The Harold Warren\Ralph Blane tune lyric quoted in my summary more or less sums up the attitude of MGM's 1952 Esther Williams vehicle SKIRTS AHOY! regarding the relationship between men and women. All three of the featured characters begin their nine weeks' stints at Chicago's Great Lakes Naval Training Center after matrimonial snafus. With a "50:1" male:female ratio, most of the recruits seem hell-bent upon attaining the rank of "Mrs." Other memorable lyrics include "It takes a whole lotta water to make a WAVE; it only takes a little bit of water to make a squirt" (sung during a chicks-get-wet-on-stage sequence that precedes FLASHDANCE's similar spectacle by decades) and "what use is a moonlit night, without a guy to hold you tight?" In between the singing, SKIRTS AHOY! viewers pick up such bon mots as "plumbers know everything there is to know about EVERYTHING--plumbers and garbage men."
Perhaps the nautical highlight, as least for Esther Williams' swim fans, is when this diva of wetness cavorts underwater with a pair of urchins (played by Russell and Kathy Tongay) with a number of yellow props, including a wooden ladder and hula hoop prototypes. Unlike TOP GUN, these trainees are never thrust into a "hot zone," however.
Perhaps the nautical highlight, as least for Esther Williams' swim fans, is when this diva of wetness cavorts underwater with a pair of urchins (played by Russell and Kathy Tongay) with a number of yellow props, including a wooden ladder and hula hoop prototypes. Unlike TOP GUN, these trainees are never thrust into a "hot zone," however.