SPLASH!: ESTHER WILLIAMS PAGE.: TEXAS CARNIVAL (1951)

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

TEXAS CARNIVAL (1951)

TEXAS CARNIVAL(1951). Musical/comedy/romance. Director: Charles Walters. Cast: Esther Williams, Red Skelton, Howard Keel and Anne Miller.

Cornie and his partner, Debbie, run the dunk tank in a Texas carnival. While Cornie is out trying to get a hamburger for Debbie, he sees drunken rancher Dan Sabinas flashing his money and saves him from getting taken at one of the carnival games. Cornie insists Dan take a cab to his hotel and promises to return his car. Dan orders the cab driver to take him to Mexico instead of the hotel. When Dan's expensive car is returned to the hotel, the staff mistakes them for Dan and his sister Marilla. Cornie goes to find Sabina's suite, looking for Dan, while everyone at the pool thinks Debbie is Marilla, the richest girl in Texas. As Debbie waits for Cornie by the pool, Slim Shelby, Dan's foreman, arrives and sees that everyone is treating Debbie as Marilla and decides to keep quite. When Cornie realizes that people think he is Dan, he decides to enjoy himself before Dan returns. Debbie, still waiting by the pool, is so hungry that she faints and is rescued by Slim. After Slim takes her to the suite, the doctor says that she needs to eat something, and the starving Debbie devours her meal without coming up for air.. How long can this team keep up with their stolen identity?

A couple of my favorite scene are: Esther Williams, only production number in a dream sequence in which she floats around in Howard Keel's darkened hotel room, trailing a white veil and the chuck wagon race, which involves some dangerously risky stunt work.

Soundtracks:
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"The Carnie's Pitch"
Music by Harry Warren
Lyrics by Dorothy Fields
Performed by Red Skelton

"It's Dynamite"
Music by Harry Warren
Lyrics by Dorothy Fields
Sung and Danced by Ann Miller

"Whoa, Emma!"
Music by Harry Warren
Lyrics by Dorothy Fields
Sung by Howard Keel

"Young Folks Should Get Married"
Music by Harry Warren
Lyrics by Dorothy Fields
Sung by Howard Keel

"Deep in the Heart of Texas"
(uncredited)
Music by Don Swander
Lyrics by June Hershey
Sung by Howard Keel and chorus

"I've Been Working on the Railroad"
(uncredited)
Traditional

"Red River Valley"
(uncredited)
Traditional

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Click picture to view movie clip. Bathing Beauty (1944). Musical. Cast: Red Skelton, Basil Rathbone and Esther Williams, Harry James and his Music Makers, Ethel Smith, Helen Forrest and Xavier Cugat and his Orchestra. Director: George Sidney. This was not William's screen debut, but it was her first musical. The film was initially to be titled "Mr. Co-Ed" with Red Skelton having top billing. However, once MGM executives watched the first cut of the film, they realized that Esther Williams' role should be showcased and changed the title to "Bathing Beauty". The film is Janis Paige's film debut.

Neptune's Daughter (1949). Musical/ romantic/ comedy Cast: Esther Williams, Red Skelton, Ricardo Montalbán, Betty Garrett, Keenan Wynn, Xavier Cugat and Mel Blanc. Directer: Edward Buzzell. Features the Academy Award winning song Baby, It's Cold Outside by Frank Loesser. Neptune's Daughter was the third movie that paired Williams and Ricardo Montalbán together, the other two being Fiesta (1947) and On an Island with You (1948), and the second to co-star Red Skelton (1944's Bathing Beauty).

Thrill of a Romance (1945) Romance. Cast: Van Johnson, Esther Williams and Carleton G. Young, with musical performances by opera singer Lauritz Melchior. Director: Richard Thorpe. Written by Richard Connell and Gladys Lehman. This was the first of four films that paired Williams and Johnson together. Made over a period of eight years, those that followed were Easy to Wed (1946), Duchess of Idaho (1950) and Easy to Love (1953).Thrill of a Romance was a box office success, becoming the eighth-highest grossing film of 1945. Click to view trailer.

Jupiter's Darling(1955). Musical /romance. Director: George Sidney. Cast: Esther Williams , Howard Keel and Marge Champion. The film features Roman generals Fabius Maximus and Scipio Africanus who appear briefly. Carthaginians Mago Barca and Maharbal also appear. Jupiter's Darling was based on Robert Sherwood's anti-war comedy film The Road to Rome (1927). The film was the last of three films Williams and Keel made together, the other two being Pagan Love Song (1950) and Texas Carnival (1951) .Click picture to view movie trailer.