Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Esther Williams has 33 roles to her credit in film and TV, but she’s best known to movie buffs for her swimming extravaganzas made for MGM including Neptune’s Daughter, Dangerous When Wet, Jupiter’s Darling and the newly released on Blu-ray Million Dollar Mermaid. The film tells the story of Annette Kellerman, a real swimmer from Australia who overcame a childhood affliction that required her to wear leg braces (what the affliction is is not clearly spelled out) and went on to become a championship swimmer as a teenager. After being forced to leave their home for better financial opportunities in London, the learn the opportunity her father had is no longer available due to the same economic crisis they fled. But on the voyage to England, the Kellermans met James Sullivan, a showman (okay, carnival sideshow showman) who believes Annette can make a big splash in the United States after London proves to be a bust. Sullivan tries to get Annette booked at the famed Hippodrome, which has a huge water tank, but the manager of the place, Alfred Harper (David Brian), isn’t interested. It’s not until Annette causes a scandal on a beach in her shocking one-piece swimsuit, which lands her in court for indecency, that people begin to take notice, especially after she agrees to swim in a tightly fitted, full-body swimsuit. The sideshow is a hit, but as Annette and James begin to fall in love, her new career path puts them at odds, leading to the pair to split for a time. Annette becomes a sensation at the Hippodrome, and is called to Hollywood to star in the film Neptune’s Daughter. But a tragedy occurs that puts Annette’s life and career in jeopardy.
REVIEW
As a biopic, Million Dollar Mermaid takes more liberties with Kellerman’s story than one would expect (but being made in an era before you could Google everything, movie audiences really had no idea who the long-forgotten Kellerman was even though she had actually made many films during the silent era (only one of which survives today). Researching Kellerman today, the film is more fiction than fact. The movie suggests she only made the one film (she made twelve features and appeared in nine shorts as herself), and invents the romance with Hippodrome manager Harper (Kellerman married Sullivan in 1912 and enjoyed 63 years together until his death), and portrays Sullivan as the man who brought Rin Tin Tin to Hollywood (there was no connection between Sullivan and the dog star in real life), and puts him in a competition to fly across the United States in a rickety old plane that nearly takes his life (and that does not appear to have happened either). The film’s title is never really addressed either, perhaps just alluding to her being a swimmer and a success at the Hippodrome, but in reality Kellerman starred in the first million dollar film, and was the first swimmer to swim in a mermaid suit. The film also feels a bit choppy in its depiction of Kellerman’s father, who goes from adamantly against her performing professionally to her biggest supporter, then seems to suffer some sort of health condition in one scene that’s never addressed in the next, leading the viewer to belief that he’s about to drop dead any moment (he lasts quite a long time after their arrival in New York). The film also promises some spectacular Busby Berkeley swimming scenes but it’s almost 63 minutes into the movie before Kellerman’s Hippodrome show makes its debut, and then it’s all crammed into one section of the film, including a montage from Williams’ other films!
Where the film succeeds is with Williams’ earnest portrayal of Kelleman, fictional though it may be. Williams brought the story to MGM, and she took great care in her portrayal, even meeting Kellerman who thought Williams was lovely but far to pretty to play her (she was also disappointed with the miscasting of Mature as her husband, but that’s what you get with a Hollywood film). When we finally get to the big number at the Hippodrome, it is quite spectacular with its vibrantly colored smoke, costumes and sprinklers, and one wishes Cinemascope had been invented prior to the film’s production (the process arrived a couple of years later). It would have been nice if the film had focused more on Kellerman’s swimming on stage and screen than it did with the manufactured drama of her life. Pidgeon gives a nice performance as her father, but Mature’s characterization of Sullivan is a bit bracing and you wonder how Annette ever fell in love with the guy, who seemed to treat her more as a trained seal than a star performer. Future Maytag Repairman Jesse White livens things up as Sullivan’s assistant, who then has to act as a go-between when the couple hit the rocks. Overall, it’s not a terrible movie but it could have benefited from more swimming and less talking.
VIDEO
The video presentation of Million Dollar Mermaid looks wonderful, taken from a new 4K scan of the original Technicolor negative. Any instances of wear and tear, dust or scratches have been removed, and the image retains an authentic film-like quality, and retains the original 1.37:1, 4×3 aspect ratio so you will see black bars on the left and right side of your screen. The colors of the red and yellow smoke used during the water ballet sequence really pop, but the pastels of Williams’ costumes look lovely as well, with the textures of the textiles clearly visible. Skin tones are a bit more vibrant than normal, but that’s what you get in a Technicolor extravaganza. Overall, it’s a very nice presentation.
AUDIO
The DTS HD-Master mono audio sound fine with everything including dialogue, music and sound effects front and center, but the dialogue is never over-powered. It’s an accurate representation of the original film’s soundtrack, but it won’t be something to show off your home theater sound system.
SPECIAL FEATURES
- Vintage Pete Smith Specialty short ‘Reducing’ (8:23) – Seen today, this is quite an offensive ‘comedy’ short about an overweight woman doing all she can to lose weight while faced with temptations like a box of candy. Yikes!
- The Wise Little Quacker (7:08) – A Tom & Jerry cartoon short.
- Audio Only Bonus Radio Show with Esther Williams and Walter Pidgeon
- Theatrical Trailer (1:11)
OVERVIEW
Million Dollar Mermaid may not be the best of the Esther Williams movies for MGM (I prefer Dangerous When Wet) but it’s entertaining enough if you don’t come into it expecting one big swimming extravaganza after another. Williams is lovely and her performance is engaging enough to keep you interested until she finally does start swimming.
The Warner Archive Blu-ray is an admirable attempt at making this film look probably better than it has in many years, but it will probably appeal more to fans of Williams and collectors of classic films than most general audiences.
Warner Archive generously provided Hotchka with the Blu-ray for reviewing purposes.
Million Dollar Mermaid has a running time of 1 hour 50 minutes and is not rated.
Million Dollar Mermaid (1952) – HD Clip
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
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