Bathing Beauty (1944)

Film: Bathing Beauty (1944)
Stars: Red Skelton, Esther Williams, Basil Rathbone, Bill Goodwin
Director: George Sidney
Oscar History: No nominations
Snap Judgment Ranking: 3/5 stars

Each month, as part of our 2019 Saturdays with the Stars series, we highlight a different actress of Hollywood's Golden Age.  This month, our focus is on Esther Williams-click here to learn more about Ms. Williams (and why I picked her), and click here for other Saturdays with the Stars articles.

I may have literally worked a 12-hour day non-stop yesterday, but that isn't going to stop me from continuing my nearly nine-month long streak of hitting a "Saturday with the Stars" every Saturday, even though this is a bit later in the day than we're used to seeing.  This week, we have our first dive (I swear, I'll limit myself on the aquatic puns, but I've gotta have some) into the career of Esther Williams.  In 1944, after an impressive stint as a professional swimmer (which surely would have resulted in Olympic medals had it not been for World War II) she'd had a couple of small parts opposite Mickey Rooney & Van Johnson, but hadn't really been given the star treatment she'd hoped for when she made it to Hollywood.  Bathing Beauty changed all of that.

(Spoilers Ahead) The film's plot, like most MGM musicals save for Singin' in the Rain, is of little consequence to why you're actually watching, but let's at least acknowledge the writers.  The movie is about Steve Elliot (Skelton), who is in love with a ravishing teacher Caroline Brooks (Williams), and is about to marry her.  However, he's threatening to quit writing songs and musical numbers if he does so, so in order to end the marriage his boss George (Rathbone) has a woman pretend to be Steve's first wife, making him a bigamist.  Caroline runs back to her school, being romanced in some parts by a stuffy professor Willis Evans (Goodwin).  In order to win her back Steve enrolls in the all girl's school, giving him opportunities to be lusted after by some of the co-eds, as well as be put in ridiculous situations (including two opportunities for Skelton to dress in drag).  The film ends with Caroline eventually getting a part in the new musical that Steve is writing for George, and they end up happily ever after.

The film itself is quite silly-the plot seems to be ancillary, and just an excuse to have Skelton do his comedy & Williams do her swimming.  I will admit to knowing very little about Skelton's filmography (this might be the first of his movies I've ever seen, though I'm familiar with him from his long-running eponymous television program), and I left not being super impressed, despite my fondness for men with red hair.  His comedy bits aren't as wry or witty as some of the other men of the Classical Hollywood era (I prefer Jack Benny or Groucho Marx), and the parts with the girls feels a bit phoned in, as they all sort of meld together rather than Steve distinguishing the women who are helping him win back his girl.  All-in-all, he left something to be desired, though we'll get a second chance with Skelton later this month as I have another one of his frequent outings with Williams in store for a future "Saturdays with..." article.

Williams, though, is really fun.  Her acting takes a back seat to Skelton (she's not a natural ham like he is in front of the camera, and doesn't steal focus), but she makes up for it during the gigantic water numbers, particularly the iconic final water ballet that's been parodied by everyone from The Simpsons to the Muppets.  It's rare to see an MGM musical this impressive without the guiding hand of Arthur Freed (he'd soon be the producer on a number of Williams pictures, one of which we'll also get to later this month), but I found her charming & acrobatic, and the water numbers are magical.  It's hard to assess her as a talent because Skelton so often hogs the spotlight, but I'm hopeful for her in a way I wasn't last month, particularly since she became SUCH a big star after this (as a result, it's doubtful that she'll be a supporting part masquerading like a league like so many of our outings with Ruth Roman & Rhonda Fleming).  At the time, she was granted top billing after the first cut of the film was made, she made such an impression on MGM executives, and they were right-Bathing Beauty became the biggest hit for the studio since Gone with the Wind.