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Paramount, 1942. Directed by
Victor Schertzinger. Camera: William C. Mellor. With
Dorothy Lamour, William Holden, Eddie Bracken,
Betty Hutton,
Leif Erickson, Betty Jane Rhodes, Barbara Britton, Cass Daley, Gil Lamb,
Jack Norton, Roy Atwell, Robert Warwick, Lorraine and Rognan, Jimmy Dorsey
and His Orchestra, Bob Eberly, Helen O'Connell, Hal K. Dawson, Gilbert
Wilson, Harry Barris, Dave Willock, Rod Cameron, Jimmie Dundee, Jack Chapin,
Donald Kerr, Tommy Sanford, Lyle Latell, Pat West, Fred Santley, Phyllis
Ruth, Archie Twitchell, Chester Clute, Mat Willis, George M. Carleton. |
When star Diana Golden performs for a
gathering of sailors, shy sailor Casey Kirby goes backstage to get
her autograph for his sister. Casey is tricked into a
publicity kiss with Golden for the cameras and when his buddy,
Barney Waters, reports back to their buddies on ship, the kiss
instantly creates Casey's reputation as a notorious ladies' man.
When Jake, a real "Don Juan," bets Barney that Casey will not be
able to kiss "The Countess," a dance hall singer who is renowned for
her aloofness, Barney bets his friend Spike's antique watch, and
wagers spread shipwide. Spike threatens Barney with death
unless he wins the wager, and so when they dock in San Francisco,
Barney immediately takes Casey to The Countess's dance hall,
Swingland, and engineers Casey into sitting with the disinterested
singer.
The Countess pretends to take an
interest in Casey when the manager tries to force an obnoxious
patron on her, and Casey ends up walking her home. The
Countess becomes charmed by Casey despite herself, and she invites
him into the hillside apartment she shares with singer Bessie Dale.
Bessie returns the same night with Barney, and both couples pursue
their flirtations until Barney mentions his wager to Bessie.
Bessie interrupts Casey and The Countess just as they are about to
kiss and tells The Countess about the bet. Both Barney and
Casey are thrown out of the apartment, but Casey soon realizes that
he is sincerely in love with The Countess and buys an engagement
ring.
Bessie, meanwhile, reveals to The
Countess a plan she heard from Barney, in which Casey will propose
to her in order to get a kiss. When Casey does propose, the
outraged Countess throws the ring out the window, but Casey explains
his sincere intentions, and they retrieve the ring. That night
during the show at Swingland, Casey tries to propose again while The
Countess dances on a conga line. The club's bouncers think he
is drunk and wrestle him to the floor, and a brawl ensues involving
all the visiting sailors. Casey is dragged off unconscious as
the shore patrol arrives and is later brought to trial as the
initiator of the brawl. He refuses to defend himself until The
Countess strolls into the courtroom and adopts a hard-boiled
attitude, pretending that she deliberately led Casey on to get the
ring, and that the bouncers threw the first punch.
Casey is acquitted and in the taxi on
the way to the Navy dock, Casey and The Countess are married by a
minister. At the dock, all the sailors witness Barney win his
bet as Casey and The Countess finally kiss.
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