Traversons La Manche

Dangerous When Wet

Dangerous When Wet

Dangerous When Wet

The peculiarity here is that this time, Esther Williams really swims, and not only in a simple ballet, aquatic ballet, which had nothing to do with the topic itself, a silly romance already seen thousand times before with the likes of Van Johnson or Jack Carson, the ideal son or brother in law for such films. The story is tense, more interesting than usual, but the important thing is that she met Fernando Lamas on this shooting, her future husband who later, in real life, did not even accept her own kids, whom she had from previous husbands. All alcohilics who took advantage of her, who was the bread provider, poor gorgeous, courageous woman and generous. So this film is among her best, among the batch of silly other films which she was involved in. I don't speak of MILLION DOLLAR MERMAID or NEPTUNE'S DAUGHTER.

Among the most charming of swimming star Esther Williams' films, this one features a scene in which she swims with cartoon cat and mouse Tom and Jerry. The score is quite listenable, and it's interesting to note that Williams met her costar, Fernando Lamas, on the set of this film and later married him. ---from Musicals on the Silver Screen, American Library Association, 2013

. . . sets as "The Spotlight Collection" (2004) called "Tom and Jerry swim with Esther Williams." Does this DANGEROUS WHEN WET excerpt constitute a good argument for viewing the complete feature, or is it simply 7 minutes, 47 seconds of bad advertising? My family experienced the latter outcome, as this scene rang false from beginning to end. First of all, no one is allowed to swim the English Channel underwater. Millions of hallowed war dead are consecrated there, including famous folks such as Big Band Leader Glenn Miller. Traipsing along there, as Tom, Jerry and Esther do, is tantamount to scrawling graffiti across Arlington's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Furthermore, all official Channel swimmers on the SURFACE of the strait MUST be accompanied by representatives of the English and French Embassies in a rowboat.

The challenge of crossing the English channel becomes the focus for swimming champion Esther Williams who comes from an athletic family. Of course, when you've got Charlotte Greenwood as a mother who can kick her legs sideways up to her head without calling for Ben Gay then flies into a split, you know you've got to keep up. After they get out of bed on the right side, they face the challenges of training her for this competition, and find romantic entanglements as well, Williams with the handsome Argentinian Fernando Lamas, who in real life would eventually become her husband. Middle daughter Barbara Whiting is the typical Ann Miller/Betty Garrett/Janis Paige/Virginia O'Brien second lead and sings of her attraction to the opposite sex in the complicated song titled "I Like Men" (as opposed to Kathryn Grayson in the same year's "Kiss Me Kate" who declared just the opposite), and the entire cast, including Williams' brassy agent Jack Carson, papa William Demarest, younger sister Donna Corcoran and the French damsel Denise Darcel get together for the truly delightful "Ain't Nature Grand" where Greenwood gets to take center stage and show what she had done twenty years before on Broadway and ten years ago in Fox musicals with Betty Grable. A delightful cream puff of a musical, Williams shows that when she had a fun script and something to do except wear a bathing suit, she could have a ball on screen and let it show. Here, her big water number (other than the channel crossing in the finale) is an animated water ballet with none other than Tom and Jerry, making their first full length screen appearances ever since dancing with Gene Kelly in "Anchor's Aweigh". Here, Tom gets to do more than serve Jerry, and they are also joined by a cute turtle doing the back stroke and an amorous octopus who happens to sing like Lamas. Great fun. Take the kiddies.

On an Arkansas farm, Katie Higgins (Esther Williams) and her family are swimming enthusiasts. Traveling tonic salesman Windy Weebe is taken with the beautiful farmer's daughter. He recruits her to swim the English Channel in a special promotion. The whole family comes across the Atlantic. Katie is pursued by Frenchman André Lanet. This is bright. It's light. It's light-weight wholesome fun. Esther Williams is swimming around in the old style bathing suit. She even rejects the new bikini from Lanet. It has some light comedy which is actually a bit funny. It has Tom & Jerry. I'm a sucker for Tom & Jerry. It's not a classic by any means but it's still worthwhile.

Jack Carson plays a traveling salesman, promoting a potion called Liqua-pep on the county fair circuit. While driving through Arkansas, he meets a family that owns a dairy farm and are dedicated to physical fitness. When Jack's character, Wendy, realizes the eldest daughter, Katy (that's how it's spelled in the credits)--played by Esther Williams--is a beauty and a tireless swimmer, he wants her to attempt the English Channel as a promotion for his snake oil. Eventually, she agrees. Along the way, she meets a Frenchman played by Fernando Lamas (who Esther marries sixteen years later) who becomes her love interest. Esther's films tend to be light fare, intending merely to entertain while allowing her to swim in a pool, a lagoon, or wherever the script might take her. "Dangerous When Wet" includes a few upbeat songs and the usual all-American touchstones. But it is best known for Esther's underwater swimming sequence with Tom and Jerry (Jerry danced nine years earlier with Gene Kelly).

Esther Williams plays Katie Higgins in "Dangerous When Wet". She's a member of a family that is nuts for physical fitness and they come to the attention of a slick salesman (Jack Carson) who decides to market them in an upcoming English Channel swimming race. However, shortly before the race, the sponsor, 'Liquapep', decides that the family (apart from Katie) isn't up to the rigors of such a crossing. So, it's up to Katie to try to win it for her family. In the meantime, a very rich and handsome man, André (Fernando Lamas) falls for her and might prove to be a bit of a distraction. What's to happen? See the film. "Dangerous When Wet" is different from all the many other Esther Williams films that I have seen because the plot seems to unfold at a much slower pace than her other films. It also is different because, for once, she has a leading man who can keep up with her in the water. Fernando Lamas was a South American swimming champion, and so his swimming scenes with Esther looked awfully good compared to some of other male co-stars. But the important thing is whether it's any good. Overall, I'd have to say yes. The cast is quite good and the finale is awfully well done. Not Williams' best film but one of her better ones. By the way, this film featured a lengthy cartoon sequence where Esther swam with Tom & Jerry. While charming, I actually found it slowed the film down and wasn't necessary.