I love this movie so much

Undescribable Perfection

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Esther Williams is a beautiful, sweet old fashioned girl from Hollywood's golden age. Her specialties have been those glamorous, spectacular water ballet numbers, but she doesn't have much of one in this film though.(My very favorite Esther swimming water ballets are in "Million dollar mermaid", " This time for keeps", and "Bathing beauty". But I've enjoyed all of them. I also loved Esther's skiing show in "Easy to love")This film is more of just a romance, but a good one. Esther has just gotton married, and they take their honeymoon to a resort at Yosemite national park. But Esther's husband leaves her on their first day of the trip to do a business deal. I don't care how good a business deal looks, if it would leave me earning even a little under a million dollars, I would never ditch my newly married wife on our honeymoon. When he leaves, Esther is sobbing on her hotel room balcony and is overheard by Van Johnson in the room next door. They start talking, they hit it off and start spending time together. And Esther, (who was an Olympic swimmer in real life) even teaches Van how to swim. There are some good supporting characters here. Professional opera singer Lauritz Melchior who is singing for the hotel, struggles (humorously) to stay on a diet, willing to do almost anything for a steak, potatoes, and a beer, including singing for it which gets him close, but not quite. Melchior sings a very good song with Esther and others in a bar, "Viva la Compangnie" while drinking. Esther looked so sweet next to him there, you can see that she and Melchior are just wanting to drink and have fun, unlike the "stuffed shirt" husband who leaves their vacation to work after just one phone call. I also kinda liked the scene where Melchior, with that other guy (who was a doctor), gives in from the diet and simply enjoys himself endulging himself with food and beer while singing about it. I agree, let loose and enjoy life, eat and drink what you want if it feels good. Tommy Dorsey and his orchestra provide the background music, and a girl, about 9 or 10 plays Lizts Hungarian Rhapsody on the piano almost as good as Franz Liszt. Then she jazzes it up and Dorsey plays the trombone, and she starts singing. What talent she had in both piano and singing. I wonder what became of her after this film. Then later, she has to start the music up of a song Lauritz sings because the rest of the orchestra doesn't know it. There's a lot of feel good chemistry between Esther and Van and you know **SPOILER** they'll end up together. Well I sure hope so because I would feel sorry for Esther if she was dumb enough to go back to that neglectful jerk husband of hers. Anyway, I'm glad Van gets with Esther. That's what he really deserved.

Thrill of a Romance Esther Williams Van JohnsonI did not see the movie but my father saw it last night and said it was wonderful and he especially liked the song by Lauritz Melchiore. He wants to find a copy of the recording that Lauritz Melchiore sang in this movie---something about "please don't say no, say maybe...come back in the spring but don't say maybe..." I can download to a disc if I know where to go???? I guess I can order the movie also, but one website said not available.Anyone know?Thanks, Lee Ann

Esther is the brand-new bride of a wealthy businessman on her honeymoon. She apparently packed 4 swimsuits complete with matching colored plastic flowers for her hair. Her clothes, particularly one green gown with white flowers, are captivating. It's also fun to compare this time's concept of the "manly physique" with ours. Van is most appealing when in his tight officer's jacket that shows broad (padded?) shoulders tapering to a flat waistline. But when he's swimming... he has the muscle definition of an office worker. Gorgeous mountain scenery, and the tenor can really belt it out. Has a young black teen tenor, too, and although they do the "shaky knees and rolling eyes" bit - isn't that what all black people do when they're nervous? - they don't condescend to him and the white older tenor pays for his voice lessons. The plot line is so weak, it's funny - you can see a song set-up a mile away, but if you suspend disbelief, you'll enjoy it!

It is difficult to discern the main theme of this film because the script is in itself confusing. Most likely it has to do with the extraordinary number of hasty marriages which took place in America during World War Two. The problems surrounding such marriages seemed insurmountable. For example, need marriages of convenience be honored as Cynthia Glenn (Esther Williams) attempts to do when her husband goes to Washington for a week-long meeting during their Honeymoon? Tens of thousands of real life soldiers did in fact leave their new wives shortly after the ceremony, many times leaving unresolved domestic problems as well. Cynthia, a swimming instructor, falls in love with a Major Milvaine (Van Johnson) the non-swimmer, and the complication begins. The value of this film is that a Homefront problem is addressed within the frame of fairly good acting by both Johnson and Williams. Can Cynthia keep swimming with the Major without sinking her marriage?