Dorathen Better Late Then Never

Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Roy Hart If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

utgard14 Esther Williams plays a swimming teacher who marries a rich guy after a whirlwind courtship. But he abandons her on their honeymoon to go tend to business matters, leaving her to fall in love with soldier Van Johnson. Lackluster vehicle for Esther and Van. Esther in Technicolor is radiant, as always. The scenes of her in a bathing suit are among the film's highlights. Van does fine with a role he could sleepwalk through. The nice supporting cast includes Spring Byington, Henry Travers, and Frances Gifford. Carleton G. Young plays the reptilian-looking husband. There was something off-putting about this guy from the first time I saw him. He really crept me out. The romance is tepid and I often found myself waiting for the next musical number, some of which are by Tommy Dorsey's orchestra (which I like) and others are opera (which I didn't like). See it for Esther or the music, if you must, but keep expectations low. It's pretty forgettable and corny.

Neil Doyle MGM could always depend on an ESTHER WILLIAMS movie to be breezy fun for movie fans who wanted escapism during the '40s in the form of light entertainment. And that's what they get here. VAN JOHNSON, a war hero she meets at a mountain resort, is her romantic interest and occasional swimming partner while her husband, CARLTON G. YOUNG, is neglecting her by performing his business duties.And, of course, you have to have music in an Esther Williams movie. So, they have LAURITZ MELCHIOR, the chubby tenor from the Met, serving as a sort of S.Z. Sakall type providing gentle humor and suave charm in between some robust songs. Then they have TOMMY DORSEY and his Orchestra for fans of contemporary music with Buddy Rich beating on the drums.The other standard ingredient is lush Technicolor that makes the most of some stunning scenery as well as some gorgeous shots of Esther in various swimming suits doing her thing in a pool of Olympic proportions. She also looks good on land in a series of smart outfits.The weakness is a thin story that needs all the padding it gets. But for Esther Williams/Van Johnson fans, this had all the standard ingredients they looked for in this sort of musical.

oakyal Van Johnson and Esther Williams at their loveliest. Wonderful music throughout. A delightful picture for anyone who has ever been or hopes to be in love. We have beautiful Esther Williams swimming and diving. We have Van Johnson sincere and radiant. We have Melchior in fine classical voice, Tommy Dorsey playing Grieg on the trombone (!) along with other classic Dorsey hits. And a couple of new songs. The movie mostly takes place in a resort with Olympic swimming pool and a sound-stage with a view over Yosemite Valley. It's all very light, but let yourself be carried away, and it will steal your heart.

raskimono A serious issue about the issues of wealth, marriage and happiness are subterfuged in this Joe Pasternak confection. Joe Pasternak for his low ambitions with his movies liked Opera and serious classical composition; or maybe he just liked using it in his movies. Anyway, Melchior provides both comic relief and the opera singing and like Dean Martin in those movies, he slows the movie down and you have to wonder that the movie would be better without him. The movie raises serious issues and refuses to really address them; leaving poor Van and Esther without the opportunity to flex their acting chops. A big hit in the year of 1945, but you have to wonder why the filmakers did not try harder. Anyway, as entertainment, an A but as an enduring movie, a D.