TheLittleSongbird
While not a great film, and it won't be for all tastes, 'Neptune's Daughter' was to me an entertaining film that ticked most of the right boxes.'Neptune's Daughter' is at its weakest in the story department, where the silly and thin mistaken-identity story is purely functional at best, where a few parts border on the improbable. Keenan Wynn is given little to do and his acting and narration felt like they belonged in another (darker) film because they seemed at odds here. Most of the comedy is a lot of good-natured fun, but some falls flat due to being overdone somewhat.However, 'Neptune's Daughter' is a beautiful-looking film, with opulent use of colour, handsome cinematography and elegant costumes and sets. The songs and music are pleasant and energetic, "Baby It's Cold Outside" being one of the most deserving wins in the Best Song category though Red Skelton and Betty Garrett's number with Xavier Cugat is a delight too.While not all the comedy works, most of it does and in a way that's genuinely amusing and good-natured. The highlight is Skelton and Garrett's first date in her apartment, a hilarious scene and beautifully played and executed. The staging for the songs is suitably spirited and always pleasing visually, though while the big water ballet is beautifully photographed and performed and fun it wasn't quite the "aqua spectacular" that was expected, just lacking the continuous energy and imagination of the best Esther Williams water ballets.Esther Williams is very charming and brightens up the screen whether in or out of the water, while Ricardo Montalban is suave, devilishly handsome and full of energy and charisma. Red Skelton seems to be really enjoying himself and is very funny, a riot even in his best bits, and bubbly Betty Garrett enchants the viewer from the moment she's introduced to her last second. Look out also for a rare live-action appearance from the immortal voice actor Mel Blanc, in case you don't spot him he's the mustachioed guy that sounds exactly like Speedy Gonzales.In conclusion, a very enjoyable film that did make me feel warm inside, though it is not masterpiece status. 7/10 Bethany Cox
weezeralfalfa
Released 5 years after Esther Williams' initial starring role in a 'swimusical', in the very well received "Bathing Beauty", Red Skelton is again prominently featured, and Xavier Cugat's band again has several lively productions. This time, instead of a romance between Esther's and Red's character, a more standard formula plot has Esther being wooed by famous polo player Jose O'Rourke, in the form of conventional handsome and suave Ricardo Montalban, while Red is pursued by Betty Garrett's typecast man-hungry character, who mistakenly believes him to be O'Rourke. You will likely recognize Betty from her role as a man-hungry taxi driver, who tries to bed Frank Sinatra, in "On the Town", released the same year. Ricardo and Esther make a rather bland romantic couple, compared with Red and Betty, in which Red has to pretend he is a South American, knowing only a few words of Spanish, as Cugat, for example, soon figures out. Despite all the glaring clues that Red can't be whom she thinks he is, Betty incongruously continues to believe, until near the end, that Red is O'Rourke. Cugat's band makes several appearances, the first 2 being especially noteworthy, and are the clear highlights of this film for me. Included in the first production is a nameless dance couple, who do a fancy dance routine, in very colorful outfits. This production is actually split into two parts, with Betty the primary featured performer in the second part, with some input by Red. The second production features a primitive jungle tribe theme, with some wild dancing to "Jungle Rhumba". There is a water show near the end, but it's nothing special. Besides Cugat's productions, the several musical numbers were composed by Frank Loesser. Betty's character expresses her fascination with men, in "I Love Those Men": part of Cugat's first production. During the swimsuit fashion show, Loesser's composition "On a Slow Boat to China" is sometimes heard in the background. Believe it or not, the words were considered by the Hays commission to be too racy to be sung by the principle characters to each other! Ricardo later expresses his fascination with Esther in "My Heart Beats Faster", as they dance around a bit. In their respective private residences, First Ricardo and Esther, then Red and Betty, sing the well-remembered counterpoint duet "Baby, It's Cold Outside", in playful scenes. The story is that Loesser actually composed this in '44, but it remained a privately-done song until MGM bought it for this film. It actually won the Oscar for Best Original Song, in a year with thin competition.In place of Red's joining a ballet class, in "Bathing Beauty", here he joins an otherwise all female swimming team doing warm-ups beside the pool, in order to escape a man chasing him. Not as amusing as the ballet caper , but will probably please Red's fans, he ending up with his neck pinned under a croquet wicket!The section where Red has to actually play polo, supposedly as O'Rourke, is totally unbelievable, if amusing. First, it takes a team of people to get him on a horse, which turns out to be a jumper, rather than a polo pony. This is merely the first of several horses, including a bucking bronco, that Red rides on and off the field of play. During the match, Red falls off his horse and is dragged by his stirrup for a spell, breaks his mallet, and hits a bag of polo balls on the sideline, scatting balls all over the field. Nonetheless, he manages to score enough goals to give the South American team a win, and thus preserve the reputation of the real O'Rourke, who has been kidnapped by a gang, who have bet on the South American team losing.(South America apparently is being treated as one country!)Keenan Wynn, aside from acting as the occasional narrator, has a rather minor character role....This was the second and last pairing of Esther and Ricardo as the leads.This film is presently part of a DVD collection of some of Esther's films.
ryancm
Hey, this is a topper. One of the best of WILLIAMS swim films, mainly because it has the great Betty Garrett. Her scenes are wonderful, and she and Red Skelton are wonderful together. The Red and Betty seduction scene where he's trying to act like a Spaniard is sensational and wait until he tastes Garretts appetizer. Sheer genius. The new DVD copy is terrific, sharp and clear. Yes, its MGM's clean-cut studio bound movie, but it's what MGM did best. Haven't seen the other WILLIAMS movies in the collection yet, but am looking forward. Also looking forward to another volume and hope that her best, yet under-rated SKIRTS AHOY is included. See this for pure fun.
