Dangerous When Wet (1953)

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Approved
1h 35min
Comedy, Musical
03 Jul 1953 (USA)
Movie

6.2 (1,151)

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With her promoter-trainer and family in tow, Katie Higgins swims her way from the Arkansas Ozarks to foggy London and the English Channel. - SimonJack

Directors:

Charles Walters, Joseph Barbera, William Hanna

Writer:

Dorothy Kingsley

Stars:

Reviews:

Photos and Videos

A young woman enters a contest to be the first to swim the English Channel.

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63 photos | 1 video

Cast verified as complete

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	Esther Williams	...	Katie Higgins
	Fernando Lamas	...	André Lanet
	Jack Carson	...	Windy Weebe
	Charlotte Greenwood	...	Ma Higgins
	Denise Darcel	...	Gigi Mignon
	William Demarest	...	Pa Higgins
	Donna Corcoran	...	Junior Higgins
	Barbara Whiting	...	Suzie Higgins
	Bunny Waters	...	Greta
	Henri Letondal	...	Joubert
	Paul Bryar	...	Pierre
	Jack Raine	...	Stuart Frye
	Richard Alexander	...	Egyptian Channel swimmer
	Tudor Owen	...	Old Salt
	Ann Codee	...	Mrs. Lanet
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
	Leon Alton	...	Spectator at Photoshoot (uncredited)
	Jimmy Aubrey	...	Bartender (uncredited)
	Benjie Bancroft	...	Ship Passenger (uncredited)
	Mary Bayless	...	Ship Passenger (uncredited)
	Eumenio Blanco	...	Hotel Clerk (uncredited)
	Eugene Borden	...	French Mayor (uncredited)
	Tex Brodus	...	Dancer (uncredited)
	Morgan Brown	...	Show Spectator (uncredited)
	Stumpy Brown	...	Violinist Stumpy (uncredited)
	Roy Damron	...	Ship Passenger (uncredited)
	Michael Dugan	...	Ad Lib (uncredited)
	Aminta Dyne	...	English Woman Guest (uncredited)
	James Fairfax	...	English Cab Driver (uncredited)
	Ed Fury	...	Hercules (uncredited)
	Ben Gage	...	Very tall swimmer (uncredited)
	Molly Glessing	...	English Waitress (uncredited)
	Arthur Gould-Porter	...	English Steward (uncredited)
	William Hanna	...	Tom (uncredited)
	Maurice Marks	...	Ship Passenger (uncredited)
	John McKee	...	Photographer (uncredited)
	Roger Moore	...	Reporter (uncredited)
	Monty O'Grady	...	Reporter (uncredited)
	Patrick O'Moore	...	Bob Gerrard (uncredited)
	Paul Power	...	Official (uncredited)
	John Roy	...	Swimmer (uncredited)
	Bernard Sell	...	Reporter (uncredited)
	Reginald Simpson	...	Reporter (uncredited)
	Jack Tornek	...	Townsman (uncredited)
	Arthur Tovey	...	Spectator at Photoshoot (uncredited)

Directed by

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Charles Walters
Joseph Barbera	...	(uncredited) (animation sequences)
William Hanna	...	(uncredited) (animation sequences)

Written by

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Dorothy Kingsley

...

(written by)

Produced by

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William Hanna	...	co-executive producer (uncredited)
Fred Quimby	...	producer (uncredited)
George Wells	...	producer

Music by

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Albert Sendrey	...	(uncredited)
George Stoll	...	(uncredited)

Cinematography by

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Harold Rosson

...

director of photography

Editing by

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John McSweeney Jr.

Editorial Department

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Peter Ballbusch	...	montage
Henri Jaffa	...	color consultant: Technicolor
Jim Faris	...	animation film editor (uncredited)

Art Direction by

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Cedric Gibbons
Jack Martin Smith

Set Decoration by

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Emile Kuri
Edwin B. Willis

Costume Design by

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Helen Rose

Makeup Department

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Sydney Guilaroff	...	hair stylist
John Truwe	...	makeup artist
William Tuttle	...	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

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Sid Sidman	...	assistant director
Charles Nichols	...	assistant director (uncredited)
Carl 'Major' Roup	...	second assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department

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Douglas Shearer

...

sound supervisor

Special Effects by

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Irving G. Ries

...

special effects

Stunts

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Connie Tilton

...

stunt double: swimming for Esther Williams (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department

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Fred J. Koenekamp

...

underwater assistant camera (uncredited)

Animation Department

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Albert Band	...	animation production assistant (uncredited)
Ed Barge	...	animator (uncredited)
Warren Batchelder	...	animator (uncredited)
Ed Benedict	...	layout artist (uncredited)
Richard Bickenbach	...	layout artist (uncredited)
John Boersema	...	inbetween artist (uncredited)
Larz Bourne	...	inbetween artist (uncredited)
Peggy Breese	...	inbetween artist (uncredited)
Pete Burness	...	animator (uncredited)
Tom Byrne	...	assistant animator (uncredited)
Oliver Callahan	...	assistant animator (uncredited)
Jack Carr	...	inbetween artist (uncredited)
Chuck Couch	...	director of animation (uncredited)
Shamus Culhane	...	animator (uncredited)
Robert Dranko	...	animation designer (uncredited)
Harvey Eisenberg	...	layout artist (uncredited)
Jules Engel	...	color (uncredited)
Friz Freleng	...	director of animation (uncredited)
Robert Gentle	...	background artist (uncredited) / inbetween artist (uncredited) / layout artist (uncredited)
George Germanetti	...	animator (uncredited)
Rita Giddings	...	ink and paint (uncredited)
Lawrence Goble	...	painting supervisor (uncredited)
Colene Gonzales	...	ink and paint (uncredited)
Frank Gonzales	...	inbetween artist (uncredited)
George Gordon	...	animator (uncredited) / director of animation (uncredited)
Roberta Greutert	...	ink and paint (uncredited)
Emery Hawkins	...	animator (uncredited)
Florence Heintz	...	ink and paint (uncredited)
John Didrik Johnsen	...	background artist (uncredited)
Dick Kelsey	...	color (uncredited)
Herbert Klynn	...	color (uncredited)
Michael Lah	...	animator (uncredited) / inbetween artist (uncredited)
Irving Levine	...	assistant animator (uncredited)
Bill Littlejohn	...	animator (uncredited) / layout artist (uncredited)
Lewis Marshall	...	assistant animator (uncredited)
Tom Massey	...	animator (uncredited)
Carman Maxwell	...	animation production manager (uncredited)
Bob McIntosh	...	background artist (uncredited)
Celine Miles	...	color models (uncredited) / ink and paint (uncredited)
Kenneth Muse	...	animator (uncredited)
Grim Natwick	...	animator (uncredited) / layout artist (uncredited)
Maurice Noble	...	animation designer (uncredited) / color (uncredited)
Lovell Norman	...	animator (uncredited)
Ray Patterson	...	animator (uncredited)
Bill Peet	...	inbetween artist (uncredited)
Barney Posner	...	assistant animator (uncredited)
Hawley Pratt	...	animation designer (uncredited)
Stan Quackenbush	...	animator (uncredited)
Anna Lois Ray	...	ink and paint (uncredited)
Tom Ray	...	animator (uncredited)
Warren Schloat	...	animator (uncredited)
Leonard Sebring	...	animator (uncredited)
Martha Sigall	...	ink and paint (uncredited)
Grant Simmons	...	animator (uncredited)
Claude Smith	...	layout artist (uncredited)
Ed Solomon	...	inbetween artist (uncredited)
Sydel Solomon	...	ink and paint (uncredited)
Irven Spence	...	animator (uncredited)
Nick Tafuri	...	animator (uncredited)
Richard H. Thomas	...	background artist (uncredited)
Carl Urbano	...	animator (uncredited) / director of animation (uncredited)
Joe Voght	...	assistant animator (uncredited)
Myron Waldman	...	animator (uncredited)
Bill Weber	...	inbetween artist (uncredited)
Bernard Wolf	...	layout artist (uncredited)
Irene Wyman	...	checking (uncredited)
Irv Wyner	...	background artist (uncredited)
Jack Zander	...	animator (uncredited) / layout artist (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department

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Joan Joseff

...

costume jeweller (uncredited)

Music Department

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Skip Martin	...	orchestrator
George Stoll	...	musical director (as Georgie Stoll)
Scott Bradley	...	composer: cartoon sequence (uncredited)
Evelyn Kennedy	...	music editor (uncredited)
Albert Sendrey	...	orchestrator (uncredited)
Al Teeter	...	music editor (uncredited)

Additional Crew

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Joseph Barbera	...	cartoons: Tom and Jerry
Billy Daniel	...	choreographer
Alvord Eiseman	...	color advisor: Technicolor
William Hanna	...	cartoons: Tom and Jerry
Fred Quimby	...	cartoons: Tom and Jerry
Charles Walters	...	choreographer
Carman Maxwell	...	technical (uncredited)

Crew verified as complete

Production Companies

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Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (controlled by Loew's Incorporated)

Distributors

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Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1953) (United States) (theatrical) (controlled by Loew's Incorporated)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1953) (Canada) (theatrical)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1953) (United Kingdom) (theatrical)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (1953) (Australia) (theatrical)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer A/B (1953) (Sweden) (theatrical)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1954) (Norway) (theatrical)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (1954) (Austria) (theatrical)
MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1986) (United States) (VHS)
MGM Home Entertainment (1992) (United States) (VHS)
Warner Home Video (2007) (United States) (DVD) (included in the "TCM Spotlight: Esther Williams, Volume 1" collection)
HBO Max (2020) (United States) (video) (VOD)

Special Effects

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Other Companies

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MGM Cartoon Studio (Tom and Jerry animation sequence)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (Tom and Jerry animation sequence)
Quimby-Hanna/Barbera (Tom and Jerry animation sequence)

Storyline

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Plot Summary	The health conscious, dairy-farming Higgins family begin each day with an invigorating swim. One day, traveling health-tonic salesman, Windy Weebe, comes to town and suggests they could swim the English Channel. Sponsored by "Liquapep" and coached by Windy, the family arrive in Europe. There it is decided that daughter Katie is the only one strong enough to enter the contest. But while she should be focused on the difficult and risky task ahead, Katie is pursed by dashing Frenchman, André Lanet... This comedic musical is well remembered for the scene when Katie dreams she is swimming with cartoon characters Tom & Jerry! Written by L. Hamre Plot Summary
Plot Keywords	combined-animation-and-live-action distance-swimmer fitness tom-the-cat-character jerry-the-mouse-character See All (147) »
Taglines	MGM's splashy Technicolor musical! See more »
Genres	Comedy Musical Romance
Parents Guide	View content advisory »
Certification	Australia:PG Finland:S France:Tous publics Norway:A Sweden:Btl United Kingdom:U United States:Approved West Germany:6 (nf)

Additional Details

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Also Known As	Traversons La Manche (France) Mojada y peligrosa (Spain) Salve a Campeã (Brazil) Die Wasserprinzessin (Austria) Traversons La Manche (Canada, French title) See more »
Runtime	95 min
Country	United States
Language	English French
Color	Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio	1.37 : 1 See more »
Sound Mix	Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Filming Locations	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA See more »

Did You Know?

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Trivia	Lead actress, Esther Williams married her leading man, Fernando Lamas 16 years after Dangerous When Wet (1953) was filmed in Europe in 1967, and remained so until Lamas's death in 1982. Esther Williams was married to her second (of four husbands), Ben Gage, while this film was in production. See more »
Goofs	During the cartoon sequence, the background changes suddenly when the octopus grabs Katie by the ankles. See more »
Movie Connections	Featured in That's Entertainment! (1974). See more »
Soundtracks	I Got Out Of Bed on the Right Side See more »
Crazy Credits	During the opening and closing scenes in the fish aquarium, you might notice the fish swim behind and in front of the film credits. See more »
Quotes	Katie Higgins: [shouting through the fog] Windy. Windy! Windy Weebe: Katie, where are you? Katie Higgins: I'm on a yacht. With a Frenchman. Windy Weebe: A Frenchman? Oh, no! See more »

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