Directed by:
Mervyn LeRoyScreenplay:
Everett FreemanCinematography:
George J. FolseyComposer:
Adolph DeutschCast:
Esther Williams, Victor Mature, Walter Pidgeon, David Brian, Howard Freeman, James Flavin, Willis Bouchey, Dabbs Greer, Mitchell Lewis, Jesse White (more)Plots(1)
From the 1940s to the 1950s, swimming, singing, dancing star Esther Williams was MGMs top grosser, and MILLION DOLLAR MERMAID, directed by Mervyn LeRoy (GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933, SWEET ADELINE), is widely considered Williams's best work. In it, Williams stars in the real-life story of Annette Kellerman, Williams's predecessor as a professional swimmer who turned into a movie star. Kellerman is an Australian who battles her childhood physical handicap by swimming in the local pond. Kellerman soon becomes Australia's swimming champion and moves to Europe to compete in the big leagues. Arriving in England, she meets publicist James Sullivan (Victor Mature), who arranges for her to swim 17 miles across the Thames. For the next stunt, Sullivan has Kellerman appear in a one-piece suit in Revere, the beach closest to Boston. She is arrested for indecent exposure, but the scandal achieves the publicity necessary to start Kellerman's film career. With underwater sequences choreographed by Busby Berkeley, MILLION DOLLAR MERMAID is not to be missed. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
Regis Parton
USA
Best movies:
The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)
Spartacus (1960)
The Man from Bitter Ridge (1955)
Lillian Culver
USA
Best movies:
Daddy Long Legs (1955)
The Harder They Fall (1956)
All That Heaven Allows (1955)
Tom Dillon
Ireland
Best movies:
Scarlet Street (1945)
The Thin Man Goes Home (1945)
Mildred Pierce (1945)
Dean Smith
USA
Best movies:
The Name of the Game (1968) (series)
El Dorado (1966)
The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972)
Patrick Whyte
UK
Best movies:
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
Plymouth Adventure (1952)
Twelve O'Clock High (1949)
Larri Thomas
USA
Best movies:
My Fair Lady (1964)
Mary Poppins (1964)
Love Me or Leave Me (1955)
Maudie Prickett
USA
Best movies:
North by Northwest (1959)
Deep in My Heart (1954)
Harvey (1950)
Lock Martin
USA
Best movies:
The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)
Anchors Aweigh (1945)
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)