ptb-8
This is a terrible musical in a decade of great ones. It is absolutely dull. Somewhow this Wac- wave/recruitment drivel must have been plonked on the MGM conveyor belt excused by the Korean War as some sort of patriotic gesture. Maybe a female version of the Kelly sailor musicals was in mind but it has nothing to do with anything and has no pizzaz. Not even pizzas. Vivian Blaine does her Ms Adelaide stuff seen to better effect in Guys and Dolls, Debbie Reynolds appears for a second to zap the audience awake and Esther Williams is dulled into battleship gray. Billy Ecstein yawns his way through some sort of faux Lena Horne spot. MGM must have needed a tax write off in 1952, because there is no possible reason why this dull jigsaw puzzle of navy romantic antics could possibly exist... and MGM could make it on the back lot with existing props and costumes. Even Barry Sullivan behaves like J Carroll Naish. I really struggled though most of this... so just go to bed happy if this comes on, I have saved you the trouble of being annoyed by it.
f111151
Something that was widely reported in the Black press at the time of this films release was the fact that popular singer Billy Eckstine was told by the MGM brass not to look directly at Ms. Williams when he performed his number in the film. I was told this by a number of people who remembered it causing something of a sensation at the time in the Black community. This is one of the very few times that Mr. Eckstine was to appear on film at all, much less in a major Hollywood film. It just points up the irony the many black performers faced when appearing in film made by the Hollywood major studios. Mr Eckstine was never again to my knowledge appear in a major film, although he appeared a great deal on television. An interesting side note, his wife June was to have a major supporting role in "Band of Angels" about three years later.
donsshows
this movie was a disaster.the plot if there was one was pathetic. considering that many name stars were in this film it is amazing that it could be done so poorly.if boot camp were this easy we would lose all future wars. do yourself a favor don't watch this or your review might be worse than mine. to call this movie bad would be too polite.
marcslope
Esther Williams is top-billed and dripping-wet as usual (an underwater ballet with two cloying kiddies is especially hard to take), but the truly frightening presence here is that of Vivian Blaine, fast on the heels of her Broadway triumph in "Guys and Dolls." She had been a likeable but unremarkable singer at 20th in the 40s, then "G&D" gave her a new persona in the character of Adelaide, the adenoidal, Brooklynese nightclub dancer. Here she's Adelaide in all but name, and her rambunctiousness makes Betty Hutton look timid. Her overemphatic line readings and hoydenishness quickly become wearing, but you don't forget her.Esther, who sang acceptably and had a nice comic sense in addition to her aquatic gifts, is a gracious presence and has more to act than usual. Here she's a headstrong rich girl who learns humility--not exactly a fresh idea, but it's spun out gracefully by screenwriter Isobel Lennart, and given some appealing feminist filigrees. The songs are OK, second-lead Joan Evans is dull, and the nearly two-hour running time feels padded out, especially with a couple of specialty numbers thrown in. But it's a decent Technicolor time-passer, with all that postwar Hollywood patriotism that seems to be coming back in vogue.
AD
