utgard14
Esther Williams plays a swimming teacher who marries a rich guy after a whirlwind courtship. But he abandons her on their honeymoon to go tend to business matters, leaving her to fall in love with soldier Van Johnson. Lackluster vehicle for Esther and Van. Esther in Technicolor is radiant, as always. The scenes of her in a bathing suit are among the film's highlights. Van does fine with a role he could sleepwalk through. The nice supporting cast includes Spring Byington, Henry Travers, and Frances Gifford. Carleton G. Young plays the reptilian-looking husband. There was something off-putting about this guy from the first time I saw him. He really crept me out. The romance is tepid and I often found myself waiting for the next musical number, some of which are by Tommy Dorsey's orchestra (which I like) and others are opera (which I didn't like). See it for Esther or the music, if you must, but keep expectations low. It's pretty forgettable and corny.
richard-1787
This is the sort of light musical romantic comedy that Hollywood churned out on a regular basis, and in no way an exceptional or memorable example of that genre.Save for the contributions from the great Danish tenor Lauritz Melchior. The fact that he was Danish, and indeed known as "The Great Dane," is not irrelevant to this picture. See below.By 1945 when this movie came out, Melchior was near the end of a long and very distinguished career as a heroic tenor, primarily at the Metropolitan Opera, which had kept him focused almost uniquely on the works of Richard Wagner. From all reports, he wasn't much of an actor there, and audiences didn't care. He just stood on stage and sang, and the audience loved it.In the late 1940s, however, he made a few movies, and turned out to be a natural screen comedian playing the avuncular older man who offers sage advice to struggling young lovers. Very much a man who could make fun of himself, and who did not take himself too seriously.That is nowhere better demonstrated than in this movie. He offers advice to the two stars and then, every now and then, he sings an operatic aria or classical song. If you like that music, you will love his performance of it.But he is also part of the best moment in the movie, at the end. For reasons I won't go into, the male lead, Van Johnson, decides to sing his love to the female lead, Esther Williams, outside her bedroom window. Since he doesn't sing, he gets Melchior to help him out in classic Cyrano de Bergerac fashion. The scene is a stitch because Melchior sings a silly pop tune, "Please don't say no, say maybe," and hams it up to the 9s. It's also very funny to watch the young Van Johnson pretending to sing with a great and powerful voice that clearly isn't his and dwarfs him.At the end of the number, Van Johnson and Williams kiss - while Melchior still sings, leading to funny comments from Spring Byington and Henry Travers.I don't know how often I'd want to sit through an hour and 45 minutes of this movie to watch that last scene, but it's very definitely worth seeing.------------------------------------When I watched this movie again tonight on TCM, other things struck me. This movie was made during World War II, mostly before the D-Day invasion that turned the tide and brought about the defeat of Nazi Germany. We are reminded of this at the end of the movie, when we see the announcement that it had been chosen to be shown to American troops fighting the war.That gives a much deeper resonance to Melchior's part in this movie.The Germans invaded Denmark in April, 1940, and remained there until the end of the war in 1945. In other words, when this picture was made Melchior was a very famous representative of a nation still until Nazi rule.In this picture, Melchior champions the aspirations of a young Black boy with a beautiful voice who knocks everyone's socks off with his performance of the then still very popular song "Because," by Paolo Tosti. Melchior is clearly impressed with his singing, and clearly completely unbothered by his race. To put that in perspective, remember that the great Black singer Lena Horne would be passed over by the same studio, MGM, six years later when it came to casting the mixed-race character Julie the 1951 version of Show Boat. Instead, MGM chose Ava Gardner, whose singing had to be dubbed.All of which to say: in this movie, a famous Dane was chosen to sing, yes, but also to favor the aspirations a Black character. Much as the Danes had consistently refused to go along with Nazi racial policies during their 5 years of Nazi occupation.And then remember: this film was shown to American troops still fighting the war, including Black GIs - who were still serving in Blacks-only units, since Truman had yet to integrate the Armed Forces.Most of this movie is fluff. Van Johnson and Esther Williams gave better performances in other movies. But Melchior is remarkable here, both for his singing, certainly, but also for the example of racial tolerance that he, a Dane, demonstrates during an era when American soldiers were still fighting nations that were monstrous, among other reasons, because of their racist policies.And that would not have looked like fluff to a Black American GI fighting in Europe or the Pacific
linda-328
I didn't recognize Esther Williams when I saw her with her hair down, and had to look here to see who the actress was...what a beautiful woman! And the costumes were wonderful, along with the scenery of Yosemite, making this movie the perfect diversion for a lazy Sunday afternoon. The plot was a bit slow, and at today's standards left a lot to the imagination, however the innocence of post-WWII "romance" made this an absolutely charming tale. Van Johnson was good (as always, in my opinion), but the tenor actually stole the show and provided the perfect sounding board for both characters so that we could see that they weren't really philanderers -- just caught up in a difficult situation. My husband and I both enjoyed this movie, and I got a lot of great costume ideas, as well! I recommend this movie to anyone who is nostalgic for a simpler time and doesn't want to have to think too much -- just watch and be entertained!
johnste_98
Esther is the brand-new bride of a wealthy businessman on her honeymoon. She apparently packed 4 swimsuits complete with matching colored plastic flowers for her hair. Her clothes, particularly one green gown with white flowers, are captivating. It's also fun to compare this time's concept of the "manly physique" with ours. Van is most appealing when in his tight officer's jacket that shows broad (padded?) shoulders tapering to a flat waistline. But when he's swimming... he has the muscle definition of an office worker. Gorgeous mountain scenery, and the tenor can really belt it out. Has a young black teen tenor, too, and although they do the "shaky knees and rolling eyes" bit - isn't that what all black people do when they're nervous? - they don't condescend to him and the white older tenor pays for his voice lessons. The plot line is so weak, it's funny - you can see a song set-up a mile away, but if you suspend disbelief, you'll enjoy it!
