Million Dollar Mermaid

MGM, 1952

Starring Esther Williams, Victor Mature, Walter Pidgeon, and Jesse White

Directed by Richard Thorpe and Busby Berkeley

Music and Lyrics by various

Williams had wanted to play Australian swimmer Annette Kellerman for years. Kellerman was more-or-less the blueprint for Williams' later success, a champion amateur swimmer of the early 20th century who later became a star on Broadway and in the movies. Williams brought Kellerman herself in to convince MGM that it would be perfect for her next extravaganza. They went all out with this one, bringing in Victor Mature from Fox as her leading man and letting Busby Berkeley go wild with water pageantry. How well does a beloved swimming star of one era represent another? Let's begin at the Kellerman Conservatory in a suburb of Sydney, Australia as little Annette (Donna Corocan), who was stricken with polio and walks in braces, watches girls her own age dancing and find out...

The Story: Annette's musician father Frederick (Pidgeon) finds her swimming in a near-by bay. He's against it at first, until she insists it's made her legs stronger. Indeed, Annette (Williams) swims so often, she's eventually able to walk normally and join the ballet class. By her teens, she's winning amateur swimming championships. 

After a downturn in the Australian economy causes Fredrick to lose most of his students, he sells the conservatory and takes a job in London. When the job falls through, Annette tells promoter Jimmy Sullivan (Mature), whom she met on the boat going there, that she'll swim to Greenwich as an ad for his boxing kangaroo. Annette's feat is a far bigger success than any kangaroo, prompting Sullivan to take her and her father to New York to star in the enormous Hippodrome theater. Manager Alfred Harper (David Brian) tells her she needs to be better-known in New York before they'll take her on.

Annette attempts another long swim in Boston, but gets in hot water with the local authorities for wearing a then-daring one-piece bathing suit. She gains so much notoriety from the indecency trial, Jimmy showcases her in carnival diving shows. He's more threatened when a lecturer wants to do something classier and finally walks out on Annette. She doesn't have long to be upset. The Hippodrome finally calls, asking her to be a specialty number. She and her lavish shows are huge successes, enough for Hollywood to call. Tragedy strikes as she's making one of her movies, finally bringing Jimmy back to her side and making Alfred realize who she really loves.

The Song and Dance: This is more like it. For once, Williams' big numbers aren't shoehorned into a barely-there plot, but are the reason the plot exists. Despite a lot of the story being fabricated, it's still five times more interesting than something like Thrill of a Romance. No wonder Williams so badly wanted to play Kellerman. She's equally good showing off those one-piece bathing suits in Berkeley's aquatic fantasias and putting Jimmy in his place. Mature never did fit well in musicals, but he's not bad as the slightly smarmy promoter who falls for this Broadway mermaid. Pidgeon and White do equally well as Annette's doting father and the poor assistant promoter who keeps getting stuck with the worst parts of Jimmy's schemes. The costumes are gorgeous and for once, mostly historically accurate, including the infamous one-piece bathing suit that caused such a scandal, and the Technicolor is some of the best from any MGM movies of the 50's. 

The Numbers: The film starts with the students at Kellerman's music school playing various classical pieces, including the miniature ballerinas Annette so envies. She does so well with swimming, she's eventually able to join them. Ballet makes a brief return later in the film at the Hippodrome. Annette admires ballerina Anna Pavlova (danced by another famous ballet diva, Maria Tallchief), who swirls to a stunning version of her famous The Dying Swan in a massive white tutu. 

Of course, the real reason this movie exists is for those three famous Berkeley extravaganzas. The first one has Williams, clad from the crown on her head to her glittering toes in gold sequins, doing huge dives among spurting fountains. Annette begins the second to The Nutcracker gliding around poles in a flowing tutu. She ends up swimming into an enormous clam. The third brings in the chorus and tons of red and yellow smoke as girls in yellow swimsuits and boys in red briefs do Berkeley formations around Williams in a glistening ruby bathing suit. This one ends with a lot of scarily high dives off swings and the chorus surrounding Williams on an enormous sparkling platform.

Trivia: In real life, Kellerman's parents encouraged her swimming to help with her weak legs and were the ones who enrolled her in classes. She had already been involved with show business long before she met Jimmy Sullivan, having done mermaid shows and diving exhibitions as a teenager in Melbourne. She did attempt to swim the English Channel several times, but never made it across. The truth of her Boston publicity stunt seems to be in doubt as well. Kellerman also protested that Jimmy Sullivan was a quiet, unassuming man and not a loud-mouthed huckster. She did get hurt when a tank cracked and broke during the filming of A Daughter of the Gods, but only had cuts and bruises, not a damaging spine injury. (And Sullivan was never in charge of Rin Tin Tin!)

Kellerman's not the only one who got injured during the filming of one of her movies. Williams wound up in a body cast after one of the high dives during the first number with the fountains, thanks to that huge crown being too heavy for the stunt. 

Of Kellerman's movies, only Venus of the South Seas and part of Neptune's Daughter exist today. 

What I Don't Like: Though the story is more interesting than most of Williams' films, it's still a mess of biographical cliches. Those three numbers are so incredible, I wish they could have gotten another one in there somewhere, maybe in the beginning in Australia or in the end before the tank cracked. Then again, this is already pretty long for a biography, especially in the second half when the water ballets end and the romance picks up. Also, there's the simple fact that Kellerman isn't even all that well-remembered in her native Australia anymore, let alone in the US. 

The Big Finale: Who am I to argue with a Million Dollar Mermaid? Williams thought this was her best film, and I have to agree with her. Highly recommended for her fans, ballet lovers, or fans of the big musicals of the 1950's and 60's. 

Home Media: Warners seems to agree with Williams as well. This may be her easiest movie to find, on streaming and on disc via the Warner Archives. 

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DVD - TCM Greatest Classic Films - Esther Williams Vol. 2

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Thrill of a Romance

MGM, 1945

Starring Esther Williams, Van Johnson, Carleton G. Young, and Frances Gifford

Directed by Richard Thorpe

Music and Lyrics by various

We're staying with Esther Williams, but head north of the border for two of her more likely vehicles. This was her second movie with her name over the title after Bathing Beauty, and her second of five with charming, boyish Van Johnson. Johnson was even bigger than Williams at MGM during the 40's and early 50's, possibly one of their biggest male stars of the time. How well do they work together in this story of a married swimming instructor who falls for a war hero? Let's begin with an introduction to the Los Angeles area that's the setting for our story and find out...

The Story: Swimming teacher Cynthia Glenn (Williams) marries wealthy Bob Delbar (Young) after a whirlwind courtship. She's disappointed when Bob is called to Washington DC to complete a deal during their honeymoon. While staying at a hotel in LA, she falls for sweet, handsome Major Thomas "Tommy" Milvaine (Johnson), who wants her to teach him how to swim. She's initially upset when her husband can't get back for another week, then tells Tommy she wants to give their marriage a chance. Getting caught in the desert with Tommy gives her a whole new perspective on the situation. Maybe Bob isn't the right man for her after all...and maybe she wants Tommy more than she thinks.

The Song and Dance: This sweet and low-key romance is certainly better than the similar Williams vehicle This Time for Keeps from 1947...and the key is Johnson. Anyone else would have made Tommy as bland as Jimmie Johnson would be in the later film, or as smarmy as Young's stoic Bob. His charming Army officer is so energetic and hopeful, you can understand why Cynthia fell so hard for him. No wonder he was one of the biggest heartthrobs in Hollywood around this time. Williams always did do well playing off him. Melichor has a far more interesting role here as the impish opera star who does everything he can to bring Cynthia and Tommy together, and Spring Byington and Henry Travers are adorable as Cynthia's doting uncle and aunt. We also get some of MGM's best Technicolor from this era and stunning gowns for Williams.

The Numbers: Most of the songs heard in the film are performed by Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra at the hotel's nightclub. Among the songs heard from him are "I Should Care," "Battle of the Balcony Jive," "Opus One," and "Song of India." Dorsey's fictional daughter Susan (actually piano protege Helene Stanley) plays "Hungarian Rhapsody," which becomes "The Guy With the Slide Trombone."  Melichor gets "Vesti la glubbia" in an actual opera sequence. He does "Ich Liebe Dich" with Dorsey, along with the new "Vive la compagnie" and a hilarious "I Want What I Want When I Want It." Diminutive Jerry Scott, a bell boy with a sweet, high, almost female voice, performs "Because" and "Please Don't Say No, Say Maybe."

What I Don't Like: The plot is the problem here. Frankly, it's deadly boring when no one is singing or swimming.  Even Williams' swimming and Johnson's charm can't paper over the frothy, been-there plot or Young being a block of wood. Melichor's role is completely extraneous. He's mainly there to sing opera and look twinkly. This is another MGM musical of the 40's and early 50's that felt like they grabbed whomever was laying around the lot and threw them into a romantic comedy. (The fact that it was originally intended for Kathryn Grayson does explain why Williams being a swimming instructor seems a bit shoehorned in, too.) 

The Big Finale: Not Williams' best film, but it's still a pleasant way to spend two hours if you're a fan of her, Johnson, or romantic comedies.

Home Media: DVD only, with the solo disc released by the Warner Archives. 

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DVD - TCM Greatest Legends: Esther Williams Vol. 2

Celebrating Cinco Del Mayo - Fiesta (1947)

MGM, 1947

Starring Esther Williams, Ricardo Montalban, Cyd Charisse, and Fortunia Bonanova

Directed by Richard Thorpe

Music and Lyrics by various

The other major event this weekend takes us south of the border to celebrate Mexico's victory over the French Army in 1862. Cinco Del Mayo is really more of a celebration of Mexican culture here in the US, which brings us to this movie. South and Latin American settings and culture were also popular in American films of the 30's and 40's after the market for US movies in Europe closed due to World War II. Studios responded with movies like this one that celebrated Latin American culture and heritage...including bullfighting, a major sport in Spanish-speaking countries. How well does MGM do in representing that culture? Let's begin with the birth of the twin son and daughter of famed bullfighter Antonio Morales (Bonanova) and find out...

The Story: Morales hopes for his son Mario (Montalban) to follow in his footsteps, but his real interest is music. Mario's twin Maria (Williams) is the real bullfighting protege, but her father largely ignores her. Maria is more understanding about her brother's love of music. She sends a copy of his symphony to famous conductor Maximino Contreras (Hugo Haas). Contreras is impressed and visits the family right before Mario's first bullfight. Morales doesn't want to distract his son and dismisses the musician. 

Mario is so furious when he finds out, he walks out of the bullfighting ring after his second fight and vanishes. Hoping to save face and her family's name, Maria takes his place. Contreras has his composition played on the radio to draw him out. It does the trick...but his return to see his sister play in his place nearly ends in disaster.

The Song and Dance: This may be Williams' most unique vehicle. MGM took many pains to make this as authentic to Mexican culture as possible, including location shooting in the real Mexico. The Mexican landscapes glow in brilliant Technicolor. This was Montalban's debut as a leading man and Williams' with her name over the credits, and he in particular isn't bad as a driven musician. Actual Mexican Bononova adds authenticity and lots of bluster to his role as the father who is so determined that his son follow in his footsteps, he ignores his real talents...and that his daughter is even more talented in the ring. Mary Astor is lovely as the concerned mother, too. (I also appreciate that Maria and Mario already have committed relationships when the story begins. The real focus is on their family and ambitions, not romance.)

The Numbers: Mario's big composition that we hear throughout the film is called "Fantasia Mexicana," but it's actually based on the Aaron Copeland piece "El Salon Mexico." If "La Bamba" sounds familiar, it's today best known for the 1958 version performed by Richie Valens and the later 1987 remake. Charisse and Montalban have a fiery dance routine with her swirling in a white gown with a stunning contrasting coral red petticoat. We also get "The Mexican Hat Dance" and "La Raspa."

What I Don't Like: MGM's drive for authenticity didn't extend to the actors. Only Bononova and Montalban are actual Mexicans. Despite being a vehicle for her, Williams is about as Mexican as a hamburger and seems a bit out of place. She only gets a very brief swimming sequence, making this one of her few vehicles where she doesn't spend a ton of time in the water. John Carroll as Williams' love interest has far less to do than Cyd Charisse as Montalban's sweetheart and comes off as so bland, you can understand why Maria is reluctant to go off with him. 

The Big Finale: This wound up being far better than I thought it would from the fairly absurd premise. Fans of Montalban or Williams who want to see her in a different light will want to give this one a look. 

Home Media: DVD only from the Warner Archives. 

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DVD - TCM Spotlight: Esther Williams, Vol. 2

Saluting Our Troops - Skirts Ahoy!

MGM, 1952

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.

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Texas Carnival

MGM, 1951

Starring Esther Williams, Red Skelton, Howard Keel, and Ann Miller

Directed by Charles Walters

Music by Harry Warren; Lyrics by Dorothy Fields

In the 1950's and 60's, Americans became fascinated with Texas and other southwestern and mid-western states as oil production boomed and drillers became millionaires. How does the story of one such Texas oil man and the two carnival performers who become entangled with him look today? Let's begin on the midway of that carnival, as Cornelius "Corny" Quinell (Skelton) throws a pitch for the dunk booth featuring his beautiful partner Debbie Telford (Williams) and find out...

The Story: Corny and Debbie haven't had much luck at the carnival. Debbie's desperately hungry when Corny helps a drunk man with a cheating carny at another booth. The man turns out to be Texas rancher and oil man Dan Sabinas (Keenan Wynn). Sabinas calls him brother and even lets him return his car to the hotel he and his sister Marilla (Paula Raymond) are staying at. 

Turns out Marilla is out of town, and Sabinas drunkenly ends up in Mexico. When Corny and Debbie pull up in Sabinas' huge car, everyone thinks they're the millionaires. Corny decides he enjoys the luxury, and Debbie just likes being fed. Corny falls for Sunshine Jackson (Miller), the brassy daughter of the town sheriff. Debbie's interested in Sabinas' head foreman Slim Shelby (Keel). 

After Corny accidentally loses $17,000 in a poker game, the others enter him in a chuck wagon race to earn the money. Dan turns up mad as a hornet because someone's in his room. Corny tries to get him drunk again, but has to ride the race drunk with Debbie and Slim's help. 

The Song and Dance: Williams and Skelton come together for the third and final time in this noisy bit of fluff. Skelton's having a great time with his brand of wild slapstick and goofy facial expressions. Check out him getting drunk with Sabinas, or attempting to drive the chuck wagon as more and more of it ends up on the ground. The colorful western costumes, with their fringes and buckskins and gingham and elaborate embroidery, and brilliant Technicolor wide open spaces make the movie feel a lot more lavish than the small story would indicate. 

Favorite Number: We open with "The Carny's Pitch," as Corny encourages cowboys to throw a ball at Williams in a glitzy pink bathing suit and see if they can dunk her. "It's Dynamite" is Miller's big solo tap routine in the hotel ballroom as Sunshine shows what she thinks is a rich oil man what she can do as she taps on a piano. "Whoa, Emma" is the folksy ballad about a beloved mare for Slim and the cowboy chorus as they gather around the fire. Debbie's attempt at a speech during a party in the ballroom somehow turns into the film's sole large-scale production number, a wild version of "Deep In the Heart of Texas" with Miller and the chorus.

The film's best "number" and Williams' only swimming ballet doesn't actually take place in the water. Slim rescued the famished Debbie from drowning after she arrived at the hotel still hungry. His mind equates her with the water...which is why, in a nifty bit of special effects, she's seen as a swimming vision swishing around his hotel room in white gauze and silver glitter. She's his "underwater dream" as Williams put it in That's Entertainment III. 

What I Don't Like: This is awfully short for a major MGM musical. I wonder if they planned more numbers that either weren't filmed, or ended up on the cutting room floor. Williams surprisingly has no swimming routines besides the dream sequence and Slim rescuing Debbie from the pool. Other than her two big numbers, Miller is barely used. Keel doesn't really do much besides rescue Debbie, either. The title's a cheat, too. While the movie is set in Texas, it's only at the carnival in the first ten minutes or so and the last five minutes. It's mostly set at and around the hotel. The music is dull and the script even moreso. This is a bizarre bit of fluff that could have done with a little sharpening. 

The Big Finale: Probably best for fans of Skelton or those looking for a fun way to pass an hour on TCM.

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming, the former in a remastered edition from the Warner Archives.

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Dangerous When Wet

MGM, 1953

Starring Esther Williams, Jack Carson, Fernando Lamas, and William Demarest

Directed by Charles Walters

Music by Arthur Schwartz; Lyrics by Johnny Mercer

We continue to celebrate Esther Williams' 100th birthday with another hit vehicle from the same year. After the massive water ballets in Easy to Love, this one switches the focus to the cast and some nifty musical numbers. It also shows off animation, with MGM cartoon stars Tom & Jerry making their second appearances in a musical. This time we begin in Arkansas, as the Higgins family shows off their daily routine and we get an idea of what makes this one a little different...

The Story: The Higgins family are dairy farmers, but they're also big believers in health and exercise. Traveling salesman Windy Weebe (Carson) is impressed with their vigor and energy and enters them into a race to swim the English Channel. Oldest daughter Katie (Williams) is especially determined for them to win. Pa Higgins (Demarest) bought a lot of new equipment, and they need a new bull. Even when they do make it over, it turns out Katie's the only one who's in good enough shape to swim the rough currents on the Channel. Katie has her own problems fending off handsome Frenchman Andre Lanet (Fernando Lamas), while French swimmer Gigi Mignon (Denise Darcel) pursues her coach Windy.

The Animation: Pretty well-done, especially if you've seen a Tom & Jerry short from this era. Williams is mostly well-integrated, except for when a background inexplicably changes while she's trying to escape the octopus hanging onto her ankle. She interacts fairly well with Tom, Jerry, an angry shark who is likely supposed to represent Windy, and especially the amorous octopus who represents Andre and keeps trying to fondle her. In That's Entertainment III, Williams called Tom & Jerry "more animated than some of my leading men." 

The Song and Dance: For all the weird story, this one has a lot of charm to it. It also feels like more of a musical than a lot of Williams' films, with songs for all of the leads and a couple of dance routines along with the big water sequence. There's even genuine tension in the finale, when Katie's finally in the race and may or may not make it across the Channel. As I mentioned in the Easy to Love review, Williams does best when she has leading men who are up to the demands of her ease in front of the camera and in the water. Carson is hilarious as the blow-hard salesman who's convinced a whole family of healthy people will really sell his tonic, while Lamas looks fetching alongside Williams and swims well with her. 

Favorite Number: The film kicks off with the Higgins family's morning routine, preparing to swim as "I Got Out of Bed On the Right Side." Katie's sister Susie (Barbara Whiting) sings why "I Like Men" as Windy attempts to sell his vitamin tonic to the Arkansas farmers. The entire cast gets in on "Ain't It Grand," moving from Whiting with the boys in the lobby to Carson and Darcel teasing each other to Greenwood and Demarest showing off enviable high kicks and soft shoes to Lamas and Williams doing a water pas de deux. 

Trivia: Williams married Lamas 16 years later, in 1969. They were married until his death in 1982.

What I Don't Like: As cute as the story is, it's also complete piffle, and a bit strange. Despite the well-done building of tension in the finale, you can still guess how it's all going to come out. The music, while sweet, isn't terribly memorable, either. The Tom & Jerry sequence is awkwardly inserted via Katie reading comics to her sister.

The Big Finale: No danger here; this makes up for the lack of extravagant water pageants with a great cast, nifty story, and that iconic Williams animated routine. Highly recommended for fans of Williams, Tom & Jerry, or the musicals of the 1950's. 

Home Media: Available on at least three DVD collections of Williams' films and on streaming.

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Easy to Love

MGM, 1953

Starring Esther Williams, Van Johnson, Tony Martin, and John Bromfield

Directed by Charles Walters

Music and Lyrics by various

Esther Williams was at the height of her popularity in the late 40's and early 50's. Her extravaganzas grew bigger and bigger, with more elaborate water ballets and fancier special effects. None other than Busby Berkeley did the choreography for the big finale number in this one, and he has a far bigger stage than usual to work with. Cyprus Gardens opened in Winter Haven, Florida in 1936; by 1953, its lavish trees and flower displays and famous water skiing shows made it one of the top attractions in central Florida. How does this story of the Gardens' star attraction and her demanding boss look today? Let's begin at Cyprus Gardens with a show in progress and find out...

The Story: Julie Hallerton (Williams) is the biggest star in central Florida. She's so popular, her boss Ray Lloyd (Johnson) pushes her from show to beauty pageant to photo shoot...but doesn't pay her enough or really appreciate her. Her swimming partner Hank (Bromfield) wants to marry her, but she finds him dull. 

On a trip to New York with Lloyd, Julie encounters singer Barry Gordon (Martin) at a set for a lipstick ad. Barry's smitten with her and introduces her to the producer of a water show in New York. Julie would love the money, but what she really wants is Ray. At least, she thinks she does, until it only seems like he loves her star status. Then Gordon comes down to Florida, setting off Hank's jealousy. Julie has to figure out which man she truly loves, before they all dunk each other into the blue Florida waters.

The Song and Dance: Williams is at her best when she can play off leading men who are equal to her charisma in and out of the water. Johnson and Martin are more than up to the task as two of the three men who fall under her spell. The Cyprus Gardens cinematography is gorgeous, showing off the Technicolor with blooming flowers on turquoise waves and Williams' gorgeous array of pastel and creamy black and white gowns. 

Favorite Number: Martin gets his first number in a New York night club, warning "Look Out! I'm Romantic" to a bevy of chorus girls...and Julie, too. He performs the title ballad with Julie in a beautiful swan boat on her way to a romantic swimming ballet in Cyprus Gardens, then while laying on a pier. Martin serenades the swooning older ladies at Julie's hotel with "That's What a Rainy Day Is For" as a heavy rain shower falls outside. He encourages the ladies to sing along, and even gives them flowers.

The big numbers here are the three instrumental water routines. The first introduces Julie as she swims through rows and rows of rainbow blossoms with Hank. The second gets her dressed as a water-bound clown goofing off with a chimpanzee and avoiding a mechanical crocodile. Berkley's elaborate finale shows off the famous Cyprus Gardens Water Skiing Show, with Williams and an army of water skiiers jumping over the orchestra and weaving around water spouts. It's spectacular, beautifully filmed, and is probably Berkeley's last great masterpiece.

Trivia: Carroll Baker made her film debut as Barry's jealous girlfriend Clarice.

Williams was pregnant during filming, which is why she wouldn't do the incredibly high dive off the swing into the water during the finale.

Cyprus Gardens eventually fell victim to the tremendous popularity of Walt Disney World down the road and several hurricanes in the 90's and early 2000's. It closed in 2009 and is now a part of Legoland Florida. 

What I Don't Like: For all the incredible numbers, the story is pretty much water-logged. Ray is such a jerk to Julie until the last few minutes of the film, you almost wish she would take Hank, who at least treats her well. Smarmy Barry is no prize, either. The second half of the film, where they're all arguing over her like she's a piece of meat, gets really annoying after a while. The ending is less an ending than "we're almost done, let's throw everyone with someone." (Although who Barry ends up with is really funny if you know anything about Martin's long-time marriage.)

The Big Finale: If you're a fan of Williams and her water spectacles, dive right in. Silly story aside, this is one of her better ones. 

Home Media: Only on DVD as part of the Esther Williams Spotlight Collection Volume 2. You're better off looking for this one used or catching it occasionally on TCM. 

DVD

On an Island With You

MGM, 1948

Starring Esther Williams, Peter Lawford, Ricardo Montaban, and Cyd Charisse

Directed by Richard Thorpe

Music and Lyrics by various

When most people think of an Esther Williams movie, they probably have something like this in mind. It has everything people usually associate with her vehicles - lavish swimming numbers, handsome charismatic leading men, decent music, color, all taking place in an exotic setting. Durante's back for this one, too, along with dancer Charisse and fatherly Leon Ames. How does this tropical post-war extravaganza look today? Let's begin on the set of movie star Rosalind Reynolds' (Williams) latest smash and find out...

The Story: Naval Lieutenant Lawrence "Larry" Kingslee (Lawford) gets a job on the set of Reynolds' movie as a technical advisor, just so he can dance with her. He saw her in a USO show at his base in the Pacific during World War II and fell for her, but she doesn't remember him. He finally flies away with her during a scene where she's supposed to sneak into a plane. They end up stranded on the island where he first met her. Her fiancée Ricardo Montez (Montalban) and the assistant director Jimmy Buckley (Durante) send a search party after her, but they end up caught by local natives. Even after they return, Reynolds helps Lawford avoid a court martial...but she still can't admit her own feelings for him, even as co-star Yvonne Torro (Charisse) goes after Ricardo.

The Song and Dance: At the very least, the story is a bit more creative than the bland romantic comedy trappings in This Time for Keeps. Lawford and Montalban are far more interesting leading men, too. Dick Simmons is also more appropriate as the stoic director than as a love interest. Durante has even more fun here with two separate running gags. He figures out what to do with the chihuahua Xaviar Cugat gives him after he plays with his orchestra and keeps putting off a little British girl (Kathryn Beaumont) whose mother insists she be given an audition. The color here is absolutely glorious, showing off the island settings to their best advantage.

Favorite Number: This is a rare musical where most of the best numbers are non-vocal. Montalban (dubbed by Bill Lee) does perform the title song in the opening, and we get two comedy numbers from Durante on the piano at the club, "I Know Darn Well I Can Do Without Broadway" and "I'll Do the Strut-Away In My Cut-Away." Charisse and Montalban get two nice dance numbers, a more typical ballroom duet with her in swirling yellow and black to Cugat at the nightclub, and a sexy dance for the film in a tropical bar with them sliding down the top. The huge "The Pagan Mask" watches Cyd Charisse and the glowing orange and yellow feather-clad native dancers as they swing her up the steps of a Hollywood jungle temple. 

Williams is showed to best advantage in two long swimming sequences. The first is a strange dream sequence that has Williams in a glittering green and khaki swimsuit beguiling Lawford as he remembers how they met, complete with him and Montalban getting into an underwater fight. Everyone is "All Aboard" as Williams joins the chorus for her big water ballet. 

Trivia: Despite the film making Hawaii a major tourist destination in the late 40's-early 50's, it was actually filmed in Florida.

Cyd Charisse tore ligaments in her knee getting thrown around during the "Pagan Mask" ceremonial dance. She'd already finished almost all of her dances and was seen in long-shots for the remaining filming...but it did take her out of her next scheduled film, Easter Parade. Esther Williams really did sprain her ankle falling into that hole and did her remaining scenes on crutches.

If Beaumont sounds familiar, she's best-known today as the voice of Alice in the Disney Alice In Wonderland and Wendy in Peter Pan. 

What I Don't Like: For all his charm, Larry really comes off as an obsessive stalker rather than a lover who desperately wants to meet a pretty woman. Roz had every right to be angry and scared after he kidnapped her. She shouldn't have defended him at the court martial, either, especially given he clearly didn't want her help. The two only end up together in the end because the plot says so, not because there's any real attraction. She seems more at ease with Montalban than she ever did with Lawford (who wasn't happy to be there to begin with). Montalban has very little to do beyond his two dance numbers and looking appropriately pretty and concerned, and Charisse has even less. 

The Big Finale: Plot problems aside, I still recommend this one for the good numbers and cast alone.

Home Media:  Easily found in several Esther Williams DVD collections and on streaming. 

DVD - Silver Screen Icons: Legends - Esther Williams, Vol. 1

Amazon Prime

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.

DVD

Musical Documentaries - That's Entertainment III

MGM, 1994

Hosted by Gene Kelly, Lena Horne, Esther Williams, Mickey Rooney, and others

Directed by Bud Friedgen and Michael J. Sheridan

Music and Lyrics by various

It took the financially-strapped MGM almost 20 years to bring another MGM documentary with the That's Entertainment moniker to the big screen. In the interim, Turner Entertainment released many of the most popular MGM movies on home video, and cable channels specializing in older films like American Movie Classics showed even more. These movies were no longer as difficult to find as they'd been in 1974, nor were they really out of the public eye. Did we still need these movies by the mid-90's, or should the curtain come down on this franchise? Let's return to MGM Studios with Gene Kelly, and find out...

The Story: Once again, some of the most popular stars of MGM during the Golden Age of Hollywood talk about their vehicles and the dazzling array of films MGM made during its heyday, including many numbers dropped from those films. Your hosts here are:

Gene Kelly discusses the early two-strip Technicolor films of the late 20's and how they fell out of fashion, the sex-charged musicals of the pre-Code early 30's, and the black-and-white operettas and backstage films that replaced them. 

Esther Williams discusses her water-bound swimming extravaganzas of the 40's and 50's. 

June Allyson discusses the dance-heavy musicals of the late 40's and early 50's, along with how an actor got into working at MGM during the Golden Age. 

Cyd Charisse discusses the career of Gene Kelly, including two of his ballets from An American In Paris and Words and Music.

Debbie Reynolds discusses how she joined MGM, how the studio "glamorized" its actresses, and how voice dubbing works. 

Lena Horne discusses her (frequently rough) treatment as a black performer at MGM, how she lost the role of Julie in the 1951 Show Boat to Ava Gardner, and several other actors who lost roles at the studio.

Mickey Rooney discusses the career of his beloved best pal Judy Garland.

Ann Miller discusses the career of Fred Astaire.

Howard Keel discusses how the rise of television and technology like stereophonic sound and widescreen processes and new types of music like rock and roll impacted the MGM musical in the late 50's. 

Gene Kelly finishes the film with a montage of the studio's most famous musical moments over "That's Entertainment!" from The Band Wagon. 

The Song and Dance: The idea of showcasing numbers cut from films wasn't nearly as common in 1994 before the internet and streaming sites allowed many of these lost numbers to be more widely viewed. In fact, those "lost" numbers are among my favorite moments in the movie. The hosts' dialogue feels a little looser and less gushy. The fact that they allowed Lena Horne to touch on how badly she was treated at the studio showed how much time had changed...and how audiences were now a little more familiar with what really went on behind the scenes at the studios during the so-called Golden Age. 

Favorite Number: We see "Fascinating Rhythm" from Lady Be Good again, this time with alternate shots revealing how MGM put together this amazing Eleanor Powell routine. "Solid Potato Salad" showcases the creepily limber Ross Sisters doing crab imitations in the semi-revue Broadway Rhythm. Reynolds shows off the more glamorous version of "A Lady Loves" from I Love Melvin...and Donald O'Connor's view of things with her as a more down-home farmer's wife that was dropped from the movie. Fred Astaire dances with himself in split-screen in two takes on "I Wanna Be a Dancin' Man" from The Belle of New York...and we see just how perfectly rehearsed he was when the two numbers are exactly the same despite the different costumes. 

"Two-Faced Woman" gives us two routines using the same recording. I have to agree with Reynolds that they probably should have left Cyd Charisse's chorus routine in The Band Wagon; it's certainly aged better than Joan Crawford's tropical blackface routine from Torch Song. Horne has a ton of fun in the bubble bath singing one of her signature numbers, "Ain't It the Truth," from Cabin In the Sky. Judy Garland does far better dancing with a passel of kids and clowning to "Doin' What Comes Naturally" than with the exhausting "I'm an Indian Too" from Annie Get Your Gun.

What I Don't Like: Time and technology keeps catching up with these movies. Most of the cut numbers (and many more) can be found on DVD and Blu-Ray with the films they came from or on YouTube or other sharing sites. Once again, only MGM musicals are discussed. While 20th Century Fox has done at least one documentary of it's own, I really do wish many of the other older studios would dive into their vaults and showcase their older material. 

The Big Finale: I found this movie on video in the late 90's and have owned it in one form or another ever since. The slightly more honest tone and rare numbers makes this my favorite of the three Entertainment movies...but they're all recommended if you love classic musical film like I do. 

Home Media: Slightly easier to find on solo DVD than the other two, but you're still better off looking for the Blu-Ray collection or watching it online. 

DVD

Blu-Ray - That's Entertainment: The Complete Collection

Amazon Prime

Back to School Again - Bathing Beauty

MGM, 1944
Starring Esther Williams, Red Skelton, Basil Rathbone, and Bill Goodwin
Directed by George Sidney
Music and Lyrics by various

We hit the books - in and out of school - with two very different takes on academics this week. This was Esther Williams' first starring role in a movie. It was originally Skelton's vehicle, but the MGM brass were so enchanted by her performance, they changed the billing and the title to focus on Williams. Were they right, or is this story of a man enrolling in a girl's school all wet? Let's begin at a pool in Los Angeles and find out...

The Story: Songwriter Steve Elliot (Skelton) is in love with swimming teacher Caroline Brooks (Williams) and badly wants to marry her, to the point where he intends to give up his writing career. New York producer George Adams (Rathbone) is horrified. Steve claimed he'd write songs for his big upcoming water pageant before he met Caroline. He hires actress Mario Dorango to storm into their wedding and claim she and Steve are married. Caroline believes it and flies off for her job at a girls' college in New Jersey.

Determined to be near her, Steve manages to use a loophole in the college's charter to be accepted as a student. The teachers do everything they can to get him expelled before Parents Day in early October, from challenging to re-write a Scottish ballad to having him wear a tutu and dance in the ballet class, but nothing works. He keeps trying to talk to Caroline, who refuses to listen to him. Dean Clinton (Nana Bryant) asks Caroline to take Steve out and keep him away so he can get caught sneaking in after hours. Caroline does...but she begins to wonder if maybe she hasn't made a mistake, at least until half the school ends up in Steve's room!

The Song and Dance: There's a lot of entertaining numbers to be found in this unusual academic tale. Skelton has a great time loose in the girl's school. His best moment is probably in the ballet class, where he tries to dance along with the girls in his ridiculous pink tutu, only to get a sticky paper stuck on his hand and be unable to get rid of it. Williams participates in two dynamic water ballets, including the gorgeous one at the end. Rathbone is appropriately smarmy as the Broadway producer who's thinking more of himself than his supposed friend.

Favorite Number: We open well with singer Carlos Ramerez performing "Magic is In the Moonlight" with Xavier Cugat and his orchestra in a romantic Spanish-tinged number. Organ virtuoso Ethel Smith performs wonderful renditions of "By the Waters of Minnetonka" on her instrument before being joined by the girls with South American instruments for the Latin-tinged "Tico-Tico no Fuba." Skelton's challenge in music class to re-write the ballad "Loch Lomond" results in "I'll Take the High Note," a swinging routine with Skelton, the girls, Ethel Smith, and Harry James and His Orchestra.

By far the most famous number from this one is the big water ballet finale. It's pretty obvious Busby Berkeley choreographed this one. There's splashes of color, girls in sizzling pink and green against blinding blue waters, making formations as Williams glides through the center. It's a harbinger of many such dazzling water spectacles her her movies to come, and it's still gorgeous to look at to this day.

What I Don't Like: The plot is annoying as heck. You have to wonder if Caroline really loved him, given she didn't even give him a chance to explain suddenly having a wife. Despite MGM building up Williams, she's a bit dull in a thankless role and really doesn't have that much to do beyond her water ballet. It's really still Skelton's show. This kind of seems like MGM tossed together whichever actors and orchestras were sitting around the studio and threw them into a thin school plot that's colored with a tinge of Latin from Cugat and his people.

The Big Finale: Great numbers make this mainly for fans of Skelton, Williams, or the big MGM musicals of the 40's and 50's.

Home Media: The two Esther Williams collections featuring this movie are currently out of print. Your best bet is streaming or looking for it occasionally on TCM.

DVD - Silver Screen Icons: Esther Williams Vol. 1
Amazon Prime

Happy 4th of July! - Take Me Out to the Ball Game

MGM, 1949
Starring Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Esther Williams, and Betty Garrett
Directed by Busby Berkeley
Music by Roger Edens and others; Lyrics by Betty Comden, Adolph Green, and others

We celebrate America's birthday with a movie about it's favorite pastime. Kelly and Sinatra came together for a second time to play baseball stars who moonlight as vaudeville performers in the off-season, joined by popular comedienne Garrett and a land-locked Esther Williams. Does this sports tale hit a home run with audiences today, or does it strike out? Let's head to Opening Day for the Chicago Wolves at the turn of the 20th century and find out...

The Story: Dennis Ryan (Sinatra) and Eddie O'Brian (Kelly) return from vaudeville to discover that the Wolves have a new owner. K.C Higgins (Williams) is not only a woman, but is smart, athletic, and knows as much about baseball as the guys do. Dennis is smitten with her, but Eddie thinks she's a pain when she pushes their training. Dennis has his own fan, the very determined Shirley Delwyn (Garrett). Eddie's annoyed by K.C at first, until he too starts to see her charms.

Meanwhile, two gangsters have money on the Wolves losing in the pennant, and they think the best way to do that would be keep their best player, Eddie O'Brian, away from the team. They first offer him a dancing gig to tired him out, and when he quits that, outright knocks him out to keep him out of the game. When Shirley figures out what's going on, she, K.C, and Dennis have to find a way to get Eddie back in the game.

The Song and Dance: Charming confection features some enjoyable dances, glowing Technicolor costumes and sets, and a unique ball-field-meets-backstage plot. There may be a few other musical baseball tales, but not ones where the players are also performers. Kelly and Sinatra show all the chemistry and spirit they'd displayed five years before in Anchors Aweigh and would with Munshin again later that year in On the Town. Garrett is also having a lot of fun as she tries to get Sinatra to see her as more than just a groupie.

Favorite Number: Kelly and Sinatra start off strong with their vigorous rendition of the title song as part of their vaudeville act. "The Girl Said No" and "O'Brian to Ryan to Goldberg" are their numbers with Munshin, describing their adventures with various ladies across the US and their big winning triple play respectively. "Strictly USA" is the sole large chorus number, sung first by the guests at Garrett's big 4th of July clambake, then at the end by the four leads as part of their vaudeville act finale. Kelly's soft-shoe solo spoofs another holiday with an authentic Irish song, "The Hat My Dear Old Father Wore Upon St. Patrick's Day."

Trivia: Berkeley didn't direct that much of the movie, despite his name being on the finished film. He dropped out due to personal problems, and the film was finished by Kelly and Stanley Donen.

Ginger Rogers was originally supposed to play K.C Higgins, but dropped out a month before filming began. She replaced Judy Garland, who left due to her ongoing substance abuse problems.

What I Don't Like: It's pretty obvious Williams, despite her real-life athletic prowess, was a last-minute choice for K.C. She gets one short swimming scene, has zero chemistry with Kelly (and didn't get along with him or Donen in real-life), and doesn't really have that much to do after she shows up the guys on the ball field. The gangster plot also seems shoehorned in to give the second half more of a lift. I actually think seeing the guys go back-and-forth to their two jobs and how they dealt with that would have been more interesting without the cliched betting story. Not to mention, the finale is really kind of abrupt and rather ridiculous.

The Big Finale: Not a bad way to spend an hour and a half between barbecues on the 4th of July if you're a fan of any of the stars or the big MGM Technicolor musicals of the 40's and 50's.

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming, usually for under 10 dollars.

DVD
Amazon Prime

Duchess of Idaho

MGM, 1950
Starring Esther Williams, John Lund, Van Johnson, and Paula Raymond
Directed by Robert Z. Leonard
Music by Al Rinker and others; Lyrics by Floyd Huddleston and others

Esther Williams was at her peak as one of MGM's top stars when she appeared in this romantic comedy. This was her fourth time with Van Johnson as her leading man, who'd also reached his peak as a favorite. How does this tale of shenanigans at the popular Sun Valley ski resort look nowadays? Let's head to the theater where shy Ellen Hallett (Raymond) and her bolder sister Christine Riverton Duncan (Williams) appear in a show and find out...

The Story: Ellen is crazy about her handsome boss, Douglas Morrison Jr. (Lund), but can't bring herself to tell him. Christine helps her by following Douglas to Sun Valley and making a play for him. She's hoping he'll call for Ellen, who often pretends to be his fiancee when he has a woman in love with him that he can't fend off. Trouble is, not only does Douglas fall for her, but so does the handsome, cocky band leader Dick Layn (Johnson). Trouble is, she finds herself in love with Dick, while Douglas falls for her. Now she has to steer Douglas to Ellen, while not losing Dick's attentions.

The Song and Dance: With a story that light, the song and dance are the main attractions here. Williams and Johnson always did work well together, and this movie is no exception. They're relaxed and have decent chemistry together, making the silly story more believable than it might have been otherwise. The Sun Valley setting allows for some colorful costumes and sets, especially on the slopes. The Technicolor glows here, even when it's obvious that the backgrounds aren't real.

Favorite Number: Williams sneaks in two water ballets in the beginning and the end, including the elaborate opening number with wide red slides. Lena Horne shows up to sing a decent ballad, "Baby Come Out of the Clouds." Eleanor Powell, in her final film, shows off her still-decent dancing legs with a sparkling solo late in the film. Williams and Johnson get a cute dance with a potato that involves a lot of leaning over and bumping noses.

My favorite song from this one is the jivin' "You Can't Do Wrong Doin' Right." Johnson and Connie Haines join his orchestra for a spoof of academics, with Johnson as a hep cat professor. The song is catchy, and the duo perform it with a great deal of vigor.

Trivia: Along with being Powell's last movie, this was Lena Horne's last film at MGM and one of Skelton's last MGM films.

What I Don't Like: Did I mention that fluffy story? Like most of Williams' vehicles, it's barely noticeable. This really isn't the place for people looking for something more dramatic or meatier. Lund and Raymond are smarmy and dull respectively as the second couple. Also, Williams is only in the water in the beginning and the end. Most of this movie was designed to show off her comedic talents rather than her swimming.

The Big Finale: This is a pleasant enough way to pass an hour and a half if you love Williams, Johnson, or big-band music.

Home Media: Currently only on DVD via the Warner Archives.

DVD

Neptune's Daughter

MGM, 1949
Starring Esther Williams, Ricardo Montalban, Betty Garrett, and Red Skelton
Directed by Edward Buzzell
Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser

The controversy over the song "Baby It's Cold Outside" during the recent holiday season and the advent of colder weather in my part of the US has inspired me pull out this one. The song and the movie were major hits in 1949. "Cold Outside" actually won the Oscar for Best Song that year. Does this movie flow along swimmingly, or does it unravel like an old bathing suit? Let's float along to Southern California to see for ourselves...

The Story: Joe Backett (Keenan Wynn), a partner in a swimsuit-designing firm, convinces champion swimmer Eve Barrett (Williams) to give up her amateur status and join the company. She becomes one of their top models and even designs her own line of popular bathing suits. Her sister Betty (Garrett) is more interested in the arrival of a South American polo team and their handsome star, Jose O'Rourke (Montalban). Betty meets what she thinks is O'Rourke, but is really Jack Sprat (Skelton), the team's clumsy masseur, who is pretending to be O'Rourke - and South American - in order to be more magnetic to women.

Sprat's attempts to woo Betty work too well. Eve thinks the real Jose is after her sister, and tells him as much when she sees him at the swimsuit factory. He's more interested in wooing her. Joe, who has a crush on her, would prefer she didn't woo anybody and focused on work. Eve agrees to date Jose only to keep him from dating her sister, but she ends up falling for him.

Meanwhile, gangster Lukie Luzette (Ted de Costa) has bet big money on the polo game and orders his men to kidnap Jose and keep the South American team from winning. They initially kidnap the wrong Jose, grabbing Jack instead. After they do find the real Jose, Betty has to get Jack on a horse and lead the team to victory and pair her sister up with the right man at her swimming ballet show.

The Song and Dance: A great cast works out nicely in this tropical-themed romp. Montalban is one of Esther Williams' few leading men who seems just as relaxed in the water as she does and looks fetching in a polo uniform. Garrett and Skelton have a great time together as the man-crazy sister and the masseur who just wants a girl, any girl, to like him. This is also one of the rare times we get to see a live-action Mel Blanc as Skelton's buddy Pancho. The Technicolor cinematography is gorgeous - check out the swimsuit fashion show halfway through or the big water ballet in the finale.

The sudden gangster plot seems a bit out of left-field, but it does add some needed excitement to the second half. It gives the movie a lift beyond the usual romantic comedy plots of most of Williams' other films and allows Skelton to have fun on horseback.

Favorite Number: "Baby It's Cold Outside" was the hit of the film and is probably it's most famous number, and it doesn't disappoint. We actually get the innuendo from both genders - first Jose performs it for a reluctant Eve, then Betty uses it to try to get Jack to hang around.

This movie's two best numbers don't need any words to astonish. Xaviar Cugat and His Orchestra provide the music for "Jungle Rhumba," an amazing tropical dance routine for the chorus, while Williams and Montalban perform the unnamed water ballet in the finale that involves colored lights under the surface and fabric rolling across the water.

Trivia: "Baby It's Cold Outside" was a last-minute addition. The song originally intended for that number was "Slow Boat to China," but the censors didn't like some of the lyrics. Ironically, it went on to become a pop hit on it's own.

What I Don't Like: I feel sorry for poor Joe. He really loved Eve, and not only did her relationship with Jose seem kind of sudden, he did act kind of smarmy with her, especially in the first half. I almost wish she'd let Betty have Jack, sent Jose back to South America, and kept Joe and the business. In fact, most people will likely be less offended by "Cold Outside" (at least it lets both genders in on the innuendo) and more by Blanc's stereotypical Mexican. (And I can't be the only one who sees Speedy Gonzolez every time Blanc opens his mouth.)

While the plot isn't quite as thin as some of Williams' other vehicles, it does lose steam mid-way through. The whole mistaken identity thing becomes wearisome and a bit boring by the end of the movie, and the gangsters suddenly turn up in the last act for no reason other than to give Skelton a reason to goof around on the polo court.

The Big Finale: If you're a fan of the cast, Loesser, or Williams' other vehicles, or want to know where "Baby It's Cold Outside" came from, this is worth seeing for the two dance routines and "Cold Outside" alone.

Home Media: At press time, this one is only available as part of two Esther Williams/TCM DVD collections and on several streaming platforms.

DVD - TCM Spotlight: Esther Williams, Volume One 
DVD - TCM Greatest Classic Films: Legends - Esther Williams Vol. 2
Google Play