atlasmb Unless someone tells you in advance that "Jupiter's Darling" is a spoof, you may be like me and wonder through the first part of the film exactly what you are watching. I thought it was a badly made "serious" musical. And I wonder if calling it a "spoof" forgives a film for its bad elements? Bad dancing. Stilted lyrics. Questionable artistic choices. Awkward moments. The beginning of this film is plagued with them. Once you take the film to be a spoof, some of them can be forgiven--IF you are sure that the silliness is intentional. I am not sure all of it is.When Esther Williams sings "I Had a Dream", you might be surprised to hear her sing. I was. Then I learned that it was dubbed by Jo Ann Greer. Good choice of singer, because it sounds like Esther's voice. Note that she sings while swimming. That's a little awkward. And then the number turns (appropriately) into a dream sequence. Even if you find the film less than excellent, it's a number that is interesting--filmed to give the illusion that it was done without coming up for air.Howard Keel, as Hannibal, is the romantic interest. He lends his booming voice to some silly lyrics. I had the recurring impression I was listening to The Grinch.Another interesting thing: the opening line of one song ("Don't Let This Night Get Away") sounded remarkably like the opening line of "A Woman in Love" from "Guys and Dolls", released the same year.Besides the underwater dance sequence I mentioned, there is another that is worth seeing for its uniqueness. Marge and Gower Champion sing "The Life of an Elephant" while dancing among elephants that perform tricks. Both sequences must have been tedious to film.One element that that I found superior throughout was the costuming.

weezeralfalfa Featuring two then top stars in yet another 'battle of the sexes' musical, which Keel had done, in quite different settings, with Betty Hutton, Doris Day, Jane Powell, and a couple times with Kathryn Grayson(the ones I'm familiar with). I'm quite surprised how obscure this film has become. I wasn't aware of its existence until seeing it on TCM today. Here, an attempt is made to amalgamate Keel's recent style of musicals with Esther's swimming forte, and the then popular Hollywood format of lavish productions sited in the ancient classical world. On the whole, I think it was rather successful , despite the lack of any memorable songs. At least, it was more entertaining than most of the 'straight' ancient spectaculars, although actual battle scenes were minimal Amazing to realize this was the third film pairing of Keel and Esther, although the first in 4 years. None of them have garnered an IMDb mean rating above 6.0, and all are mired in obscurity today. The styles and settings of these 3 films couldn't be more different. I rated "Pagan Love Song" well above average, featuring Keel much more than Esther. The lower -rated "Texas Carnival" actually more belongs to the supporting actors: Red Skelton and Anne Miller. With full beard to enhance his supermasculine image, the tall robust Keel seems like he had just stepped out from a take of "Kiss Me Kate", in which he plays an often bombastic tamer of a notorious shrewish medieval maiden(Grayson's character). As in this former film, Keel's interactions with Esther's character, Amytis, vacillate from threats or attempts to kill her to a desire to make love to her. This makes for quite a stormy and unpredictable twosome, once these 2 meet, which doesn't happen until well into the film. Esther even sometimes sports reddish hair, in mimicry of Grayson's dyed reddish hair during her role as a shrew. Meanwhile, we have hordes of soldiers and war elephants ,marching around, threatening to destroy Rome, after several victorious battles. Keel sings his alliterative 'Victory March', at the head of his marching troops. At times, the elephants enhance a circus-like atmosphere. For example, in the segment where Gower and Marge Champion, as a subsidiary romantic couple, tease each other, and sing and dance a bit in the presence of several elephants. Also, near the end, we have a string of elephants, each painted a different color. Amytis(Esther) sees it as her role to try to seduce Hannibal and convince him that he really doesn't want to destroy Rome. You see, she's betrothed to General Fabius Maximus(George Sanders), Hannibal's main opponent. Fabius is characterized as more cultured than the barbaric Hannibal, but also decidedly a less sexy catch to Amytis. Thus, the final deal is to exchange Amytis for Hannibal's guarantee not to destroy Rome(no historical basis). Yes, a very unlikely agreement, given the historic Hannibal's extreme hatred for Rome and vice versa.Esther's big 'solo' scene has her cavorting with a bevy of marble male statues around a pool, which represent the physical form of her ideal lover, while singing(dubbed) "I Had a Dream". This is followed by an extended playtime in the pool, which also contains a variety of underwater male and cherub statues, which eventual 'come alive' to cavort with her. Quite a sophisticated production, which can currently be seen at YouTube. I still find it amazing that such water ballets could be done looking like they never had to surface.It may interest you that, once again, Esther's left eardrum ruptured during filming: a recurring problem in her films. From then on, she had to wear a plastic prosthesis covering her nose and ears during her water scenes. Also, she refused to be on the horse when it galloped off a high cliff, into the Tiber River(supposedly). She had broken her neck just 2 years before from a high dive while making "The Million Dollar Mermaid", and didn't want to chance a possibly lethal repeat. As it turned out, her stuntman broke has back from this fall!

crispy_comments Only for fans of the stars or MGM Musicals completists, like me. I've gotta collect them all! Of course this one was made during the decline, as Dore Schary took over the studio and he was *not* a fan of musicals. So, the songs are weak and there's more emphasis on spectacle & action - mixed in with comedy & romance. But the mixture doesn't blend very well. Each genre/character is underdeveloped and unsatisfying. For instance, if you enjoy action/war movies, you may be disappointed with a few chases, brief hand to hand combat...no epic battle, unless you count a little flame-throwing and battering at Rome's gates. Sorry, no bloodshed! (And I know you were expecting it from a movie with "Darling" in the title.)Marge & Gower Champion are kind of wasted. They have one major number where they parade around with trained elephants. It's lame. I mean, they mostly hop around on one foot (yes, the elephants too) and the Champions are definitely limited by their dancing partners. Not their best choreography. Corny bits like mimicking an elephant's trunk, etc.Esther Williams has one memorable underwater ballet with some statues that come to life, but other than that, her swimming abilities are used in more plot-driven ways than usual. Most unsettling is an extended chase sequence where soldiers chase her off a cliff and swim after her, trying to kill her...with bows and arrows...underwater! Is that even possible? It's *definitely* impossible to hold your breath for that long. (Something we don't normally question when Esther's underwater sequences are more lighthearted.) Why combine an air of "realistic" menace with such a fantastical premise? Let our fantasy be...fun! It was actually disturbing to see Esther menaced this way, in her "natural" habitat. She should always be grinning that big toothy grin at the camera and frolicking in the water happily. Don't mess with the natural laws of Esther Williams movie physics!Howard Keel plays his usual charming brute, but maybe a bit too brutal this time, since he's a conquering warrior. Uncomfortable watching him manhandle Esther Williams, hold a knife to her throat, etc. Aaah, love! Marge & Gower also have this slave/master subplot that's pretty offensive. I suppose it's some consolation that she refuses to "be" an elephant...like all the "other" elephants he has trained to *obey* him. Uhh, love? Not much fun to see George Sanders play an ineffectual mama's boy who can't get the girl. He can be suave and charismatic, but not here. I mean, he does what he's meant to...I just don't enjoy seeing him play a buffoonish sort. Would've been better if he was presented as a charmer with wit and intellect to rival Howard Keel's more robust, earthy qualities. A different, but equally attractive choice, to make Esther's decision less obvious. (But I'm not spoiling anything here by revealing Esther & Howard end up together - c'mon, they're the leads, and we know how these movies work!) Sure, Sanders' speech-making ability is acknowledged, but also ridiculed - and Esther doesn't bother to show up for the speech, so we get the message that Sanders is boring... dangit, some women *like* smart, articulate men! They could've created another supporting character who falls for Sanders, proving him a valid love interest who's just not right for *Esther*, since she and Howard are more physical/less intellectual types. Oh well.Wow, I don't remember how any of the songs go. They really *are* forgettable. So, it's easy to see why this movie failed to please the Box-office Gods and led to the fall of the Great MGM Empire! I'd buy it on DVD anyway, especially if that outtake musical number from the Laserdisc (mentioned by a previous reviewer) is included. Curious to see Marge & Gower's deleted dance...it's got to be better than the Elephant Walk Of Shame.

Mike-957 JUPITER'S DARLING is an offbeat MGM musical with many entertaining elements. Famous as one of the musical flops of MGM's 1955 output (which included KISMET and IT'S ALWAYS FAIR WEATHER)which all but ended the MGM musical -as well as the contracts of some of its major participants- the movie generally received critical praise in its day and still has a "fan base" today. The credits for the film are eye-opening.It is based on a landmark play of 1927 entitled THE ROAD TO ROME which dealt humorously with Hannibal's march on Rome but was in fact a plea against war.It's author, Robert Sherwood, died the year of the film's release and amongst his other stage and screen work are titles such as The Petrified Forest,Idiot's Delight, Rebecca and The Best Years of Our Lives.Though much changed to accommodate the aquatic talents of Esther Williams and the form of the screen musical, generous amounts of Sherwood's witty and even racy dialogue survive. At a time when the period epic was in its full CinemaScope bloom (egs. THE ROBE, THE Egyptian) it's refreshing to see the genre being lampooned in such a tongue-in-cheek manner. Esther even spoofs her own underwater ballets in the I HAD A DREAM sequence (the best song in a somewhat underrated Burton Lane score)and has another dramatically exciting underwater scene in a later reel. Vocally strong as ever,Howard Keel is robust and virile as Hannibal (who in one funny scene reveals a fear of water and an inability to swim-surely an "in-joke" considering his co-star!)and the supporting cast (Marge and Gower Champion,George Sanders,Norma Varden,William Demarest and Richard Hayden) all get great moments. The direction is by one of MGM's best musical directors, George Sidney (The Harvey Girls, Show Boat, Pal Joey) and the inventive wide screen cinematography is by Paul C. Vogel and Charles G.Clarke,two of the best D.P.'s of the day. (Clarke shot CAROUSEL for Fox magnificently one year later).Written for the screen by MGM contractor Dorothy Kingsley (Seven Brides,Kiss me Kate)and budgeted at possibly the biggest figure for an MGM musical at that time, the film is a visual stunner with unique merits which outweigh its flaws.(One complaint- MGM cut the reprise of I HAVE A DREAM by Williams(dubbed) and Sanders (not dubbed) which was followed by a sizzling dance by the Champions.A faded out-take on the laserdisc edition at least allows buffs to view this now!)