed Randolph Scott and Harriet Hilliard, but excellent Irving Berlin songs (except for Hilliard's two) and some of the duo's best dance numbers, including my nominees for best comic number ("All My Eggs in One Basket") and most erotic dance ("Let's Face the Music and Dance"). For '50s TV buffs, the film is notable for showcasing two iconic housewives from the era: Hilliard, later Nelson, as in Ozzie and Harriet, and a very blond Lucille Ball (as in . . . oh, if you don't already know . . . ). The short packaged with the film is excellent, a Cotton Club-esque revue, which is, unfortunately, only one reel rather than the typical two-reeler (which is typically lame). The cartoon, though, is not as good as most in the set.
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