The ravishing bathing beauty who pioneered a new genre of moviemaking -- "Aqua
Musicals" -- will splash once more in Warner Home Video and Turner Classic Movies'
TCM Spotlight: Esther Williams Volume 2 on October 6. This highly anticipated
follow-up to the 2007 TCM Collection includes the DVD debuts of six Technicolor films
from classic Hollywood's swimming superstar Million Dollar Mermaid, Thrill of a
Romance, Easy to Love, This Time for Keeps, Fiesta and Pagan Love Song. Each of these
MGM musical favorites have been newly remastered especially for this DVD
release.
Also included are a boat-load of special features, including rarely-seen deleted
musical outtakes, vintage shorts and classic cartoons. The films will be available
only as a complete collection, in a collectible digi-pak gift set.
About the Films
Million Dollar Mermaid (1952):
Glamorous, amphibious Esther Williams portrays real-life Australian swimming champ
Annette Kellerman, in a splashy biopic co-starring Victor Mature. Directed by Mervyn
LeRoy and Oscar® nominated for Best Color Cinematography, the movie is loaded with
stunning spectacle, including a must-see Busby Berkeley choreographed water ballet
extravaganza. Is this lovely Esther's signature film? Well, she called her 1999
autobiography The Million Dollar Mermaid.
Special Features:
· AUDIO ONLY: Lux Radio Theater presentation of Million Dollar Mermaid starring
Esther Williams and Walter Pidgeon
· Classic M-G-M Tom & Jerry cartoon "The Little Wise-Quacker" (1952)
· Classic M-G-M short subject "Reducing" (1952)
· Original theatrical trailer
Thrill of a Romance (1945)
Van Johnson and Esther Williams headline this frothy musical, just the ticket for a
World War II-weary nation yearning for laughs, romance and glamour. And that's exactly
what they got, plus swinging Technicolor tunes from Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra and
operatic grandeur from famed Wagnerian tenor Lauritz Melchior in his film
debut.
Newlywed swimming teacher Cynthia Delbar (Williams) has everything a girl could want
for her honeymoon: a posh mountain lodge, glorious weather and a drop-dead trousseau.
The only thing missing is her tycoon groom, who chose closing a deal in DC over
cuddling with his brand-new missus. A pretty sorrowful situation until a
good-looking war hero staying at the hotel decides he needs swimming lessons.
Special Features:
· Outtake Musical Numbers:
"Gypsy Mattinata" (Lauritz Melchior), "I Should Care" (Tommy Dorsey and his
Orchestra), "Please Don't Say No" (The King Sisters)
· Classic M-G-M short subject "The Great American Mug" (1945)
· Classic M-G-M Tex Avery cartoon "Wild and Woolfy" (1945)
· Original theatrical trailer
Easy to Love (1953):
With the Cole Porter classic as the title tune, it's 'easy to love' this romantic
comedy starring Esther Williams and Van Johnson in their fifth film together. Julie
Hallerton (Esther Williams) knows how to win the affection of indifferent Ray Lloyd
(Van Johnson): Be his office secretary; be the star of his Florida aquacade and the
heart's desire of a Manhattan crooner to make Ray jealous. The ploy works, as does
everything else in this aquamusical. Tony Martin lends his smooth vocal styling;
Razzle-dazzler Busby Berkeley guides Esther's aquatic routines, including a legendary
sequence involving Florida's Cypress Gardens, dozens of water skiers, ramps, pyramid
formations, gushing geysers, a helicopter, a trapeze and Esther in the air. Also fun
to note is film's young Carroll Baker's (Baby Doll) screen debut.
Special Features:
· Classic M-G-M Short "Romantic Riviera"(1953)
· Classic M-G-M Barney Bear cartoon "Cobs and Robbers" (1953)
· Original theatrical trailer
This Time For Keeps (1947):
Whether soaring from the high board or redefining grace in a lavishly choreographed
water ballet, Esther Williams is at her radiant, swim-suited best in this lighthearted
aquatic musical centered on her romance with an ex-GI (Johnnie Johnston). Settings
include Michigan's picture-perfect Mackinac Island, with notable supporting stars
providing specialty numbers. Famed tenor Lauritz Melchior brings his artistry to La
Donna È Mobile, Xavier Cugat (with signature tea-cup Chihuahua at hand) adds big-band
élan to the proceedings and Jimmy Durante delightfully dismantles his piano.
Special Features:
· Outtake musical number: "Little Big Shot" (Jimmy Durante)
· Classic M-G-M short subject "Now You See It" (1947)
· Classic M-G-M Tom & Jerry cartoon "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Mouse" (1947)
· Original theatrical trailer
Fiesta (1947):
Glamorous Williams forsakes her trademark swimsuit for a matador's red cape and black
montera in the colorful film Fiesta. Williams portrays Maria, disguising herself as
her twin brother Mario (Ricardo Montalban in his first credited U.S. film) and enters
the ring in his place after he abandons bullfighting for classical music studies. An
Oscar-nominated score* (including a restyling of Aaron Copland's "El Salon Mexico")
spices up this gender-bender tale. Lovely Cyd Charisse plays Mario's partner in dance
and romance.
Special Features:
· Classic M-G-M short Goodbye, Miss Turlock (1947)
· Classic M-G-M Tex Avery cartoon Hound Hunters (1947)
· Original theatrical trailer
Pagan Love Song (1950):
Esther Williams and Howard Keel share the bliss of this eye-filling musical excursion
which includes the rhapsodic title tune and a charming Rita Moreno (in her third movie
role as a spunky islander). Pristine Hawaiian locations fill in for the story's
Tahitian setting. Of course, where there's an island, there's water, and Esther
swimming in it. But in one fanciful sequence she also swims among the clouds, sending
viewers' spirits aloft with her.
Half-Tahitian beauty Mimi Bennett (Williams) is eager to leave the easygoing life of
Tahiti for the excitement and bustle of the United States. But when Ohioan Hazard
"Hap" Endicott arrives to manage his late uncle's coconut plantation, the sparks
flying between them may turn Mimi's travel plans into wedding plans.
Special Features:
· Seven deleted musical outtakes including
. Why Is Love So Crazy
. Sea of the Moon
. Tahiti Version One
. Tahiti Version Two
. Music on the Water Version One
. Music on the Water Version Two
. The House of the Singing Bamboo
· Classic M-G-M cartoon "The Chump Champ" (1950)
· Classic M-G-M short subject "Curious Contests" (1950)
· Original theatrical trailer
About Esther Williams
Born in Los Angeles in 1921, Esther was the youngest of five children. As a teenager,
she was determined to become a world champion swimmer, and by the age of 15 had
already set records at such events as the Women's Outdoor Nationals and the Pacific
Coast Championships. When the 1940 Olympics were cancelled because it was wartime,
Williams went to work for Billy Rose's San Francisco Aquacade. An MGM scout spotted
her there and offered her a contract, resulting in her screen debut in 1942 as Mickey
Rooney's love interest in Andy Hardy's Double Life.
Hoping that a swimming star could surpass a skating queen (Fox's Sonja Henie), MGM
began grooming Miss Williams for the future by completely restructuring her third
film. Filming began in 1943 under the title Mr. Co-Ed, starring Red Skelton as the
title character. Early into production, producer Jack Cummings realized his leading
lady was stealing the picture. The budget increased, and the picture was re-titled,
becoming the Technicolor super-spectacular Bathing Beauty (in TCM Spotlight's first
Collection). The film was an international smash, and even though Skelton got top
billing, it was Esther Williams who walked away with the movie.
Williams went on to become one of the biggest movie stars of the era and over the next
decade; she captivated audiences in nearly 20 films. As her popularity soared -- she
was among the top ten box office stars in 1949 and 1950 MGM created a special group
of movies called "Aqua Musicals," making her swimming sequences more complex and
elaborate with each new picture, adding everything from trapezes to fiery hoops.
Ms. Williams also tried her hand at drama with good performances in films like The
Unguarded Moment, Raw Wind in Eden and The Big Show. But she ultimately went back to
the water, starring in several TV aquacade spectaculars and acting as spokeswoman for
her own swimming-pool company. She retired in 1961 to devote her time to husband
Fernando Lamas, her children (including stepson Lorenzo Lamas) and her many business
activities. She was rarely seen in public during those years, and was conspicuously
absent from the reunion of MGM stars in 1974 participating in the release of That's
Entertainment!, the box-office blockbuster that featured a whole sequence around
Esther's films. Interest in Esther remained high, but she remained out of the public
eye until Lamas' death in 1982. She finally came back to the entertainment world in
1984, when ABC asked her to help provide commentary for the aquatic events at the Los
Angeles Olympics, much to the delight of her many fans. The success of her classic
films on home video and cable television introduced Esther to a whole new audience,
and in 1994, she returned to MGM to serve as one of the hosts in the
critically-acclaimed That's Entertainment! III.
TCM Spotlight: Esther Williams Vol. 2 - Six New-to-DVD 'Aqua-Musicals' from America's Favorite Mermaid in October
August 31, 2009
SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTERS
CONNECT WITH TCM