Dangerous When Wet (1953)

Director:

Charles Walters

Writer:

Dorothy Kingsley (writer)

Release Date:

3 July 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

See the amazing "Tom & Jerry" cartoon swimming spectacle with Esther!

Plot:

A young woman enters a contest to be the first to swim the English Channel.

Plot Keywords:

Swimming | Part Animation | Female In Swimsuit | Breaking The Fourth Wall | Cheesecake

Cast

Esther Williams	...	Katie Higgins
Fernando Lamas	...	André Lanet
Jack Carson	...	Windy Weebe
Charlotte Greenwood	...	Ma Higgins
Denise Darcel	...	Gigi Mignon
William Demarest	...	Pa Higgins
Donna Corcoran	...	Junior Higgins
Barbara Whiting	...	Suzie Higgins
Bunny Waters	...	Greta
Henri Letondal	...	Joubert
Paul Bryar	...	Pierre
Jack Raine	...	Stuart Frye
Richard Alexander	...	Egyptian Channel swimmer
Tudor Owen	...	Old Salt
Ann Codee	...	Mrs. Lanet
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jimmy Aubrey	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Eugene Borden	...	French Mayor (uncredited)
Michael Dugan	...	Ad Lib (uncredited)
Aminta Dyne	...	English Woman Guest (uncredited)
James Fairfax	...	English Cab Driver (uncredited)
Ed Fury	...	Hercules (uncredited)
Ben Gage	...	Very tall swimmer (uncredited)
Mollie Glessing	...	English Waitress (uncredited)
Arthur Gould-Porter	...	English Steward (uncredited)
John McKee	...	Photographer (uncredited)
Roger Moore	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Patrick O'Moore	...	Bob Gerrard (uncredited)
Reginald Simpson	...	Reporter (uncredited)

Directed by
Charles Walters

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Dorothy Kingsley		writer

Produced by
George Wells	....	producer

Original Music by
Albert Sendrey		(uncredited)
George Stoll		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Harold Rosson

Film Editing by
John McSweeney Jr.

Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons
Jack Martin Smith

Set Decoration by
Emile Kuri
Edwin B. Willis

Costume Design by
Helen Rose

Makeup Department
Sydney Guilaroff	....	hair stylist
William Tuttle	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sid Sidman	....	assistant director
Carl 'Major' Roup	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	sound supervisor

Special Effects by
Irving G. Ries	....	special effects

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Joan Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Peter Ballbusch	....	montage

Music Department
Skip Martin	....	orchestrator
George Stoll	....	musical director (as Georgie Stoll)
Scott Bradley	....	composer: cartoon sequence (uncredited)
Albert Sendrey	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Joseph Barbera	....	cartoons: Tom and Jerry
Billy Daniel	....	choreographer
Alvord Eiseman	....	color advisor: Technicolor
William Hanna	....	cartoons: Tom and Jerry
Henri Jaffa	....	technicolor color consultant
Fred Quimby	....	cartoons: Tom and Jerry
Charles Walters	....	choreographer

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (controlled by Loew's Incorporated)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1953) (USA) (theatrical) (controlled by Loew's Incorporated)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (1954) (Austria) (theatrical)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | USA:Approved (PCA #16230) | Australia:PG | West Germany:6 (nf)

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During the animated sequence, when Katy and the octopus are sitting together at the table, watch carefully when she moves to remove the octopus's tentacle from her shoulder - her hand passes straight through the tentacle instead of over it.

Quotes:

Katie Higgins:[shouting through the fog] Wendy. Wendy!
Windy Weebe:Katie where are you?
Katie Higgins:I'm on a yacht. With a Frenchman.
Windy Weebe:A Frenchman? Oh no.

Movie Connections:

Featured in That's Entertainment! (1974)

Soundtrack:

Ain't Nature Grand

Esher, Tom and Jerry, Fernando, and Where's Lana Turner?

O.K.; so it's not a classic! So, it's not one of Esther's best, but - considering the over-all movie - it IS very entertaining! When I first saw this movie as as a teenager, I found myself singing "I Got Out of Bed on the Right Side" so much that the family finally said, "For God's sake! Will you SHUT UP?" So, sense of humor! No respect for Esther whom I adored and was in love with as ever other red-blooded American Teenager was at the time! Recently, I was happy to see it play on Turner Classics and the charm of the film has not diminished! I guess the best part of the film was when the whole cast got in on the song "Ain't Love So Grand"! And there's Charolotte Greenwood doing her dancing specialty at the end of the number. I guess this was the second to last that she ever danced in a film with "Oklahoma" being the last in which she played Aunt Eller. Originally, she was the first pick for playing Aunt Eller in Oklahoma on Braodway, but other commitments stopped her from doing it, so Rogers and Hammerstien were thrilled when they finally signed her up for the movie version. Greenwood was known for her eccentric dancing in which she had been a hit in an old move called "The Pip From Pittsburg". It's sad to see many of our characters in the business gone, but it's wonderful that we still have their performances on film to enjoy forever.

It's true that Esther married Fernando in real life, but from what I remember, Lana Tuner was married to Lex Barker, and Arlene Dahl was married to Fernando Lamas, and they were a happy foursome so much that Turner divorced Barker, Dahl divorced Fernando, and then Dahly married Lex Barker and Lana Turner married Fernando Lamas, but before the divorces Arlene Dahl gave birth to Lorenzo Lamas who would go on to a somewhat fame in movies and T.V. but not with the stature and popularity of his father. Then much later, after filming Dangerous When Wet Fernando started dating Esther and Esthers film career was beginning to go downhill, and she was pretty well tired of making movies and when Fernando asked her to marry him, he asked her, "Can you stop being Esther Willimas?" and she gladly said, "Yes!" and she kept her word to the day Fernando died and didn't have anything to do with a career in show-business! Much later, Lorenzo was on, I believe, The Johnny Carson Show, and Carson asked him what is was like having Esther as a mother, and he proudly answered, "How many kids can claim they were taught to swim by Esther Williams?"