There was some great talent here but not all of it is fully utilised. Texas Carnival has great moments but other ways it was underwhelming as well. Texas Carnival has some lavish Technicolor and colourful sets and costumes, so visually it's pleasing, and the incidental score is lovely. Texas Carnival does have some memorable scenes, standing out in particular were the imaginative dream water sequence, Skelton's hilariously nutty drunk routine, Ann Miller's dance with the xylophone in It's Dynamite and the riotous slapstick finale that has some very impressive stunt-work. Of the performers, the one who comes off best is Red Skelton, who is just fine and very funny while Ann Miller is sassy and dances a dream in It's Dynamite. Esther Williams is beautiful and pert and does wonderfully in the water sequence but for a film that was intended to be a vehicle for her this was not really great use of her talents. On the other side of the coin, Keenan Wynn is annoying and badly underplays the comedy at the same time and Howard Keel is wasted, he sings with such richness and beauty and he is a handsome presence but he deserved more songs and better ones too. The songs were pleasant but forgettable also, the most memorable being Deep in the Heart of Texas. The script was in serious need of sharper wit and the story is tired in concept and rambling in pace. The film is much too short as well and feels incomplete, with a feeling that a lot of the film was left on the cutting room floor. If that was the case that means we would most likely have seen more of Williams and Keel as we ought to have done. The ending is rushed and with little sense of surprise and Charles Walters' direction is sadly lethargic. All in all, has good moments but a very odd film that does waste some of the talent it has. 5/10 Bethany Cox
20 Reviews
While We Clean The Pool
bkoganbing12 April 2010
Esther Williams set on the MGM lot must have been in repair, maybe the pool needed a chlorine refill because none of the spectacular aquatic scenes associated with her films will be found in Texas Carnival. In fact this is really a Red Skelton film and the powers that be at MGM who always liked to keep their contract players working said do this film while we clean the pool.
It's not the greatest Esther Williams or even Red Skelton film, but it does have an amusing moment or two. Red and Esther are working at a dunk tank in a cheap carnival when an inebriated Keenan Wynn shows up and through a combination of circumstances Williams and Skelton wind up going to a Texas resort being mistaken for Wynn and his sister Paula Raymond.
They both find love and trouble at the resort with Williams taking a real liking to Howard Keel who is the foreman of Wynn's ranch and Red falling for the tap dancing sheriff's daughter in the person of Ann Miller. Red also by playing up to the big Texas cattle baron manages to lose $17,000.00 dollars in what the Texans just call a friendly game among millionaires.
As I said Texas Carnival is clearly more Red's film than Esther's and he dominates with a hilarious chuck wagon race finale and one of his patented drunk scenes. What's interesting is that in this film Skelton had Keenan Wynn to contend with in the inebriation competition. Both of these guys have played incredible imbibing scenes in their respective films.
In his memoirs Howard Keel says that Red Skelton was a comic genius, but so much so that his contemporaries had trouble keeping up with him. In that barroom scene with Keenan Wynn it took half a day to shoot because Wynn couldn't help breaking up at his performance.
Don't look for too much aquatics in this Esther Williams film, but it's a not bad Red Skelton comedy.
It's not the greatest Esther Williams or even Red Skelton film, but it does have an amusing moment or two. Red and Esther are working at a dunk tank in a cheap carnival when an inebriated Keenan Wynn shows up and through a combination of circumstances Williams and Skelton wind up going to a Texas resort being mistaken for Wynn and his sister Paula Raymond.
They both find love and trouble at the resort with Williams taking a real liking to Howard Keel who is the foreman of Wynn's ranch and Red falling for the tap dancing sheriff's daughter in the person of Ann Miller. Red also by playing up to the big Texas cattle baron manages to lose $17,000.00 dollars in what the Texans just call a friendly game among millionaires.
As I said Texas Carnival is clearly more Red's film than Esther's and he dominates with a hilarious chuck wagon race finale and one of his patented drunk scenes. What's interesting is that in this film Skelton had Keenan Wynn to contend with in the inebriation competition. Both of these guys have played incredible imbibing scenes in their respective films.
In his memoirs Howard Keel says that Red Skelton was a comic genius, but so much so that his contemporaries had trouble keeping up with him. In that barroom scene with Keenan Wynn it took half a day to shoot because Wynn couldn't help breaking up at his performance.
Don't look for too much aquatics in this Esther Williams film, but it's a not bad Red Skelton comedy.
Has its moments in the sun!
JohnHowardReid21 November 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Director: CHARLES WALTERS. Screenplay: Dorothy Kingsley. Story: Dorothy Kingsley, George Wells. Photographed in Color by Technicolor by Robert Planck. Film editor: Adrienne Fazan. Art directors: Cedric Gibbons and William Ferrari. Set decorators: Edwin B. Willis and F. Keogh Gleason. Costumes designed by Helen Rose. Hair styles: Sydney Guilaroff. Special effects: A. Arnold Gillespie, Warren Newcombe. Make-up: William Tuttle. Stunts: Gil Perkins. Technicolor color consultants: Henry Jaffa, James Gooch. Assistant director: Jack Greenwood. Sound supervisor: Douglas Shearer. Western Electric Sound Recording. Producer: Jack Cummings.
Music director: David Rose. Choreography: Hermes Pan. Songs: "It's Dynamite!" (sung and danced by Ann Miller), "Carnie's Pitch" (Skelton), "Whoa, Emma!" (Keel), "Young Folks Should Get Married" (Keel), all by Harry Warren (music) and Dorothy Fields (lyrics); "Clap Your Hands" by David Rose (music) and Earl Brent (lyrics); "Deep in the Heart of Texas" by June Hershey and Don Swander.
Copyright 10 September 1951 by Loew's Inc. A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer picture. New York opening at Loew's State: 12 October 1951. U.S. release: 5 October 1951. U.K. release: 8 December 1951. Australian release: 25 January 1952. 76 minutes.
SYNOPSIS: Staff at a luxurious Texas dude ranch/hotel mistake a carnival pitch man for a multi-millionaire.
COMMENT: I've said before that Red Skelton is most definitely not one of my favorite comedians. He tends to squeeze out and excessively belabor material that is both unfunny and threadbare to begin with. Until the climatic chuck-wagon race, that comment is true of Texas Carnival.
True, there are two or three good moments along the way, but it's not until Red is actually astride the tearaway chuck-wagon that the fun really begins—and it's well worth waiting for!
Fortunately, there are also a few compensations along the way, including peppy Ann Miller, an underused Esther Williams (who does swim a little in a double-exposed fantasy sequence in which she vamps Howard Keel), a belligerent Keenan Wynn (who is forced to stooge for Red in a boring episode with a shade and a shower) and a pistol-happy Tom Tully.
It's also good to see Glenn Strange in a sizable role as the friendly villain of the piece (he milks at least two really good gags with Skelton) and I also enjoyed catching one or two glimpses of Paula Raymond.
OTHER VIEWS: Here's the principal gag-line of Chaplin's "City Lights" riding the range in this brightly colored but rather empty musical. Despite its short running time, Texas Carnival was sold as an "A" picture, but it has enough traditional "B"-western features (including songs and the all-stops-out chase climax) to warrant watching.
True, it's Skelton's picture — the other stars are sidelined - but the laugh quality of his material is mostly poor. Despite his inability to handle Skelton, director Charles Walters has tried to invest the movie with an occasional bit of razz and even style, but the end results are mostly rather mild. The new songs are not much help either, even though they were composed by Harry Warren (music) and Dorothy Fields (lyrics), both of whom have done far, far superior work with other collaborators elsewhere.
As it turns out, the most exciting number in the movie is that old standard, "Deep in the Heart of Texas". All the same, the script's constant adulatory references to Texas become rather too, too obvious. Even Texans will probably find most of this picture disappointingly tiresome. - JHR writing as Charles Freeman,
Music director: David Rose. Choreography: Hermes Pan. Songs: "It's Dynamite!" (sung and danced by Ann Miller), "Carnie's Pitch" (Skelton), "Whoa, Emma!" (Keel), "Young Folks Should Get Married" (Keel), all by Harry Warren (music) and Dorothy Fields (lyrics); "Clap Your Hands" by David Rose (music) and Earl Brent (lyrics); "Deep in the Heart of Texas" by June Hershey and Don Swander.
Copyright 10 September 1951 by Loew's Inc. A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer picture. New York opening at Loew's State: 12 October 1951. U.S. release: 5 October 1951. U.K. release: 8 December 1951. Australian release: 25 January 1952. 76 minutes.
SYNOPSIS: Staff at a luxurious Texas dude ranch/hotel mistake a carnival pitch man for a multi-millionaire.
COMMENT: I've said before that Red Skelton is most definitely not one of my favorite comedians. He tends to squeeze out and excessively belabor material that is both unfunny and threadbare to begin with. Until the climatic chuck-wagon race, that comment is true of Texas Carnival.
True, there are two or three good moments along the way, but it's not until Red is actually astride the tearaway chuck-wagon that the fun really begins—and it's well worth waiting for!
Fortunately, there are also a few compensations along the way, including peppy Ann Miller, an underused Esther Williams (who does swim a little in a double-exposed fantasy sequence in which she vamps Howard Keel), a belligerent Keenan Wynn (who is forced to stooge for Red in a boring episode with a shade and a shower) and a pistol-happy Tom Tully.
It's also good to see Glenn Strange in a sizable role as the friendly villain of the piece (he milks at least two really good gags with Skelton) and I also enjoyed catching one or two glimpses of Paula Raymond.
OTHER VIEWS: Here's the principal gag-line of Chaplin's "City Lights" riding the range in this brightly colored but rather empty musical. Despite its short running time, Texas Carnival was sold as an "A" picture, but it has enough traditional "B"-western features (including songs and the all-stops-out chase climax) to warrant watching.
True, it's Skelton's picture — the other stars are sidelined - but the laugh quality of his material is mostly poor. Despite his inability to handle Skelton, director Charles Walters has tried to invest the movie with an occasional bit of razz and even style, but the end results are mostly rather mild. The new songs are not much help either, even though they were composed by Harry Warren (music) and Dorothy Fields (lyrics), both of whom have done far, far superior work with other collaborators elsewhere.
As it turns out, the most exciting number in the movie is that old standard, "Deep in the Heart of Texas". All the same, the script's constant adulatory references to Texas become rather too, too obvious. Even Texans will probably find most of this picture disappointingly tiresome. - JHR writing as Charles Freeman,
Delightful
dougdoepke25 October 2017
Delightful romp that blends the stars together in highly entertaining fashion. Red gets to mug it up in typical Skelton fashion, while studly Keel smooths in his baritone, and Miller taps her way into our hearts. Even mermaid Williams manages to get her fins on as well as show some acting chops. In fact, the highpoint in my little book is her almost eerie swim through the air in a fancy hotel room. In a flowing white gown she's like a ghostly aquanaut thanks to trick photography. That scene is going to stay with me, strange as it is.
The plot, of course, is negligible--- carnival barker Red's mistaken for a Texas millionaire and has to act the part when he gets into trouble. I love it when Red and others talk about the great smell and feel of the Longhorn State while standing in front of a painted backdrop. In fact the production never leaves the San Fernando Valley, but who cares. Anyway, it's just the kind of material and headliners that big budget MGM knew how to package in great escapist fashion. And to think Maltin's Classic Movie Guide only gives it two stars out of four-was someone home asleep. Anyway, the Technicolor's lavish, the stars in top form, and the pacing doesn't dawdle. So catch up with it when you can, and remind Maltin to set his alarm.
The plot, of course, is negligible--- carnival barker Red's mistaken for a Texas millionaire and has to act the part when he gets into trouble. I love it when Red and others talk about the great smell and feel of the Longhorn State while standing in front of a painted backdrop. In fact the production never leaves the San Fernando Valley, but who cares. Anyway, it's just the kind of material and headliners that big budget MGM knew how to package in great escapist fashion. And to think Maltin's Classic Movie Guide only gives it two stars out of four-was someone home asleep. Anyway, the Technicolor's lavish, the stars in top form, and the pacing doesn't dawdle. So catch up with it when you can, and remind Maltin to set his alarm.
not so good Williams
ron-fernandez-pittsburgh13 December 2011
This tired MGM musical would have been better if more productions values were lavished on this. Most musicals don't make much sense, and this one even more so. Mistaken identities could be funny, but this one isn't. This is really a vehicle for Red Skelton and he does his usual shtick...but sometimes too much of it. Easther has less to do as does Howard Keel. Ann Miller does well with her brief role. In fact the movie itself is brief. Barely and hour and 20 mins. Much seems to have been either left out or not filmed. The ending seems very rushed and a bit confusing. One thing doesn't make sense is when Esther asks Red for the keys to the car. He said it was damaged as he smashed it into a tree. Yet just two minutes earlier Esther sees drive up in same car!!!! Where was the damage? Just a few things that just don't make sense in this lackluster musical.
Friendly and occasionally lively...all it needed was a wittier script
moonspinner5512 April 2010
Penniless carnival barker Red Skelton and chorine-turned-dunking girl Esther Williams are mistaken for millionaires and are forced to enter a Chuck Wagon race to eradicate a gambling debt. Modest M-G-M comedy-musical filmed in Technicolor looks just as good as the studio's more-popular output--what was needed, however, was a screenplay with bigger laughs and stronger characterizations. Skelton juggles, sings, and performs some pleasing comedy shtick, but he's too polite here; director Charles Walters keeps Red reigned-in so much that a nutty drunk routine late in the movie seems out of place. Williams has a nifty fantasy number where she appears to pole-dance underwater (!), while Ann Miller has one great tap-dance sequence accompanied by a mad xylophone. Isolated moments of fun linked by the barest minimum of plot, though the wild slapstick finale nearly makes up for the picture's deficiencies. **1/2 from ****
"Our State Fair is a Great State Fair", oh, wait, wrong musical.
mark.waltz6 November 2012
Warning: Spoilers
That old silly plot device, mistaken identity, is utilized for this less than exciting MGM musical that tries to make us believe that two carnival performers can be confused for two rodeo star. Brother and sister Red Skelton and Esther Williams don't do anything to change the confusion since they get free room and board. With one of the rodeo performers (Howard Keel) actually there keeping their secret, all sorts of silly events occur. Throw in Ann Miller tapping, Keenan Wynn tossing out wisecracks and only one sequence with Williams swimming, and you see why I call this second-rate MGM. Miller's big number, "It's Dynamite", is more memorable for the fact that she dances on a xylophone than for the song itself. Skelton, sometimes too silly for today's taste, has one hysterically funny sequence trying to roll tobacco, but his rodeo stunt ride at the end is a repeat of things we've already seen, and not nearly as funny.
Keel and Williams get the romance, but Keel's songs are forgettable. A rousing variation of "Deep in the Heart of Texas", also heard in the same year's "Rich, Young, and Pretty", is the musical highlight. A somewhat imaginative sequence where Keel fantasizes about Williams swimming in his hotel room makes you wonder if MGM had declared Chapter 11 this year because of the lack of spectacle usually associated with their musicals.
Keel and Williams get the romance, but Keel's songs are forgettable. A rousing variation of "Deep in the Heart of Texas", also heard in the same year's "Rich, Young, and Pretty", is the musical highlight. A somewhat imaginative sequence where Keel fantasizes about Williams swimming in his hotel room makes you wonder if MGM had declared Chapter 11 this year because of the lack of spectacle usually associated with their musicals.
Decent...the second half of the film has all the highlights
vincentlynch-moonoi27 April 2011
Warning: Spoilers
I'm a tremendous fan of Red Skelton. And that's what it takes to get very excited about this film -- being a fan of Skelton, Esther Williams, or Howard Keel.
Red Skelton does fine here. Enough slapstick to keep you interested. Esther Williams doesn't have a great swim routine until after mid-way through the film...although it's a nice one that is a sort of dream sequence with a lovely white flowing gown. Howard Keel's numbers are sort of hick-ish. Ann Miller is there, though I still don't understand what MGM saw in her...a horse of a woman that, in my view, wasn't that good a dancer. Keenan Wynn is sort of annoying here.
The plot centers around two carnival sideshow workers who are mistaken for a rich Texan, but can't seem to get themselves out of the misunderstanding.
The saving graces of the film include the aforementioned Williams swim routine (the only one in the film), the great drunk scene in the bar (no one was better at playing drunk than Red Skelton), and the chuck wagon race finale (which includes some pretty spectacular stunt riding).
Red Skelton does fine here. Enough slapstick to keep you interested. Esther Williams doesn't have a great swim routine until after mid-way through the film...although it's a nice one that is a sort of dream sequence with a lovely white flowing gown. Howard Keel's numbers are sort of hick-ish. Ann Miller is there, though I still don't understand what MGM saw in her...a horse of a woman that, in my view, wasn't that good a dancer. Keenan Wynn is sort of annoying here.
The plot centers around two carnival sideshow workers who are mistaken for a rich Texan, but can't seem to get themselves out of the misunderstanding.
The saving graces of the film include the aforementioned Williams swim routine (the only one in the film), the great drunk scene in the bar (no one was better at playing drunk than Red Skelton), and the chuck wagon race finale (which includes some pretty spectacular stunt riding).
Musical comedy and a case of mistaken identity.
michaelRokeefe30 April 2011
Warning: Spoilers
This musical comedy stars Red Skelton as Cornie, who teams with the ever attractive Esther Williams as his partner Debbie, who work a dunk tank at a carnival...not successfully. Cornie comes to the aid of an oil baron Dan Sabinas(Keenan Wynn), who has had too much to drink and takes a cab to Mexico before giving his car keys to the carnival worker. When Cornie tries to return the car to Dan's hotel, he is mistaken for the tycoon. This is when the fun really begins. Howard Keel plays Dan's ranch foreman; Texas CARNIVAL now becomes a legitimate musical. (At some point you will think this could have been just as good as a straight comedy). Others in the cast: Ann Miller, Tom Tully, Hans Conried, Thurston Hall and Glenn Strange. One of the highlights is a water ballet sequence. Ms. Williams couldn't look any finer.
Think of It as a Red Skelton Movie
jgboston17 August 2019
The movie has several fun moments, some good songs and a couple of nice dances by Ann Miller. The problem is that it really doesn't work as an Esther Williams vehicle so it's best to approach it as a Red Skelton movie featuring Esther Williams. With a slightly different perspective this can be an enjoyable experience.
Low-budget Williams vehicle shows MGM was running out of ideas...
Doylenf12 April 2007
How to get ESTHER WILLIAMS wet and still have an entertaining musical must have finally gotten to whomever dreamed up this lackluster, shoddy script for the MGM swimming star. She seldom dips a toe into the water and when she does her swimming scenes are brief.
In fact, the whole story is told in little more than one hour and seventeen minutes--and even then, it's exasperating to watch so little happen. The story is the tired old mistaken identity theme taken to ridiculous heights by RED SKELTON, who's mistaken for an obnoxious and wealthy oil baron (KEENAN WYNN) at a luxury hotel with a deluxe size swimming pool. HOWARD KEEL ambles into the story via horseback singing just one of several unmemorable songs and is soon ogling Esther poolside in a manner designed to get her to take a dip (for the sake of her fans).
ANN MILLER pops up to add some breezy Texas charm to the proceedings, but even her lively dance numbers lack the usual splash MGM gave to its production numbers. Esther is supposed to be a carnival girl who gets dumped into water by any man who can throw a curve ball--and she's hungry, or so we're told, to the point where she faints in the arms of Howard Keel who then chases her until she's caught. Esther has to be one of the healthiest gals ever supposed to be suffering from malnutrition that I've ever seen.
The hazy plot plods along until the predictable ending with the stolen identity cleared up and Esther is ready to melt into Keel's arms--none too soon.
Summing up: At least Esther had MILLION DOLLAR MERMAID in her future--but this is one where she's just killing time. Very unworthy vehicle for the swimming star par excellence.
In fact, the whole story is told in little more than one hour and seventeen minutes--and even then, it's exasperating to watch so little happen. The story is the tired old mistaken identity theme taken to ridiculous heights by RED SKELTON, who's mistaken for an obnoxious and wealthy oil baron (KEENAN WYNN) at a luxury hotel with a deluxe size swimming pool. HOWARD KEEL ambles into the story via horseback singing just one of several unmemorable songs and is soon ogling Esther poolside in a manner designed to get her to take a dip (for the sake of her fans).
ANN MILLER pops up to add some breezy Texas charm to the proceedings, but even her lively dance numbers lack the usual splash MGM gave to its production numbers. Esther is supposed to be a carnival girl who gets dumped into water by any man who can throw a curve ball--and she's hungry, or so we're told, to the point where she faints in the arms of Howard Keel who then chases her until she's caught. Esther has to be one of the healthiest gals ever supposed to be suffering from malnutrition that I've ever seen.
The hazy plot plods along until the predictable ending with the stolen identity cleared up and Esther is ready to melt into Keel's arms--none too soon.
Summing up: At least Esther had MILLION DOLLAR MERMAID in her future--but this is one where she's just killing time. Very unworthy vehicle for the swimming star par excellence.
Texas Carnival is great fun from Red Skelton, Esther Williams, Howard Keel, and Ann Miller
tavm20 February 2019
While Esther Williams once again does a water ballet sequence in this movie, this time she's portrayed doing that in a dream sequence (as evidenced by her ghostly appearance doing so) of Howard Keel's. She and Red Skelton are performers at the title carnival when Red meets a drunk rich guy played by Keenan Wynn who he helps win a prize. That then leads to some mistaken identity when Red and Esther check in a hotel Keenan's supposed to check in at. Also, Ann Miller is a sheriff's daughter who, of course, dances up a storm at that inn. All I'll say now is I liked all of Red's comic antics as well as Keel's numbers and that dance Ms. Miller did. Also her comic number before that was also aces. So that's a high recommendation of Texas Carnival.
MGM TECHNICOLOR MESS
anthonyheartache27 December 2020
Yes, that's what I said. TEXAS CARNIVAL is one big technicolor mess of a film musical. This film must have been made just to keep its contract players busy while on the MGM payroll. There is very little that is redeeming about this film. The script is unconvincing. Esther Williams has no aquatic numbers. And Red Skelton gets on my last nerve with his silly vaudeville type gags that went out with the silent films. On the positive side, Howard Keel is around for a few tunes. Ann Miller of course is around for two flashy tap numbers. Other than that, 1951 movie audiences probably had a more entertaining time at the popcorn counter.
Watch it as a Red Skelton film
ArtVandelayImporterExporter28 March 2019
If you want to see a direct descendant of the Buster Keaton line of comedy, this is surely the movie. Skelton's funny physical antics while trying to retrieve a dollar from the floor or getting drunk with Keenan Wynne are topped by a chuckwagon race finale that deftly combines comedy and dangerous stunts.
In the supporting cast you've got Ann Miller's legs. I esp enjoyed seeing her tap her dancers' bongos. Ahem.
Esther Williams and Howard Keel are also in this movie, I assume, because Hollywood producers needed their names on the marquee to sell tickets. Fair enough. But they're mostly wasted. That ''underwater dream sequence" is goofy. And their romance is perfunctory.
A reference to a wrecked car (with no preceding scene with Skelton presumably wrecking the car, probably with Miller on board), a reference by Williams to a dinner speech she didn't actually give, and a romance between Skelton and Miller that had no beginning (I don't count her dance number by the piano) leaves me to conclude that 15 minutes or so got hacked out of this movie after preview audiences full of dummies said, ''it dragged in parts" and ''the car wreck scene wasn't funny" or ''that speech was boring."
Nevertheless, as long as you're not expecting to see Esther Williams floating around in a pool for 90 minutes (thankfully that only lasts about 90 seconds here) this is a decent way to kill just over an hour.
In the supporting cast you've got Ann Miller's legs. I esp enjoyed seeing her tap her dancers' bongos. Ahem.
Esther Williams and Howard Keel are also in this movie, I assume, because Hollywood producers needed their names on the marquee to sell tickets. Fair enough. But they're mostly wasted. That ''underwater dream sequence" is goofy. And their romance is perfunctory.
A reference to a wrecked car (with no preceding scene with Skelton presumably wrecking the car, probably with Miller on board), a reference by Williams to a dinner speech she didn't actually give, and a romance between Skelton and Miller that had no beginning (I don't count her dance number by the piano) leaves me to conclude that 15 minutes or so got hacked out of this movie after preview audiences full of dummies said, ''it dragged in parts" and ''the car wreck scene wasn't funny" or ''that speech was boring."
Nevertheless, as long as you're not expecting to see Esther Williams floating around in a pool for 90 minutes (thankfully that only lasts about 90 seconds here) this is a decent way to kill just over an hour.
Not one of Esther's more lavish aquacades!
gregcouture21 November 2004
This brash and often noisy Technicolor trifle is definitely not for those expecting to enjoy a series of Esther's more elaborate water ballets. She spends a minimal amount of time in the water in this one and there's only one trademark production number, a dream sequence in which she floats sinuously about in Howard Keel's darkened hotel room, trailing yards of diaphanous white veiling, that comes close to what her fans might have lined up at the box-office hoping to enjoy.
Esther, however, looks wondrously healthy and pretty throughout, the very picture of an All-American Girl, acting with her usual pert insouciance. Howard gets to unleash his rich bass-baritone in two or three forgettable songs, though he certainly looks convincing as a lanky ranch foreman. Red Skelton contributes his usual shtick, at some tedious length here and there, and even manages to amuse today's audiences with a skillfully executed pratfall or two. Ann Miller, ever the most energetic in the cast, seems to come out on top in this pastiche, tossing off a couple of her patented leg-tossing, tippy-tapping dance amazements, choreographed by the reliable Hermes Pan.
M-G-M touted this as 'Another Big MGM Musical' but it appears to have been rather thriftily produced, with some minimal location work that looks notably cobbled together, especially in a concluding and very extended chuck wagon race, which involves some dangerously risky stunt work, by the way.
Keenan Wynn lends some very sour support, as a Texas millionaire, overly fond of his bourbon. Skelton also is supposed to imbibe a prodigious amount in one drawn-out sequence, and we're meant to find it riotously funny, something that may have been acceptable back in the early 1950s but which fails to amuse as easily today, with our greater awareness of the very deleterious effects of excessive alcohol intake.
It's also amusing to note how very much inflation has devalued the American dollar in the more than half-century since this film was released. A multi-room hotel suite large enough to fill one of M-G-M's average soundstages is quoted as costing what would be the usual price in today's dollars for a single, modest hotel room in a smaller U.S. city. A doctor makes a house call, to tend a briefly ailing Ms. Williams (She's fainted from hunger, poor thing!), for a fee that wouldn't cover the charge for administering an aspirin anywhere in a U. S. health facility today. A beautiful Lincoln Cosmopolitan convertible is smashed into a tree (mercifully, off-camera) and the quoted estimated tariff for its repairs (supposedly including a ruined dashboard) is so laughably minuscule that the total wouldn't cover a six months' insurance premium assessed for an ultra-safe contemporary driver with no traffic citations on his/her record over many prior years of accident-free mileage. What price progress?!?
Esther, however, looks wondrously healthy and pretty throughout, the very picture of an All-American Girl, acting with her usual pert insouciance. Howard gets to unleash his rich bass-baritone in two or three forgettable songs, though he certainly looks convincing as a lanky ranch foreman. Red Skelton contributes his usual shtick, at some tedious length here and there, and even manages to amuse today's audiences with a skillfully executed pratfall or two. Ann Miller, ever the most energetic in the cast, seems to come out on top in this pastiche, tossing off a couple of her patented leg-tossing, tippy-tapping dance amazements, choreographed by the reliable Hermes Pan.
M-G-M touted this as 'Another Big MGM Musical' but it appears to have been rather thriftily produced, with some minimal location work that looks notably cobbled together, especially in a concluding and very extended chuck wagon race, which involves some dangerously risky stunt work, by the way.
Keenan Wynn lends some very sour support, as a Texas millionaire, overly fond of his bourbon. Skelton also is supposed to imbibe a prodigious amount in one drawn-out sequence, and we're meant to find it riotously funny, something that may have been acceptable back in the early 1950s but which fails to amuse as easily today, with our greater awareness of the very deleterious effects of excessive alcohol intake.
It's also amusing to note how very much inflation has devalued the American dollar in the more than half-century since this film was released. A multi-room hotel suite large enough to fill one of M-G-M's average soundstages is quoted as costing what would be the usual price in today's dollars for a single, modest hotel room in a smaller U.S. city. A doctor makes a house call, to tend a briefly ailing Ms. Williams (She's fainted from hunger, poor thing!), for a fee that wouldn't cover the charge for administering an aspirin anywhere in a U. S. health facility today. A beautiful Lincoln Cosmopolitan convertible is smashed into a tree (mercifully, off-camera) and the quoted estimated tariff for its repairs (supposedly including a ruined dashboard) is so laughably minuscule that the total wouldn't cover a six months' insurance premium assessed for an ultra-safe contemporary driver with no traffic citations on his/her record over many prior years of accident-free mileage. What price progress?!?
Esther Williams is the Star but is left with mediocre material
tr-8349529 March 2019
Texas Carnival is silly, and the audience is always painfully aware they are watching a ginned up movie. In a good film, the audience is lost in it and they are not aware it is happening. They are in the midst of it and it is happening to them.
Nothing of the sort happens with Texas Carnival, unfortunately. It all feels contrived and silly. Nothing seems real and it's not funny. Esther Williams carries the film as far as it can go, but the rest of the cast is not able to do much. The plot is insipid, and students in film school could write a better script on their first attempt.
This has some interesting elements and it is watchable, but there are so many "undiscovered" gems out there that this deserves a quiet burial at sea. It's a manufactured, high gloss attempt at a film that never quite makes it.
Nothing of the sort happens with Texas Carnival, unfortunately. It all feels contrived and silly. Nothing seems real and it's not funny. Esther Williams carries the film as far as it can go, but the rest of the cast is not able to do much. The plot is insipid, and students in film school could write a better script on their first attempt.
This has some interesting elements and it is watchable, but there are so many "undiscovered" gems out there that this deserves a quiet burial at sea. It's a manufactured, high gloss attempt at a film that never quite makes it.
Pure Esther Williams junk
searchanddestroy-16 July 2022
You have to be a die hard fan of hers to appreciate this stupid film, with her usual Howard Keel partner, a pure non sense where the most interesting parts are the swimming skills of Williams. Vaudeville gags lousy, dialogues run on the mill, no, really, choose MILLION DOLLAR MERMAID instead, don't lose you time on this one.
what happened?
ronfernandezsf30 August 2020
Dumb movies we're always being made in the advent of film, and this is one of the dumbest yet. So many unanswered questions. Like the car incident....Esther only has a bathing suit when she gets to the Hotel...Lo and behold for the reset of the film she's decked out in one outfit to the other....How???? Red's drunk schtick is annoying and in bad taste.....Looks like a whole reel was cut out or not filmed....fourth billed Paula Raymond has about five lines!!!! What happened to her part??? Just a few questions and statements of this crazy mixed up musical.
Only Ann Miller is worth seeing although her part is confusing as well as the rest of this mess...Skip this one!!!
"I think fifteen cents for a hamburger is outrageous."
utgard1420 July 2014
Flimsy MGM musical that skates by on the charm of its stars. Red Skelton and Esther Williams play a couple of carnival performers who are mistaken for a Texas millionaire and his sister. Skelton rolls with it and winds up getting into trouble over a lost bet while Esther finds herself falling for cowboy Howard Keel. Red's fun but the script isn't that hot. Esther is gorgeous as ever and has good chemistry with Skelton and Keel. This is the last of five pictures she did with Red. Ann Miller's also in this and seems to be having the most fun of anybody. The songs are forgettable. Howard Keel sings to his horse. Yeah, it's like that. Not one of Esther or Red's best but watchable and pleasant enough to pass the time.
Mistaken identity...Texas style.
planktonrules2 August 2016
I like Red Skelton films. However, they're certainly not all alike. His best are films where he's the star and nothing else. But since MGM was the studio of the big musicals as well, often he was placed in musicals...with mostly second-rate results. I have nothing against musicals....but when you are making a comedy, let the comedian do his schtick and don't distract the audience with songs. And, unfortunately, this one also has a bit of Esther Williams' swimming...and so Skelton isn't exactly the sole focus of the movie.
Cornie (Skelton) and Debbie (Esther Williams) work at a carnival. One day, a super-rich Texan, Dan Sabinas (Keenan Wynn) arrives and takes an instant liking to Cornie and invites him to a big party he's throwing. Unfortunately, Dan is dead drunk and has no recollection of doing this...but Cornie takes him at his word and brings Debbie with him to Texas for the party. Through a case of mistaken identity, the pair are mistaken for Dan and his sister--and soon everyone is making over them like they are rich millionaires. Insanely, the pair decide to play along...and ultimately get into all sorts of trouble. The worst part is that Red accidentally loses $17,000 in a poker game that lasts about 30 seconds...and he cannot possibly pay. How can he extricate himself from this huge mess? And, what will Debbie do when a man (Howard Keel) has fallen from her and it appears that he thinks she is Dan's sister!
While the plot sounds pretty funny it suffers from three problems. The first I mentioned above--singing and swimming that get in the way of the comedy. The second is that the ending is incredibly ludicrous with everything working out just fine...almost as if an intertitle card popped up and said "Ignore the mess they've gotten into....PRESTO...it's gone". Third, and the previous two problems contribute to this, is that it just isn't a particularly funny film. Agreeable but nothing more.
Cornie (Skelton) and Debbie (Esther Williams) work at a carnival. One day, a super-rich Texan, Dan Sabinas (Keenan Wynn) arrives and takes an instant liking to Cornie and invites him to a big party he's throwing. Unfortunately, Dan is dead drunk and has no recollection of doing this...but Cornie takes him at his word and brings Debbie with him to Texas for the party. Through a case of mistaken identity, the pair are mistaken for Dan and his sister--and soon everyone is making over them like they are rich millionaires. Insanely, the pair decide to play along...and ultimately get into all sorts of trouble. The worst part is that Red accidentally loses $17,000 in a poker game that lasts about 30 seconds...and he cannot possibly pay. How can he extricate himself from this huge mess? And, what will Debbie do when a man (Howard Keel) has fallen from her and it appears that he thinks she is Dan's sister!
While the plot sounds pretty funny it suffers from three problems. The first I mentioned above--singing and swimming that get in the way of the comedy. The second is that the ending is incredibly ludicrous with everything working out just fine...almost as if an intertitle card popped up and said "Ignore the mess they've gotten into....PRESTO...it's gone". Third, and the previous two problems contribute to this, is that it just isn't a particularly funny film. Agreeable but nothing more.
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