Swimsuit Sunday: Four New Esther Films

Happy Swimsuit Sunday! Esther Williams Month is officially underway. I saw four new movies this past week, three of which I watched back-to-back yesterday. I’m making progress and, I hope, making my 13-year-old self proud!

So without further ado, here’s what I watched last week!

Dangerous When Wet (1953)

Spoilers ahead!

I knew Dangerous When Wet had to be my first Esther Williams watch of the month because of Jack Carson! He plays Windy, a traveling salesman for Liquapep (an elixir that sounds a bit too much like vitameatavegamin, if you ask me). He meets farm girl Katie (Esther) and her family, who all happen to be swimmers. Windy sees an opportunity and convinces them to enter a contest to swim the English Channel, believing it would be a chance to promote Liquapep. As the family needs the prize money to keep their farm going, they accept. Windy takes the role of Katie’s coach, and one day while she’s training, she gets lost in the fog. A handsome Frenchman named André rescues her and is instantly attracted to her. Katie is torn between André and Windy while the day of the channel race creeps closer…

I thought it was funny that Esther's name in this is Kathryn Higgins, which is the same name as the character she played in Take Me Out to the Ball Game four years earlier. (To slightly alter a quote that Gene Kelly’s character says to her in that movie, “they couldn’t decide what to call you, so they named you twice!”) Anyways, our Dangerous When Wet Katie befriends another competitor, Gigi, who meets and falls for Windy. (Gigi is me. I am Gigi.)

I didn’t like the ending of this one as much. Maybe it’s because, as a Jack Carson girl, I’m a bit biased. But I kept thinking the whole time that Katie would end up with him—that the plot would be something along the lines of “Katie realizes Windy was there for her all along, while André mends his ways in time to strike something up with Gigi.” I still wish that’s what happens, because André doesn’t treat Katie very well. He keeps making mistake after mistake, and it seems like every time there’s an opportunity for him to redeem himself, he does the wrong thing. He does redeem himself at the tail end, but it wasn’t enough for me to become Team André. Gigi is a sweet character, and overall I’m glad she ends up with Windy, but the only interactions between the two involve Gigi chasing after him while he consistently resists her advances. I would have enjoyed the pairing more if we got to see their relationship (especially on Windy’s part) develop further before they get together in the end. But, as a friend put it, “they had to rush the ending a bit because they blew the whole budget on the channel sequence!” (The channel-swim finale truly was amazing, and unlike anything I’ve seen in an old musical.)

Despite the rushed ending, I still liked this movie and would watch it again. It had some cute songs, most notably “I Got Out of Bed on the Right Side.” Dangerous When Wet is well-known for the Tom and Jerry sequence that mixes animation with life action. But the highlight for me was a song and dance by Charlotte Greenwood, who plays Ma Higgins. She was 63 years old at the time the movie came out, and did some insanely high kicks and even the splits. You go, girl!

Thrill of a Romance (1945)

When swimming instructor Cynthia Glenn (Esther Williams) catches the eye of Bob Delbar (Carleton G. Young), he pursues her in a very creepy way, and they get married after a month-long courtship. While on their honeymoon at a fancy hotel, Bob leaves Cynthia by herself so he can finish a business deal (did I mention they’re on their honeymoon??). Major Thomas Milvaine (Van Johnson!!!) sees Cynthia crying alone and comforts her. The two begin spending more and more time together, which includes Cynthia giving Tommy swimming lessons. The two begin to fall in love, but there is, of course, the slight problem of Cynthia being married (and to a rat, no less). 

Carleton G. Young played “the other man” very well, because I didn’t like him at all! Van makes up for Young’s character by being very soft and a real gentleman. In fact, after a preview screening of the film, audience members filled out cards with comments such as “Van is a darling,” “He’s my man,” and “I love that boy…” (Me too, friends. Me too.)

A lot of old musicals feature popular orchestras and musicians, and I love that they play and/or are treated as characters. I’m now going to be extremely picky about my hotels—if opera singer Lauritz Melchior isn’t serenading me while I’m sitting by the pool, they don’t get my business. Sixteen-year-old Jerry Scott plays a bellboy and gives a beautiful performance of “Because (You Come to Me with Naught Save Love).” The featured band is Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra. Like I said—from now on, I refuse to stay at a hotel that doesn’t have fabulous entertainment like this.

This was a sweet movie. I know I already said this, but Van is so soft and such a treat to watch. He and Esther are really cute together. Thrill of a Romance is definitely a comfort movie for me now!

Easy to Wed (1946)

This is a remake of the 1936 Libeled Lady, which stars Myrna Loy, William Powell, Jean Harlow, and Spencer Tracy. The musical cast stars Esther Williams, Van Johnson, Lucille Ball, and Keenan Wynn, respectively. Esther plays Connie, the daughter of business magnate J.B. Allenbury. She and her dad are suing a newspaper for 2 million dollars, regarding a story that falsely claims Connie broke up someone's marriage. To prevent the lawsuit from sinking the paper, Warren Haggerty (Keenan Wynn) enlists conniving reporter Bill Chandler (Van again!) to essentially help him turn the story into reality so that it’s no longer libelous and the Allenburys are forced to drop the suit. This involves Bill temporarily marrying Haggerty’s long-suffering fiancee, Gladys (Lucille Ball), and then pursuing Connie, so that Gladys can “bust up the joint” later and claim that Connie was interfering with Bill and Gladys’ marriage. Easy peasy!

One of my favorite parts of this movie was watching Lucille Ball. This was five years before I Love Lucy, but you can already see Lucy Ricardo shining through Ball’s character, Gladys. She has the same mannerisms and brilliant comedic timing. (Also, keep an eye out for a moment that looks like a scene from the Lucy episode Lucy Becomes a Sculptress!) While we don’t see the face that goes with Lucy Ricardo’s signature “spider expression,” we hear Gladys utter “eugh!” A sign of what’s to come! And, of course, a comfort episode for me is The Dancing Star, which also features Van Johnson.

Speaking of Van, his duck hunting scene was great fun. I was also chuckling the whole time because in Thrill of a Romance, which I watched right before this, his character can’t swim. I kept yelling at the screen “don’t capsize, Bill! You can’t swim!” (Van really couldn’t swim in real life, and in Thrill, Esther had to subtly hold him up.)

Again, I love that the old musicals showcase different talents. Ethel Smith, an organist, gets her chance to shine, and it’s always so neat to watch her. (She also appeared in Bathing Beauty, another Esther Williams film, and played with Harry James and His Orchestra!)

I really enjoyed this one. The plot stressed me out a little (is Gladys going to carry out Warren’s plan before Bill gets a chance to tell Connie what’s really going on? The suspense is too much!), but Van Johnson, though a bit conniving, still manages to be adorable. Which obviously makes up for it.

Texas Carnival (1951)

The plot of this one was a little hazy for me, but I can’t tell if that was due to the lack of subtitles or Howard Keel’s presence. Whatever the case may be, it’s still a great time. All three of these movies take place at hotels (which makes sense, because hotel swimming pools are a great vehicle for Esther), again raising my vacation expectations to an impossible level.

Admittedly, I wasn’t a big fan of Red Skelton growing up, but I’m so glad another friend of mine convinced me to give him a second chance. The sequence of Skelton riding the stagecoach as it slowly falls apart had me laughing so hard, my stomach was hurting! It’s definitely going to be a scene I’ll watch over and over again. This movie also included the fabulous Ann Miller, who brings so much life to every movie and scene she’s in, especially when she dances. 

Whoever was responsible for making Howard a cowboy-type so many times will forever have my admiration. It felt like his character in this took a bit of a back-seat in favor of Red Skelton’s antics, but I’m willing to let that slide a little because we have Calamity Jane to make up for it. And frankly, Howard Keel could star in a movie about Howard Keel and I’d probably still complain that there isn’t enough Howard Keel.

ANYWAYS, I was especially excited to watch this one because That's Entertainment III had a short excerpt of the underwater dream sequence, and it was one of my favorite parts as a kid. I always thought it was so beautiful, and I couldn't wait to see the whole movie. The viewing was way overdue, but better late than never. And it was well worth the wait.

Some Final Thoughts

I saved these comments for the very end, because they apply to all of these movies. But why is Esther Williams so FLAWLESS? Every single time she changes an outfit or hairstyle or does pretty much anything, she’s perfect. It’s absolutely unfair. What a queen. Can I please be her??

I’m loving her films, and I can’t believe it’s taken me 11 years to finally have a marathon. They’re all so cozy and sweet and provide lovely worlds to escape to.

So what’s next? Here’s what I’m looking forward to watching as the month goes on!

Easy to Love

Neptune’s Daughter

This Time For Keeps

Jupiter’s Darling

Million Dollar Mermaid

I’m trying to watch as many of these as I can this month without feeling like I have to rush through them. Therefore, Fiesta, Andy Hardy’s Double Life, and The Hoodlum Saint are lower on my priority list. But I would still love to see them at some point! We’ll see what the rest of June brings!

Thanks for reading and for celebrating Esther with me. Until next week, keep living vintage!

Becca

Sources:

Davis, R. L. (2016). Van Johnson: MGM’s Golden Boy. University Press of Mississippi.

Williams, E. (1999). The Million Dollar Mermaid: Esther Williams. New York.