''Dangerous When Wet'' is a 1953 American live-action/animated

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

starring

Esther Williams Esther Jane Williams (August 8, 1921 – June 6, 2013) was an American competitive swimmer and actress. She set regional and national records in her late teens on the Los Angeles Athletic Club swim team. Unable to compete in the 1940 Summer Ol ...

, Fernando Lamas and Jack Carson, directed by

Charles Walters Charles Powell Walters (November 17, 1911 – August 13, 1982) was an American Hollywood director and choreographer most noted for his work in MGM musicals and comedies from the 1940s to the 1960s. Early years Charles Walters was born in Pasade ...

and featuring an animated swimming sequence starring Williams with the cat-and-mouse duo

Tom and Jerry ''Tom and Jerry'' is an American animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series centers on the ...

Plot summary

Katie Higgins is the wholesome daughter of a dairy farmer. The entire family (Pa, Ma, Suzie, Katie, and Junior) start the day with a brisk song and morning swim. One day, Katie meets traveling salesman Windy Weebe, who is instantly smitten. Weebe sells an elixir that purports to turn the user into a peppy, fit specimen, and upon noticing the entire family's strength in the water, he suggests that they all attempt to swim the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Ka ...

. The family and Weebe travel to England and learn that the channel's distance is 20 miles "as the seagull flies," but with the currents, it can be as many as 42 miles. Katie is the only one of the family strong enough to attempt this feat, so she begins training with Weebe as her coach. On a foggy day, Katie is rescued from the water by handsome Frenchman Andre Lanet, who falls for Katie and tries to woo her. Katie tries to stay focused on her swim, but she is pulled in different directions by Lanet and Weebe. In a dream sequence, Katie performs an underwater ballet with cartoon characters

as well as with animated depictions of the people in her life. The film ends happily with Katie's attempt to cross the channel and the resolution of her love-life issues.

Cast

Live-action cast

as Katie Higgins * Fernando Lamas as André Lanet * Jack Carson as Windy Weebe * Charlotte Greenwood as Ma Higgins *

Denise Darcel Denise Darcel ( née Billecard, 8 September 1924 – 23 December 2011) was a French vaudevillian, actress and singer, who from 1948 and 1963, appeared in films in Hollywood, and briefly on the stage, television and radio. Early years Born ...

as Gigi Mignon * William Demarest as Pa Higgins * Donna Corcoran as Junior Higgins *

Barbara Whiting Barbara Whiting Smith (May 19, 1931 – June 9, 2004) was an American actress and singer. Early life Whiting was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of music manager Eleanor Youngblood Whiting and composer Richard A. Whi ...

as Suzie Higgins * Bunny Waters as Greta *

Henri Letondal Henri Letondal (29 June 1901 – 15 February 1955) was a French-Canadian actor, critic, playwright and musician. He was born in Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous c ...

as Joubert * Paul Bryar as Pierre * Jack Raine as Stuart Frye * Richard Alexander as

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

ian Channel swimmer * Tudor Owen as Old Salt * Ann Codee as Mrs. Lanet * Darrell Wesley Clow as the Norwegian Swimmer

Voice cast

William Hanna William Denby Hanna (July 14, 1910 – March 22, 2001) was an American animator and cartoonist who was the creator of ''Tom and Jerry'' as well as the voice actor for the two title characters. Alongside Joseph Barbera, he also founded the anim ...

as Tom and Jerry (uncredited)

Production

The film was based on a story by Dorothy Kingsley. MGM liked the story, bought it and hired Kingsley to develop it into a screenplay. It was originally titled ''Everybody Swims'' and was intended as a vehicle for Esther Williams and

Debbie Reynolds Mary Frances "Debbie" Reynolds (April 1, 1932 – December 28, 2016) was an American actress, singer, and businesswoman. Her career spanned almost 70 years. She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer for her portra ...

In the underwater sequences in which Williams speaks to Tom and Jerry,

Joseph Barbera Joseph Roland Barbera ( ; ; March 24, 1911 – December 18, 2006) was an American animator, director, producer, storyboard artist, and cartoon artist who co-founded the animation studio and production company Hanna-Barbera. Born to Italian ...

animated pink bubbles coming from her mouth, an effect that cost $50,000. The film's ending was rewritten after an incident during the filming when Johnny Weissmuller (Esther's former Aquacade partner) dove into the water to swim alongside Florence Chadwick, whom he was coaching.

Casting

Reynolds was originally slated for the role of Williams's little sister Suzie. Though Williams knew of Lamas before he was cast as her love interest, the two had never been formally introduced. They married in 1969, and remained so until Lamas's death in 1982. When asked whether she had known Lamas when the studio suggested his name as her costar, Williams mentioned that "he starred in movies with Jane Powell, Greer Garson, and Lana Turner, and heknew he was romantically linked to Lana Turner. And heheard he could swim. Yes, Fernando Lamas sounded like good casting." At first, Lamas declined the role, stating that he came to MGM to be a star, and only wanted to act in "important pictures." Williams convinced him that his part would be rewritten to be larger.The Million Dollar Mermaid: An Autobiography, By Esther Williams, Digby Diehl, Published by Harcourt Trade, 2000, ,

Release

According to MGM records, the film earned $2,230,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $1,025,000 elsewhere, recording a profit of $386,000.

Critical reception

In a contemporary review for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', critic Bosley Crowther wrote: " is frolicsome item not only dumps you quite often in the drink, but also gives you some rather pleasant company to clown around with while on dry ground. ... ere is nothing very special or spectacular about ''Dangerous When Wet'', but it comes as relaxing entertainment at this torpid time of the year." Crowther also called the Tom and Jerry sequence "outstanding." A review from ''Variety'' called the film "a light mixture of tunes, comedy, water ballet and Esther Williams in a bathing suit."

Home media

On July 17, 2007,

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Vide ...

and Turner Entertainment released ''Dangerous When Wet'' on DVD as part of the Esther Williams Spotlight Collection, Volume 1. The five-disc set contained

digitally remastered Remaster refers to changing the quality of the sound or of the image, or both, of previously created recordings, either audiophonic, cinematic, or videographic. The terms digital remastering and digitally remastered are also used. Mastering A ...

versions of several of Williams's films including '' Bathing Beauty'' (1944), '' Easy to Wed'' (1946), '' On an Island with You'' (1948) and '' Neptune's Daughter'' (1949)
The Tom and Jerry sequence is also featured in several

DVD and Blu-ray releases issued by Warner Home Video, including the ''

Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection The ''Tom and Jerry Spotlight Collection'' is a series of two-disc DVD sets released by Warner Home Video. Originally planned as an uncensored, chronological set, the issued ''Spotlight Collection'' sets include selected ''Tom and Jerry'' shorts ...

'', Volume 1 (in the bonus features) and '' Tom and Jerry: The Deluxe Anniversary Collection'' (Disc 2, as a special short).

References

External links

* * * * {{Tom and Jerry 1953 films 1953 musical comedy films American musical comedy films American romantic comedy films American films with live action and animation American romantic musical films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer animated films Films directed by Charles Walters Films scored by Georgie Stoll Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Swimming films Animated films about mice Tom and Jerry films Animated musical films 1950s American animated films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio films 1950s English-language films