Abandon all hope ye who enter here. Hope of a meaningful or interesting story, that is. The film starts out as a typical vehicle for Esther Williams to swim and dive through. I am a fan of hers, and I would have been content with that. Immediately, though, the film has her getting married to an unromantic businessman who is no more a leading man than Robert Q. Lewis. Gee, I wonder where this is going? They go to a resort for their honeymoon and he immediately leaves for a business meeting on the east coast, leaving poor Esther all alone with nothing to do, except maybe meet the GI (Van Johnson) who has the room (and balcony) next to hers. There is no point in describing the rest of the plot. It is interrupted every minute or so by a "comedy" bit or a musical number.
My advice is to ignore the plot and just watch the film for the musical numbers (and the occasional shots of the glorious Ms. Williams that are in focus). Unfortunately the musical interludes are often abbreviated. But there are many of them.
Enjoy Tommy Dorsey and his band. They somehow pop up everywhere. Buddy Rich delivers a killer drum solo that--though it is brief--shows why he was the best.
15-year-old Helene Stanley portrays Dorsey's daughter Susan, who plays piano and sings with some serious chops. Too bad they did not let her play more jive. (Interesting fact: later, she would marry Johnny Stompanato.)
A young boy named Jerry Scott sings "Please Don't Say No (Say Maybe)" for just a few bars before they cut him off and have him sing the less enjoyable "Because". (Apparently this would be Jerry's only film appearance.)
Lauritz Melchoir displays his serious operatic talents in four or five musical numbers.
The plot is sappy, silly and requires no acting skills. Jettison any concern for it and you can enjoy the musical treats of Thrill of a Romance. In wartime USA, I am sure the GIs overseas loved this piece of fluff. And in their absence, American women somehow found Van Johnson appealing. But some of the gushing reviews for this film on IMDb are, I feel, unfathomable.
My advice is to ignore the plot and just watch the film for the musical numbers (and the occasional shots of the glorious Ms. Williams that are in focus). Unfortunately the musical interludes are often abbreviated. But there are many of them.
Enjoy Tommy Dorsey and his band. They somehow pop up everywhere. Buddy Rich delivers a killer drum solo that--though it is brief--shows why he was the best.
15-year-old Helene Stanley portrays Dorsey's daughter Susan, who plays piano and sings with some serious chops. Too bad they did not let her play more jive. (Interesting fact: later, she would marry Johnny Stompanato.)
A young boy named Jerry Scott sings "Please Don't Say No (Say Maybe)" for just a few bars before they cut him off and have him sing the less enjoyable "Because". (Apparently this would be Jerry's only film appearance.)
Lauritz Melchoir displays his serious operatic talents in four or five musical numbers.
The plot is sappy, silly and requires no acting skills. Jettison any concern for it and you can enjoy the musical treats of Thrill of a Romance. In wartime USA, I am sure the GIs overseas loved this piece of fluff. And in their absence, American women somehow found Van Johnson appealing. But some of the gushing reviews for this film on IMDb are, I feel, unfathomable.