Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

HottWwjdIam There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.

Tobias Burrows It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

dougdoepke The critic Leonard Maltin called this film's script "silly". So what did he expect from a Red Skelton-based comedy. After all, this is not Gone with the Wind (1939). Actually the script is quite amusing, with a promising premise—a guy (Skelton) gets into an all girls' school on a technicality so he can pursue his lady love (Williams). This allows for all sorts of opportunities for Red's brand of amusing set-ups, which he exploits to the fullest. I particularly like his pantomime of how a woman gets dressed in the morning. And get a load of the sounds of that ditzy organ player—they're like nothing I've ever heard.It really is Skelton's movie since he's in most every scene except for the poolside grand finale. I'd like to have been in on the production meetings where the honchos decided to promote this as a Williams movie instead. I suppose they realized she and her swimsuit had more than novelty act potential. After all, what other Hollywood star actually started and monopolized an entire movie genre the way Williams did with her "aqua-musicals". In fact, their popularity continued for about 10-years. Then too, not only could she play a great sexy mermaid, but she's also a good light actress as the movie shows. Anyhow, it's hard to beat this Technicolor extravaganza for sheer visual feast.I suppose my only misgiving is that they're two premier bands (James & Cugat) in addition to the other acts, which means that neither gets enough playtime. One of them should have been dropped. Anyhow. in my view, Maltin needs a refresher course on the essentials of musical comedy and why silliness is sometimes a virtue.

bkoganbing The swimming routines of Esther Williams and the comedy of Red Skelton are timeless which is why Esther's debut as a star can be seen hundreds of years from now and not lose any entertainment value. Of course an appreciation of swing music and Latin music does help.Bathing Beauty which is certainly an appropriate title for Esther's first starring role has Red and Esther as newly minted newlyweds when some woman objects to the wedding saying she's already Red's wife.Red's a writer of swing music and his publisher Basil Rathbone deliberately arranged that incident to break up the marriage so Red can deliver some special material. However the minister beat out the objection with his 'I now pronounce you man and wife' so they are married, but Esther will get that annulled. But not if Red can help it. She goes back to her old job teaching at an all girl's college which Red enrolls at as a student to be near her to plead his case. At this point the rather thin plot is just a frame for the various routines and numbers done by the stars and with guest performers like Harry James and his Orchestra, Xavier Cugat and his Orchestra and the famous Tico Tico girl Ethel Smith doing, what else Tico Tico on the organ. Also orchestra vocalists Helen Forrest with James and Lina Romay with Cugat have some good numbers.Basil Rathbone taking time off from playing Sherlock Holmes hams it up to beat both those featured bands in his role as the comic villain of the piece. Red does his usual clowning and is an adept musical performer in a swing version of Loch Lomond.But this film is strictly Esther and her final water ballet sequence was the first of many making use of that special tank MGM built for this very special star.You could remake this film today, but where would you ever come up with another Esther Williams or Red Skelton?

moonspinner55 Red Skelton doesn't have to pander exhaustedly to an audience's collective funny bone for big laughs: his smudgy, rubbery face and double takes are amusing even when taken out of the screwball format. Here, director George Sidney has Skelton doing a ballet number complete with tutu, outwitting a Great Dane while dressed in drag, and mugging outrageously in a pantomime bit poking fun at a lady's morning ritual. All this while a reedy-thin plot--about a lovestruck man following his would-be wife to an all-girl college--plays out absentmindedly, with much of the emphasis on live bands, Latin American rhythms, singing and dancing, and organ music. There's also Esther Williams in and out of the swimming pool; her first major movie role as Skelton's true love was probably meant to show off her girlish pluck, yet she treats Red so poorly, he seems better off without her. Skelton, whose tight smile and worried little grimaces remind one of Robin Williams in his youth, is such an ingratiating presence that one can almost overlook the nastiness behind the narrative--that the entire faculty is against having him at the school and is conspiring to throw him out. The music helps plug up the holes, and the color production shimmers with that unmistakable 1940s glamor, but there are very few laughs here. *1/2 from ****

Neil Doyle BATHING BEAUTY offers lots of eye candy and a couple of hilarious RED SKELTON routines proving he's a master at physical comedy. The musical interludes are on the dull side and don't give strong enough material to Ethel Smith (at the organ), Harry James, Xavier Cugat and Carlos Ramirez--a Latin tenor with a strong voice but no charisma.The slender plot is the usual misunderstanding that occurs in these type of ESTHER WILLIAMS movies. She thinks her newly wed hubby (Red) is the father of three boys, thanks to a practical joke played by BASIL RATHBONE (who looks as if he'd rather be elsewhere in a thankless role). She tries throughout the film to get Red dismissed from the all girl college he enters just to be near her. The highlight of the film is Red's bashful entrance into a class of ballerinas, clad in pink tutu and ballet slippers--all the while being slapped around by a ruthless instructor and going through ballet paces with hilarious results.The supporting cast is largely wasted--including Bill Goodwin, Margaret Dumont and Janis Paige in a brief role. Jean Porter gets to do more than usual and even has a song and dance number with Red. The water ballet at the finale is nicely done in typical MGM manner but not as ostentatious as usual for an Esther Williams film. This was her debut as a leading lady and she has lots of confidence and poise, both in and out of the water. In fact, it's one of her better performances--but the spotlight belongs to Red Skelton who deserves his top billing.