Starring Esther Williams, Vivian Blaine, Joan Roberts, and Barry Sullivan
Directed by Sidney Lanfield
Music by Harry Warren; Lyrics by Ralph Blane
This year, we honor the women who have served our country with this unusual MGM musical. The WAVES, the Women's Naval Reserves, was largely disbanded in 1948. The Korean War made it necessary to recruit women for war duties again, so the WAVES were restarted. Hollywood jumped in to help recruit new members with this tale of three women from different backgrounds who join up and find love and adventure in basic training. How well did they do? Let's begin by seeing why each of those women joined the WAVES and find out...
The Story: Mary Kate Yarborough (Roberts), Whitney Young (Williams), and Una Yancey (Blaine) meet in basic training at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center near Chicago. Midwestern girl-next-door Mary Kate was left at the altar by her fiancee Dick (Keefe Brasselle), who wanted to see the world. Long Island socialite Whitney left multiple fiancees at the altar over the years. Brooklyn shopgirl Una is hoping to follow her sailor fiance Archie (Dean Miller) to Paris.
Una and Whitney easily take to the Naval life. Mary Kate is initially homesick, until Dick turns up and says he doesn't think she can handle it. She stays to prove that she can be fully and truly independent. Whitney's having her own problems. She falls for the camp's doctor Lieutenant Paul Elliot (Sullivan) when they meet at a nightclub, but after he defends her against three WACs who picked a fight with her. He tells her she lacks discipline. Una tries to get them back together at a dance, to no avail. Whitney following him to a theater only ends in an argument over her abandoning suitors and him being snobbish. At least, no matter what else happens or where they're assigned after graduation, the ladies have each other...and the self-confidence they've gained from their military training.
The Song and Dance: Two things make this stand out from most musicals revolving around soldiers in the Armed Forces. First of all, this being about women recruits changes a lot. The ladies chase men, but they're also loyal to each other and their friendship. Unlike the guys, they don't want to just see the world. They want to prove that they can make a difference and take care of themselves. Finding a man is important, but so is finding themselves. Second, most musicals about military life tend to revolve around the soldiers' adventures on leave. This is one of the few to be set in a boot camp and show the women actually training.
Williams is sassy and fun as the mouthy socialite looking for a cause besides avoiding marriage. Roberts starts slow, with Mary Kate spending most of the first half of the movie crying and moping. Once she faces Brasselle and that Naval board, she gains a spine and becomes a lot more interesting. You really do hope she stays.
Favorite Number: Our first number isn't until nearly 10 minutes in, but it's Blaine, the five look-a-like DeMarco Sisters who always stick together, and the chorus to tell Mary Kate that they're "Glad to Have You Aboard." Williams and the DeMarcos have a number together at a talent show, with them swabbing the deck while tossing buckets of water at Williams and wondering "What Makes a Wave?" The three ladies join together at a polished pink tea room to wonder "What Good Is a Gal Without a Guy?" The DeMarco Sisters wonder the same when they reprise the song at the boot camp later in the film.
Band singer Billy Eckstine makes one of his few film appearances in the night club sequence, crooning "Hold Me Close to You." Brasselle gets the ballad "I've Got a Funny Feeling" at another night club later in the film. Debbie Reynolds and Bobby Van get a random dance routine in goofy neon outfits to "Oh By Jingle" as a USO number for the ladies. The sweet "Navy Waltz" has Williams dancing with Emmett Lynn as the DeMarcos and the Chorus perform the dreamy number in the back ground. A black drill unit do a lively precision marching number to an instrumental version of the title song.
They do manage to sneak in two low-key water ballets for Williams. She performs dives and dances in the water with two small children, Bubba and Kathy Tongay, who did their own water ballets in the early 50's as the Aquatots. Williams gets a solo water routine later, "dancing" with an inflatable Navy toy.
Trivia: Sadly, Kathy only lived for a year after the release of this film. She died tragically after her father forced her to dive off of a 33-foot high platform in Miami, Florida. Her father was sentenced for manslaughter and served ten years. Bubba later became a lifeguard in Miami.
Williams redesigned the Navy swimsuits seen in the film, as she called the originals inappropriate for swimming. She also didn't get along with Lanfield and called him out for bullying Vivian Blaine.
This would be Lanfield's last movie.
What I Don't Like: For all the seriousness of the military setting, this is a pretty goofy, fluffy musical. Most of the numbers have nothing to do with anything, including the Reynolds/Van romp that's dropped into the middle of the movie for no other reason than to have a big dance routine. The movie can't seem to decide whether it wants to emphasize the ladies striving for their independence and how important their relationships with each other are, or push the romances. Williams has absolutely no chemistry with the dull Sullivan, who is not only older than her, but acts like a jerk. Blaine has the opposite problem - she's a little too much at times, seemingly playing to the Guys & Dolls stage audiences instead of the camera. It's also pretty obvious this was not intended to be a Williams vehicle. Her two water sequences were forced in with a crowbar, and they look it.
The Big Finale: While far from the best thing Williams ever did, it's charming enough to be worth a look for major fans of hers or lovers of the big MGM musicals of the 1940's and 50's.
Home Media: On DVD and streaming, the former in a remastered edition from the Warner Archives.
No comments:
Post a Comment