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IMDbPro

Million Dollar Mermaid

  • 19521952
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 1h 55m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
1.7K
YOUR RATING
Victor Mature, David Brian, and Esther Williams in Million Dollar Mermaid (1952)
Biopic of Australian swimming champ and entertainer Annette Kellerman. After overcoming polio, Kellerman achieves fame and creates a scandal when her one-piece bathing suit is considered indecent.
Play trailer1:10
1 Video
23 Photos
BiographyDramaMusical
Biopic of Australian swimming champ and entertainer Annette Kellerman. After overcoming polio, Kellerman achieves fame and creates a scandal when her one-piece bathing suit is considered ind... Read allBiopic of Australian swimming champ and entertainer Annette Kellerman. After overcoming polio, Kellerman achieves fame and creates a scandal when her one-piece bathing suit is considered indecent.Biopic of Australian swimming champ and entertainer Annette Kellerman. After overcoming polio, Kellerman achieves fame and creates a scandal when her one-piece bathing suit is considered indecent.
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
1.7K
YOUR RATING
    • Mervyn LeRoy
    • Everett Freeman(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Esther Williams
    • Victor Mature
    • Walter Pidgeon
    • Mervyn LeRoy
    • Everett Freeman(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Esther Williams
    • Victor Mature
    • Walter Pidgeon
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 22User reviews
    • 20Critic reviews
    • 50Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar

    Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:10
    Watch Official Trailer

    Photos23

    Joan Barton, Carol Brewster, Sue Casey, Diane Cassidy, Dorinda Clifton, Janet Lavis, Joan McKellen, Esther Williams, and Faye Antaky in Million Dollar Mermaid (1952)
    Victor Mature in Million Dollar Mermaid (1952)
    Esther Williams in Million Dollar Mermaid (1952)
    Joan Barton, Danny Casabian, Sue Casey, Diane Cassidy, Bill Chatham, Dorinda Clifton, Jerry Elliott, Alex Goudovitch, Chester Hayes, Janet Lavis, Betty Jean Onge, Regis Parton, Audrey Saunders, Ray Saunders, Dean Smith, Rosemarie Stack, Esther Williams, Russell Saunders, Murray Steckler, Edith Motridge, Faye Antaky, and Kathryn Reed in Million Dollar Mermaid (1952)
    Victor Mature, Jesse White, and Esther Williams in Million Dollar Mermaid (1952)
    Victor Mature, Walter Pidgeon, and Esther Williams in Million Dollar Mermaid (1952)
    Esther Williams in Million Dollar Mermaid (1952)
    Walter Pidgeon and Donna Corcoran in Million Dollar Mermaid (1952)
    Esther Williams in Million Dollar Mermaid (1952)
    Esther Williams in Million Dollar Mermaid (1952)
    Esther Williams in Million Dollar Mermaid (1952)
    Esther Williams in Million Dollar Mermaid (1952)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Esther Williams
    Esther Williams
    • Annette Kellerman
    Victor Mature
    Victor Mature
    • James Sullivan
    Walter Pidgeon
    Walter Pidgeon
    • Frederick Kellerman
    David Brian
    David Brian
    • Alfred Harper
    Donna Corcoran
    Donna Corcoran
    • Annette - 10 years old
    Jesse White
    Jesse White
    • Doc Cronnol
    Maria Tallchief
    Maria Tallchief
    • Pavlova
    Howard Freeman
    Howard Freeman
    • Aldrich
    Charles Watts
    • Policeman
    Wilton Graff
    Wilton Graff
    • Garvey
    Frank Ferguson
    Frank Ferguson
    • Prosecutor
    James Bell
    James Bell
    • Judge
    James Flavin
    James Flavin
    • Conductor
    Willis Bouchey
    Willis Bouchey
    • Director
    Faye Antaky
    • Swimmer
    • (uncredited)
    Jessie Arnold
    Jessie Arnold
    • Bather
    • (uncredited)
    Jimmy Aubrey
    Jimmy Aubrey
    • Pawnbroker
    • (uncredited)
    Joan Barton
    Joan Barton
    • Swimmer
    • (uncredited)
      • Mervyn LeRoy
      • Everett Freeman(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      In an interview Esther Williams said that she met and spoke with Annette Kellerman before filming began, while attempting to get Kellerman's approval of Williams in the lead role. After the meeting Kellerman gave her complete approval and said she was pleased with the casting choice, though she good-naturedly complained that Williams was much prettier than her.
    • Goofs
      Annette Kellerman (Esther Williams) tells the judge that her swimsuit "will cover the entire body except the *forearms* and the head." However, the swimsuit she exhibits in court and which she wears in the following scenes does not cover *any part of her arms*.
    • Quotes

      James Sullivan: Baby, somewhere along the line, we got our signals crossed. You've got it into your head that you're Joan of Arc. Well, get it out fast. You're a swimmer doing a tank act in Sullivan's water carnival, and not a bad show either.

      Annette Kellerman: And how long can it last? After all, all we're doing is capitalizing on a lot of cheap bathing suit publicity.

      James Sullivan: Well, what do you think this Aldrich thing is anyway? All he's trying to do is cash in on the same dodge, a ballyhoo that I arranged.

      Annette Kellerman: That you arranged?

      James Sullivan: Sure. Who do you think got that cop to arrest you?

      Annette Kellerman: Oh no, Jimmy, you didn't.

      James Sullivan: Didn't I?

      Annette Kellerman: Can you stand there... what about all that talk of a crusade and how...

      James Sullivan: Bunk. Who cares what a lot of females wear on the beach, as long as I can keep you in a one-piece bathing suit? Baby, you're a swimmer. You belong in the water. Wet, you're terrific. Dry, you're just a nice girl who ought to settle down and get married.

      Annette Kellerman: Thank you very much for the advice. One thing I know for sure, if and when I do get married, it will never be to a cheap, stubborn, flea circus proprietor.

      James Sullivan: This flea circus does alright for the fleas in it, except when they jump out of their cages.

    • Connections
      Featured in That's Entertainment, Part II (1976)
    • Soundtracks
      Let Me Call You Sweetheart
      (uncredited)

      Music by Leo Friedman

      Lyrics by Beth Slater Whitson

      Played during the opening credits

      Sung by the patrons in the ship's lounge

      Played often in the score

    User reviews22

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    6/10
    I don't like Esther Williams movies but I liked this one
    While my comment above is hardly a glowing endorsement, I liked this movie far more than I thought I ever wood. The movie is a biography of Annette Kellerman, who was a champion swimmer at the turn of the century and created quite a scandal when she began swimming in comfortable bathing suits--something "decent" women didn't do back in her day! From swimming champ to long distance swimmer to movie star, the film follows her career. Ms. Williams does a fine job as does co-star Victor Mature. I think the reason I liked this movie so much was because since it was a bio-pic, much of the usual over-the-top swimming choreography was missing or at least subdued. A decent movie with plenty to hold your interest.
    helpful•14
    6
    • planktonrules
    • Jul 14, 2006

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 13, 1953 (Australia)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 1 hour 55 minutes

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    Victor Mature, David Brian, and Esther Williams in Million Dollar Mermaid (1952)
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