Dangerous When Wet
MGM, 1953, Color, 95 minutes, **½
General Release July, 1953
One of Esther's weaker vehicles, but it's still fun. She plays a champion swimmer who attempts to swim the English Channel. Charlotte Greenwood gets to do her leg-kicking dance thing, and Barbara Whiting stops the show with "I Like Men." Esther swims with MGM animated stars Tom and Jerry.
Produced by: George Wells
Directed by: Charles Walters
Assistant Director: Sid Sidman
Written by: Dorothy Kingsley
Music by: Arthur Schwartz
Lyrics by: Johnny Mercer
Musical Direction: Georgie Stoll
Musical Numbers Staged by: Charles Walters and Billy Daniel
Orchestrations by: Skip Martin
Art Directors: Cedric Gibbons and Jack Martin Smith
Set Decorations: Edwin B. Willis, Emile Kuri
Costumes Designed by: Helen Rose
Hair Styles by: Sydney Guilaroff
Make-Up Created by: William Tuttle
Recording Supervisor: Douglas Shearer
Special Effects: Irving G. Ries
Tom and Jerry Cartoon Sequence by: Fred Quimby, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera
Montage Sequence by: Peter Ballbusch
Color by: Technicolor
Technicolor Color Consultant: Henri Jaffa
Color Consultant: Alvord Eiseman
Director of Photography: Harold Rosson
Film Editor: John McSweeney, Jr.
Cast: Esther Williams [Katy Higgins], Fernando Lamas [Andre Lanet], Jack Carson [Windy Webbe], 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], Additional Cast: Michael Dugan [Ad Lib], Roger Moore [Reporter], Reginald Simpson [Reporter], John McKee [Photographer], Arthur Gould-Porter [English Steward], Eugene Borden [French Mayor], Aminta Dyne [English Woman Guest], James Fairfax [English Cab Driver], Molly Glessing [English Waitress], Patrick O'Moore [Bob Gerrard], Jimmy Aubrey [Bartender]
Musical Program: [0:00] Overture: "I Got out of Bed on the Right Side"; [0:02] I Got out of Bed on the Right Side (sung by William Demarest, Charlotte Greenwood, Esther Williams, Barbara Whiting and Donna Corcoran; instrumental arrangement swum by Esther Williams); [0:06] Liquapep (excerpt played through loudspeaker on truck); [0:09] Liquapep (sung by Jack Carson with recording at health rally); [0:11] I Like Men (sung and danced by Barbara Whiting with four musicians); [0:26] I Got out of Bed on the Right Side (reprised by William Demarest, Charlotte Greenwood, Esther Williams, Barbara Whiting and Donna Corcoran as they march down to the English Channel for training); [0:44] In My Wildest Dreams (sung by Fernando Lamas); [0:57] Tom and Jerry sequence (Esther Williams swims with Tom and Jerry in a mixed live-action / animated sequence; music used includes an instrumental arrangement of "I Got out of Bed on the Right Side" with vocals by various sea creatures, and underwater gurgling renditions of "In My Wildest Dreams"); [1:12] Ain't Nature Grand (sung by Fernando Lamas and Esther Williams; then sung by Barbara Whiting; then sung by Denise Darcel and Jack Carson; then sung by Charlotte Greenwood and William Demarest, Demarest does a few dance taps, Charlotte dances her famous leg-kicking dance at age 63!); [1:18] Esther and Fernando swim to an instrumental reprise of "Ain't Nature Grand"; [1:35] I Got out of Bed on the Right Side (sung by the Company)
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