"Bathing Beauty" is a silly and rather inconsequential film when you see it today. It's not bad---just not the sort of thing that is anything more than a time-passer. Yet, oddly, the film was for a time the third highest grossing film for MGM!! I just don't see it, but in its time, this was a HUGE hit. My theory is that despite the squeaky-clean image, folks in the 40s must have used a lot of drugs--that seems like the only logical explanation of the film's success!!
The film begins with a songwriter, Steve (Red Skelton) and his fiancée, Caroline (Esther Williams) getting married. However, as the man is pronouncing them man and wife, another woman bursts in and insists she's already married to him and presents what she claims are his three kids! Now logic would dictate that everyone would sit down and look at the woman's proof to determine if she is correct AND if not, what is her motivation. However, and this is a HUGE weakness of the film, Caroline runs away--and cloisters herself away in an all-girls school where she is on the faculty. She returns no phone calls and won't have any contact with Steve--even though she loved him enough to marry him in the first place!!! Logical, this is not!
While Steve is moping, he meets a lawyer and they discuss loopholes to get him to see Caroline. They discover that although it's TRADITIONALLY a girls college, the charter does NOT indicate this and the school can't stop Steve from matriculating. Much of the remainder of the film consists of the lone male student trying to fit into the school and making a mess of things. Some of this is rather funny--though, of course, amazingly contrived.
Eventually, what happens with Steve and Caroline is exactly what you know will happen--but it takes them forever to get to this point. This means the finale is a foregone conclusion with no surprises other than the water ballet which has no relationship with the rest of the film and was obviously tacked on for the obligatory Williams swimming scene.
The star of the film is clearly Skelton. He's funny and likable. As for Williams, her character seems shallow and rather nasty--and you wonder why anyone would bother trying to win back such a lady! It's clearly a weak vehicle for her. Another HUGE problem (aside from the plot) is the singing and dancing. This is not the forte of WIlliams or Skelton--yet they film is jam-packed with songs. Too many and too many contrived musical numbers (particularly on the college campus) tend to distract from the plot and Skelton's antics. As a result, the film is very uneven and a film that defies a rational explanation! Not bad--just one that isn't particularly exceptional overall.
The film begins with a songwriter, Steve (Red Skelton) and his fiancée, Caroline (Esther Williams) getting married. However, as the man is pronouncing them man and wife, another woman bursts in and insists she's already married to him and presents what she claims are his three kids! Now logic would dictate that everyone would sit down and look at the woman's proof to determine if she is correct AND if not, what is her motivation. However, and this is a HUGE weakness of the film, Caroline runs away--and cloisters herself away in an all-girls school where she is on the faculty. She returns no phone calls and won't have any contact with Steve--even though she loved him enough to marry him in the first place!!! Logical, this is not!
While Steve is moping, he meets a lawyer and they discuss loopholes to get him to see Caroline. They discover that although it's TRADITIONALLY a girls college, the charter does NOT indicate this and the school can't stop Steve from matriculating. Much of the remainder of the film consists of the lone male student trying to fit into the school and making a mess of things. Some of this is rather funny--though, of course, amazingly contrived.
Eventually, what happens with Steve and Caroline is exactly what you know will happen--but it takes them forever to get to this point. This means the finale is a foregone conclusion with no surprises other than the water ballet which has no relationship with the rest of the film and was obviously tacked on for the obligatory Williams swimming scene.
The star of the film is clearly Skelton. He's funny and likable. As for Williams, her character seems shallow and rather nasty--and you wonder why anyone would bother trying to win back such a lady! It's clearly a weak vehicle for her. Another HUGE problem (aside from the plot) is the singing and dancing. This is not the forte of WIlliams or Skelton--yet they film is jam-packed with songs. Too many and too many contrived musical numbers (particularly on the college campus) tend to distract from the plot and Skelton's antics. As a result, the film is very uneven and a film that defies a rational explanation! Not bad--just one that isn't particularly exceptional overall.