I love Esther Williams and Van Johnson who are paired remarkably well in this romantic comedy. Keenan Wynn plays Warren Haggerty a newspaper man on the cusp of saying "I do" to Lucille Ball's character Gladys Benton. In fact there have been several starts and stops for these two, once their ceremony was interrupted by the necessity to report a hurricane. This time their ceremony is called to a halt thanks to a $2 million libel suit being brought against the paper by J. B. Allenbury on behalf of his daughter and heiress Connie, played by Esther Williams. Warren comes up with a brilliant scheme to save the paper for his boss, he has to find and hire a former writer for the paper...the infamous ladies man Bill Stevens Chandler, played by Van Johnson. The plan is to provide Bill with a wife, on paper, and have him seduce Connie, who is currently down in Mexico...so they can claim what the paper printed wasn't libel, Heiress Connie breaks up a marriage. First they need a "wife", thankfully they have Gladys..and then Bill has to brush up on duck hunting in order to impress Connie's father J. B.
Esther Williams is gorgeous as Connie and she gets the opportunity to show off both her figure and her swimming skills in this film. She and Van Johnson make a striking couple, showing off their vitality and exceptional good health both in and out of the pool.
But for me the fun lay with Lucille Ball, particularly in scenes like the one where Van Johnson's character Bill is trying to perfect his "duck call". In fact my favorite comedic scene is Bill trying to fake duck hunting for the first time...with the cutest and most pathetic hunting dog I have ever seen. I do love how he retrieves the beginners guide to duck hunting book for him!
Colorful, convoluted, and charmingly funny...there is a melancholy moment towards the end where you have a lot of empathy for Gladys, but overall this is a fun and classic romantic comedy that I recommend to fans of the genre. There is the most exuberant and joyful organ solo in this film that some may enjoy...but I thought went on a little too long.
Esther Williams is gorgeous as Connie and she gets the opportunity to show off both her figure and her swimming skills in this film. She and Van Johnson make a striking couple, showing off their vitality and exceptional good health both in and out of the pool.
But for me the fun lay with Lucille Ball, particularly in scenes like the one where Van Johnson's character Bill is trying to perfect his "duck call". In fact my favorite comedic scene is Bill trying to fake duck hunting for the first time...with the cutest and most pathetic hunting dog I have ever seen. I do love how he retrieves the beginners guide to duck hunting book for him!
Colorful, convoluted, and charmingly funny...there is a melancholy moment towards the end where you have a lot of empathy for Gladys, but overall this is a fun and classic romantic comedy that I recommend to fans of the genre. There is the most exuberant and joyful organ solo in this film that some may enjoy...but I thought went on a little too long.