The idea of putting swimming star Esther Williams in a biography of champion Australian swimmer Annette Kellerman must have seemed like a can't-miss concept for a splashy matinée item which would pay-off no matter what the outcome. Unfortunately, the concept itself is underused, as Williams performs in a handful of extravagant water routines but does very little dramatic acting. Producer Arthur Hornblow Jr. and the requisite MGM brass do not appear to have any inspiration that goes beyond the standard glitz and glamour (the script being somewhat expendable). That's too bad, for Kellerman's life story had aspects of both high drama and nostalgic value (being the first woman to wear a one-piece swimsuit on America's shores!). Mervyn LeRoy's direction is quite capable, and Williams is amiable, however Busby Berkeley's lavish, gaudy production numbers are what most people end up remembering. **1/2 from ****

Entertaining biopic of Annette Kellerman, an Australian swimmer turned vaudeville and early Hollywood star. Esther Williams is a natural fit for the role and does a fine job. Of course, it's an old-school Hollywood biopic so there's more fiction than fact in their telling of Kellerman's story. That sort of thing never really bothers me but it does some so be advised ahead of time this isn't a documentary. Esther is lovely as ever and has some excellent aquatic numbers choreographed by the great Busby Berkeley. A couple of these numbers are classics that every Esther fan will want to see. The rest of the cast, including Walter Pidgeon, Victor Mature, and Jesse White, is solid. The only problems are that the movie is overlong and the romance with Mature is less than exciting. But it's Esther Williams swimming in Technicolor and that definitely needs to be the headline.

One of the best of the film series featuring Esther Williams' swimming talents, that usually included some choreographed 'water ballets'. It has one of the better screen plays for her films, being a tribute to the first international swimming star: Australian-bred Annette Kellerman. No doubt, much of the screen play is quite fictionalized. This is probably especially true of the details of Annette's relationship with her promoter and future husband , American James Sullivan, played by familiar leading man Victor Mature.Although most identified with his several roles in biblical-oriented films or ancient Egyptians, Mature had been paired with some of Hollywood's most glamorous ladies in musicals or romantic dramas for more than a decade, yet was still quite handsome, cocky, and personable, at age 40. Sullivan's participation in a race across the US in a very primitive plane is probably as fictional as his supposed promotion of the German shepherd Rin Tin Tin as a potential Hollywood star....David Brian serves as Sullivan's faithful partner(Alfred) in his various oddball enterprises and world travelings. Walter Pigeon plays Annette's father, who decides to move to the UK, where Annette gains further notoriety in her swimming feats. The real Annette made 3 unsuccessful attempts to become the first woman to swim the difficult English Channel. Donna Corcoran plays Annette as a girl, whose legs are weak from polio and thus she has been encouraged to swim much to strengthen her legs, which eventually fully recover. After consulting several sources, it's still unclear to me if polio was the actual cause of her problem. The polio scare was at its height around the time this film was made, shortly before an effective vaccine became widely available. When Annette was a girl, polio was a much less common cause of muscular paralysis in children, infants being much more commonly affected, and often dying.The film dramatizes Annette's trial for indecent exposure in wearing her customized one piece form-fitting bathing suit on a beach near Boston. She thereafter became noteworthy in serving as a model for the evolution of modern women's beach/swimming attire. Later, she starred in a series of Hollywood silent films, one of which featured her quite nude at times: a first in Hollywood films, but not mentioned in this film. The film ends with Annette in a hospital, trying to recuperate from an incident in which she was propelled through a glass viewing section of a swimming tank, after the glass gave way, seriously injuring her spine. This is based on a true incident. However, it happened in Bermuda, not while making a Hollywood film. Also, the problem wasn't a spinal injury, but severe lacerations from the jagged glass. Interestingly, while making his film, Esther suffered a very severe injury in a broken neck from a high dive, necessitating a long delay in finishing the film. Thus, the nature of the reported injury and its circumstances much more resembled Esther's injury than Annette's. There are, of course, several spectacular 'water ballet' segments, appropriately choreographed by Busby Berkley, in one of his last such roles, having been most active in this regard in the '30s. Included are some signature overhead kaleidoscopic shots... Esther looks quite stunning in all of her outfits, in or out of the water.Present for one performance is Maria Tallchief,as Pavlova: world famous traditional ballet dancer. Maria was, in fact, acknowledged to be such: unexpected for the daughter of an Osage Native American!Various familiar period or classical music pieces are played as background music. "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" is periodically heard or sung, serving as the theme song. There is a formulistic rocky period in the Annette-Sullivan relationship, when she has a well-established high class suitor, in contrast to Sullivan's romantic wandering seat-of-the-pants persona.

Wonderful film exhibiting the talents of Esther Williams portraying swimming Annette Kellerman at the turn of the 20th century.The water sequences were never lovelier and the story of Kellerman, who overcame adversity as a young child, was remarkable.Victor Mature is in fine form as her promoter and eventual lover, Frank Sullivan. Jesse White brings his comic relief as Sullivan's side-kick and Walter Pidgeon is endearing as her father.Coming from Australia to star in the Hippidrome and other features, Kellerman exhibited outstanding talent in her swimming career while at the same time trying to maintain her dream of being a ballerina. Ballet star Maria Tallchief brief appears as the legendary Pavlova in the film.When professional differences end her romance with Sullivan, Kellerman really makes it on her own thanks to the help of David Brian, as the head of the Hippidrome.While the tragic accident she had while making "Neptune's Daughter" in Hollywood almost cost her her life, it brings on a wonderful moving ending.This is a highly entertaining film.