On an Island with You (1948)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Richard Thorpe

Writers:

Charles Martin (story) and
Hans Wilhelm (story) ...

Release Date:

3 May 1948 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

Plot:

A young navy lieutenant is brought in as techninical adviser on a song-dance-and-swim film being made by screen star Rosalind Reynolds...

Plot Keywords:

Lieutenant | Airplane | Dog | Technicolor | Newspaper Headline

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Esther Williams	...	Rosalind Reynolds
Peter Lawford	...	Lt. Lawrence Y. Kingslee
Ricardo Montalban	...	Ricardo Montez
Jimmy Durante	...	Jimmy Buckley
Cyd Charisse	...	Yvonne Torro
Xavier Cugat	...	And his Orchestra
Leon Ames	...	Cmdr. Harrison
Kathryn Beaumont	...	Penelope Peabody aka Pineapple
Dick Simmons	...	George Blaine

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #12672) | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Anna Maria Island, Manatee County, Florida, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

In an interview on TCM, Cyd Charisse stated that she neglected to warm up one day on set due to being late. Jumping from one level to another and on the third level she felt one of her knees completely rip and tear all the ligaments.

Goofs:

Factual errors: "Chita" the Chihuahua that Xavier Cugat gives to Jimmy is said to be a female dog but at frame 1:31:19 the dog's appendage can clearly be seen, proving it was a male dog.

Quotes:

Lt. Lawrence Y. Kingslee: Rosalind don't you think it's about time you quit being an actress and start being a woman!

Soundtrack:

Não Tenho Lágrimas

Is obsession romantic?

As an Esther Williams fan -- read fanatic -- since I was a pre-adolescent, I have to admit that On an Island with You is one of a few of her films that misfires as entertainment.

Admittedly applying contemporary values to a light 56-year-old film, I can't get around the fact that there's something disturbing about the Peter Lawford character's obsession with, stalking of, and eventual kidnapping of the Williams character. This is romantic? Lawford's wooden acting is part of the problem -- more warmth might have mitigated the creepiness of the character's behavior.

I have read that Lawford disliked Williams and felt, despite his success in Good News, that he'd been forced into an uninteresting, secondary part in a movie that was clearly hers. That would explain the total absence of chemistry between them.

Redeeming elements: the Charisse-Montalban dance numbers and Cugat's music.