Tuesday, May 11, 2021

This Time for Keeps (1947)

MGM, 1947
Starring Esther Williams, Johnnie Johnston, Lauritz Melichor, and Jimmy Durante
Directed by Richard Thorpe
Music and Lyrics by various

Esther Williams' second vehicle with her name over the title was this massive hit romantic comedy. MGM threw in the best they had to offer, including Xaviar Cugat and His Orchestra for the requisite Latin flair, opera star Melichor, comic second banana Durante, and songs from the classical and pop stages. How does this hodge podge about a returning soldier who falls in love with a swimming star look now? Let's begin at the opera, with beloved baritone Richard Herald (Melichor) performing for a sell-out audience that includes his son recently returned from overseas, and find out...

The Story: Herald's son, Richard II (Johnston), has no interest in becoming an opera singer. He now calls himself Dick Johnson and wants to sing pop. He's also no longer in love with the frigid socialite (Mary Stuart) he was engaged to before the war, but has a hard time explaining this to his parents. 

Dick catches a magazine with an advertisement for a big aquacade and it's star, Leonora "Nora" Cambaretti (Williams), and remembers how she sang with him when she performed at a veteran's hospital. He meets her backstage and takes her out to dinner, much to the consternation of her friend and manager, Ferdie Farro (Durante). Ferdie would rather she focused on her swimming and gets Dick a job with Xavier Cugat's band to get rid of him. Dick will not be easily swayed. He even charms Nora's grandmother (Dame May Whitty) and sister (Sharon McManus) when he joins her on Mackinac Island in Michigan. Trouble is, not only does he still have his fiancée, but Nora also has someone interested in her, the dull but dependable "doormat" Gordon (Dick Simmons).

The Song and Dance: The musical numbers and some decent lines from Williams and Durante are the only even remote reasons to catch this one. Melichor sings the heck out of his opera solos, especially the opening "Agnus Dei" sequence. Williams is a bit more assured here than in her first vehicle Bathing Beauty, Whitty is a delight as her strong-willed grandmother, and Durante gets far more to do than usual as her manager who is probably more concerned than he should be about her love life. Gorgeous Technicolor shows off real-life shooting at remote Mackinac Island in Michigan (which apparently hasn't changed a whole lot in 70 years). 

Favorite Number: Williams' first swimming number with Durante is "A Little of This and a Little of That," as Durante describes Williams frolicking in the pool for the injured veterans in his own imitable style. "Ten Percent Off" at the aquacade is a lot more elaborate, with Williams and the girls doing a striptease before they end up in the pool for their synchronized dance. Durante even ends up wet at one point when the pedestal his piano is on lowers underwater. 

"I Love to Dance" is a charmingly romantic number for singer Lina Lamay and dancer Tommy Wonder as they perform for Dick and Nora at the nightclub. Johnston performs the standard "I'll Be With You In Apple Blossom Time" on guitar at Grandmother's house on Mackinac Island. She's delighted - it's her favorite song - and despite Johnston's wooden demeanor, it is an adorable scene. Durante amuses chorus girls with his story of "The Man Who Found the Lost Chord" at a rehearsal.

What I Don't Like: First, the plot is cliched and ridiculously annoying. Nora's really right that everyone should leave her alone and let her decide which man she wants to be with. It also swings back and forth between LA and Michigan with no rhyme or reason, especially in the second half. And why is the whole thing set on Mackinac Island, anyway? To show off the color? 

There's casting problems, too. Johnston sings well, but has no personality whatsoever. He's a complete block of wood. Even the supposed "door mat" Simmons is (slightly) more interesting. Melichor's hamminess is better suited to the opera stage than film; he comes off as a commanding boor until his son yells at him for interfering with his engagement, then does a complete turn-around near the end and decide that his son should be with Nora. We also don't have a lot of swimming, besides those two routines in the beginning. For a Williams vehicle, too much of the focus is on the uninteresting Johnston.

The Big Finale: Not one of my favorite Esther Williams movies, thanks to the dull plot and bland leading men. It's really for major fans of her, Melichor, or Durante only. 

Home Media: Currently DVD only from the Warner Archives.

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