Meet The Fleet
A Pre-War (1940) – A Warner Brothers short film about 3 recruits who land in Navy boot camp in San Diego: Potter from Kansas, wealthy Benson (who has experience with yachts), and dirt-poor Dan. Kansas gets in trouble for not having his cover. Dan has color-vision problems. The company is sent on a training mission to Hawaii, though Dan is sent instead to the Medical Officer, apparently to be discharged, which plunges him into despair. But the Navy isn’t quite done with Dan.
Familiar story, but some recognizable stars that make it worth sitting through. The film follows three recruits (George Reeves, Herbert Anderson, William T. Orr) as they go through basic training and have to deal with their Petty Officer (Robert Armstrong). Reeves is best known for SUPERMAN and Armstrong for KING KONG so there are two familiar faces that film buffs will want to see but outside of that this film doesn’t have too much going for it. Even by 1940, this type of story was pretty drawn out to the point where people would be scratching their heads and asking for something original. Once again, Armstrong is playing that moron that he played in countless films. I love seeing him but he just doesn’t have much to do here.
Release Date:
21 December 1940 (USA)
Also Known As:
Anchors Aweigh
Filming Locations:
Naval Training Center, San Diego, California, USA
Company Credits
Production Co:
Warner Bros. Pictures
