Dangerous When Wet (1953)

While peddling his health tonic across the country, a sales representative (Jack Carson) discovers a robust farm girl (Esther Williams) and talks his company into sponsoring her entry in a swimming race across the English channel. One of the better aquatic film vehicles of Williams' career, I watched it today in memory of her passing. The film personifies everything about her that made her a popular star. She sings a little, she acts a little, she has lots of sass and a strong screen presence and, of course, she swims like a mermaid. One would have to work awfully hard not to like her. The songs by Arthur Schwartz and Johnny Mercer aren't anything to right home about but they serve their purpose. The highlight of the film is probably the animated Tom and Jerry sequence where the pair swim with Williams. Fernando Lamas is Williams' romantic interest (she'd marry him 16 years later). Directed by Charles Walters (EASTER PARADE). With Denise Darcel, William Demarest, Charlotte Greenwood, Barbara Whiting, Ann Codee and Donna Corcoran.