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.

Director:

Mervyn LeRoy

Writer:

Everett Freeman (screenplay)

Stars:

Esther Williams, Victor Mature, Walter Pidgeon

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Esther Williams	...	Annette Kellerman
Victor Mature	...	James Sullivan
Walter Pidgeon	...	Frederick Kellerman
David Brian	...	Alfred Harper
Donna Corcoran	...	Annette - 10 years old
Jesse White	...	Doc Cronnol
Maria Tallchief	...	Pavlova
Howard Freeman	...	Aldrich
Charles Watts	...	Policeman
Wilton Graff	...	Garvey
Frank Ferguson	...	Prosecutor
James Bell	...	Judge
James Flavin	...	Conductor
Willis Bouchey	...	Director

Storyline

Million Dollar Mermaid tells the story of Australian swimming sensation Annette Kellerman, who overcame childhood polio to go on and achieve fame as a professional swimmer and film star in the early decades of the 20th century. At the same time, she scandalized the world by wearing a one-piece bathing suit on public beaches long before the style was accepted in polite company, and made waves in other ways as well. The story was a perfect vehicle decades later to showcase the star quality of Esther Williams in the 1950s, and Kellerman's moniker was picked up by Life Magazine when it named Ms. Williams the "Million Dollar Mermaid" herself.

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Plot Keywords:

woman wearing a swimsuit | river thames | star | swimming | swimmer | 

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Taglines:

An eye-filling musical spectacle...wonderful water-revels...marvelous music...rapturous romance...inspired by the real story of a fabulous swimming star.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Musical | Sport

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 March 1953 (Australia)

Also Known As:

One Piece Suit

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

115 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

An excerpt from Dangerous When Wet (1953) appears in The Tender Trap (1955), starring Debbie Reynolds and Frank Sinatra. When Reynolds is trying to avoid necking with Sinatra, she turns on the TV and they watch a scene of the movie in which Esther Williams and Fernando Lamas swim and kiss.

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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*.

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Connections

Spoofed in Vaktmästaren och professorn (2002)

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Soundtracks

The Stars and Stripes Forever
(uncredited)
Music by John Philip Sousa
Played during the Hippodrome scene with Sousa conducting

User Reviews

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.