For 1945 with the Code firmly in place this film was quite daring in its subject matter. But the Esther Williams audience only wanted to see Esther in a bathing suit in or out of the water and Thrill of a Romance gave the viewer plenty of both.
Esther is a swimming instructor at a public pool in Los Angeles and driving by one day is Howard Hughes like tycoon Carleton G. Young. He puts on quite the campaign and they wed.
But Young is far more interested in business and while at a resort hotel on their honeymoon, Carleton gets called away to Washington on a big deal. We know what his priorities are. So Esther is an unconsummated bride alone on her honeymoon, when up pops war hero Van Johnson.
So for a week she and Van keep each other company and look pretty sad all the while.
Now Thrill of a Romance was not advertised to be Hamlet, but I found the premise here to be way to silly. But with lots of shots of Esther wet and dry and music by Tommy Dorsey's Orchestra and Lauritz Melchior of the Metropolitan Opera we had a whole lot of music of every taste. A highlight is a drum solo by Buddy Rich who after Frank Sinatra left as the band's vocalist, was Dorsey's main attraction.
Young Jerry Scott who plays Lyonel a bellboy at the hotel gives a nice lyric tenor interpretation of Because which that year was revived in a big hit record by Perry Como.
Speaking of Sinatra, he recorded a song written for this film I Should Care which was authored by his personal arranger Axel Stordahl and Sammy Cahn. Also sold a few platters back in the day.
Melchior sung a wide range of both classical and popular tunes. And he sort of functioned in the role of a father confessor to both Johnson and Williams. Had this been done at Warner Brothers, Melchior's part would have been played by S.Z. Sakall. Melchior even had the cheeks for it.
It's a nice film, maybe a little too light and too silly for today's audience. But Esther Williams fans got what they wanted.
