Swimsuit Sunday Double Feature: Easy to Love and Neptune’s Daughter

Wow! We’re halfway through June now. I hope you’ve been enjoying this blog-a-thon, and that you’ve maybe gotten a chance to see some of Esther’s movies this month, too. I checked two more off my list this week, and I thoroughly enjoyed both of them!

Easy to Love (1953)

Not to be confused with the other Esther Williams movie titled Easy to Wed, Esther plays Julie, a swimmer at the Cypress Gardens Resort in Florida. Van Johnson plays her manager, Ray, who forces her to work weekends and gives her other demeaning tasks on top of her duties as a performer. He feels threatened by the presence of another Cypress Gardens swimmer named Hank (John Bromfield), and singer Barry Gordon (Tony Martin): Both men are pursuing Julie and, in Ray’s view, distracting her from being his cash cow. Which man will Julie choose??

(Spoilers ahead)

I have to say, I’m glad I didn’t watch this one when I was little, because that would have been three strikes against Van Johnson for me and I might have been even more reluctant to give him another chance. As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, until a few years ago I had only seen him in Brigadoon and the I Love Lucy episode "The Dancing Star," neither of which he was particularly likable in. But his character in Easy to Love takes the cake. He’s manipulative, conniving (not even in a charming way like he was in Easy to Wed), and just an all-around jerk. But the reason I’d still place the movie higher in my ranking is because of Tony Martin. Not including the flawlessness of Esther (which is always a given), this is essentially Tony Martin’s movie, and I am here for it. His voice is like butter and I was swooning over him the entire time. He and Vic Damone are my favorite male singers—and coincidentally, they’re both in a movie together called Hit the Deck, which happens to be one of my favorite comfort musicals.

Spoiler Alert: I often found myself comparing both of this week’s films to Dangerous When Wet. There were some elements I thought were more well done in Easy to Love and Neptune’s Daughter, but others I liked better in Dangerous When Wet. For instance, it seemed like they rushed the ending in Easy to Love a bit to make room for the fabulous swimming sequences. Therefore, just like with Fernando Lamas’ character in Dangerous, Van doesn’t get much of a chance to redeem himself. In fact, he’s given even less time than Fernando was: the indication that maybe he’s an alright guy after all is reduced to a single (and in my opinion, still questionable) line right before the credits role.

But the end of Easy to Love was still more fun and satisfying than Dangerous, thanks to an iconic cameo: in the last few minutes, Tony spots a lovely lady in blue, and picks up her hat that she (conveniently) drops. The woman turns out to be Cyd Charisse! The two walk off together, while I cry that Barry (and Tony) get their happy endings. (He and Cyd were married in real life, and they were together for 60 years until Cyd passed away in 2008.) Another spoiler alert: it reminded me a little of the Doris Day movie It’s a Great Feeling: the main guy doesn’t get the main girl, but the cameo at the end makes it alright, and even adds a little extra sparkle.

I would like this movie even more if Van wasn’t such a jerk, but the softness of Tony still puts it in comfort-watch territory for me. I highly recommend following this with Thrill of a Romance or Duchess of Idaho to revisit the soft Van Johnson vibes, and then Hit the Deck for more Tony Martin. Enjoy!

Neptune’s Daughter (1949)

Eve Barrett (Esther Williams) and Joe (Keenan Wynn) are business partners at a bathing suit design company. While they plan a publicity campaign for a South American polo team, Eve’s sister Betty (Betty Garrett) dreams of finding a handsome heartthrob on the team to call her own. She meets Jack Spratt (Red Skelton), a masseur, and mistakes him for the captain of the team, José O’Rourke. Meanwhile, the real José (Ricardo Montalbán) meets and falls for Eve, who has heard from Betty about “José’s” advances. Worried that her sister’s heart will get broken, Eve goes out with José to prevent him from spending time with Betty. Naturally, complications ensue.

I adore Betty Garrett, and it was fun to see her and Esther in another movie together. It gave me a chuckle that they didn’t bother to change her name much—her character is named Betty Barrett! She and Red make a cute team and a fantastic comedic duo. The scene where they’re trying to get Red on a horse is especially funny, and reminiscent of the covered wagon race in Texas Carnival. Apparently, all you need to do to make me laugh is put Red with a couple of horses.

Again, comparing this one to Dangerous When Wet, I like Ricardo Montalbán as a leading man more than Fernando Lamas. Ricardo is sassy but charming here, and when it seemed like things weren’t working out for him, I felt sympathetic for him and was rooting for him (which I definitely wasn’t doing for Fernando). 

The performance in the nightclub is yet another sequence from this movie that I know very well, thanks to the third That’s Entertainment. It always made me so excited as a kid, because it meant Mickey Rooney’s imitation of Carmen Miranda was coming up soon. Even watching it in the context of the actual movie made me excited, despite Mickey not appearing in a tropical getup and giant fruit hat. Childhood nostalgia for the win!

Neptune’s Daughter notably features the song “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” which won the Oscar for best song that year (1949). It’s sung in the film by Eve and José as José tries to convince Eve to stay in with him; and by Betty and Jack as Betty tries to get Jack to stay in with her. I thought the scene was quite cute—smooth while still being innocent.

This might be one of my favorite Esther movies so far, which I was not expecting. It was just COZY. Normally, even in lighthearted musicals, “mistaken identity” plots make me nervous, but this one didn’t. There was just an overwhelming feeling of “everything’s going to be fine,” and I was able to just sit back and enjoy it. I honestly wasn’t expecting much from Neptune’s Daughter, but it’ll be fairly high on my ranking of Esther’s movies.

I’ve only got three left to watch for sure; again, possibly saving Fiesta, Andy Hardy’s Double Life, and The Hoodlum Saint for another time. I can't wait! Have you seen any of these? I'd love to know your thoughts!

This Time For Keeps

Jupiter’s Darling

Million Dollar Mermaid

Until next week, keep living vintage!

Becca