Evening star., 1942-04-11

and fill the gaps with vaudeville
actors.
You m, ght find it hard to believe,
but this process has worked out sur
prisingly well and THE Fleets In"
at the Earle, which is really our old
friend Sailor Beware" turns out
to be more amusing by far than 1t
deserves to be. And it is the vaude-
vile performers who make it so.
The part left over from the original
comedy is dreary stuff-something
about the whole feet betting that
a sailor named Casey Kirby can or
cannot, depending upon individual
sentiment in the matter, kiss girl
named The Countess"
Miss Dorothy Lamour, in a gown
fitting sooner than sarong, is The
Countess" screen version of the
wonderfully and aptly named Stone
wall" Jackson of the stage play. And
Mr.. William Holden, who has grad
ually become an accomplished young
leading man, is the Casey who pur-
sues her for the honor of the U. S.
S. Dakota. But their affairs are
unimportant, a mere framework for
the action.
The action has nothing to do with
what there is of plot, but rather
develops in a sort of musical revue
fashion. to fill those moments when
the principals evidently become so
bored with. the story, as well they
might, that they just can't go on
without a rest. Then the specially
performers take over.
Everyone of them is familiar and,
with the exception of Betty Hutton,
you probably can expect to see
them on one of the local stages long
before you forget the name of their
last picture. Remember Cass Daley?
Gil Lamb? Lorraine and Rognan?
They're right here. Lorraine and
Rognan whip into that dance that
turns suddenly from grace to mad
grotesquerie. Mr.. Lamb swallows"
his midget harmonica and daShes
off sundry other items out of his
comic repertoire. Miss Daley beats
herself and one of her song spe-
cialties to a hilarious pulp. Vaude-
vile isn't dead it's in the movies.
And then there is this Miss Hut
ton. Remember her name for she
is one of the brightest prospects to
turn up in movie in many moon,
and no doubt is destined many more
opportunities to enliven a film with
her comedy. It's a special sort of
comedy, fresh. vivacious and fired by
an energy that must be boundless.
But Miss Hutton's trick is explod-
ing the energy prodigally without
tiring the onlooker at the very sight.
She has practically stolen herself
picture called THE Fleets In"
The portion of the Earle's vaude-
vile bill performed on the stage this
week naturally finds itself up
against some tough competition
from these people named above, but
1t is a lively affair. Its headliners,
strangely enough, turn out to be one
of those tumbling acts, involving
some of those people who roll
around on a stage and climb up on
their partners shoulders. These
tumblers, Dick, Don and Dinah,
seem to be new around these parts,
however; at least there is novelty
about the affairs they perform.
The show also includes the Three
Harmoniacs, who probably are fine
II you have a weakness either for
harmoniacs or for the Poet and
Peasant" overture played on three
harmonicas. which lets us out:
clever fellow called Chester Dolphin,
and the Roxyettes, who become in
volved in somewhat spectacular
hula, which is only for the nimble
of foot. But the Roxyettes manage
II.