Lauritz Melchior

  • Thrill of a Romance (1945)

    Thrill of a Romance (1945)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, September 2021) If my notes are correct, Thrill of a Romance is the first film in which MGM had a better idea of what to do with swimming sensation Esther Williams — after being introduced in Bathing Beauty, she here had the benefit of being a proven quantity: an Olympian-level athlete who looked good enough to headline in a new and very specific genre: the aqua-musical. Accordingly, she’s here paired up with Van Johnson (in the first of four films together) and you can see the specific elements of her subgenre being put together. Other than the swimming sequences, the film is a comedy with a few songs added to please musical fans. Opera signer Lauritz Melchior shows up (he’d pop up again in This Time for Keeps), there’s a handsome military officer to act as love interest, and the film goes to the luxurious hotel Monte Belva for much of its shenanigans. Williams herself is captivating under water, acceptable enough above it — she’s not bad (an achievement by itself considering that she wasn’t trained as an actress) but several other stars at the time could have given more personality to the role. Still, it’s an agreeable enough musical — made as World War II was wrapping up, so still very much intent on raising morale on the home front. It’s pleasant and amiable, with Johnson and Williams proving an effective pairing. On the other hand — Thrill of a Romance is not particularly memorable, especially if you’re in the middle of a Williams marathon where they all start feeling like the same movie.

  • This Time for Keeps (1947)

    This Time for Keeps (1947)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, August 2021) While I like the idea of Esther Williams successfully transitioning from an Olympic medallist to a musical film lead, she wasn’t necessarily a compelling performer out of the water. Competent, sure, but not exceptionally beautiful, dramatically powerful or able to sing or dance at another level. But she did embody that idea of the girl-next-door with a special talent, and MGM liked it so much that they invested heavily in the things that made her special, including creating a very specific subgenre, the aqua-musical, around her. This Time for Keeps may not be a particularly good movie, but it’s a great example of the form: Here we have Williams as a swimming professional surrounded by far more talented vocalists as a way to introduce music in the film. This includes Jimmy Durante as an older family friend, who gets an excuse to play around the piano for performances of “A Little Bit This and a Little Bit That” (leading into his classic “Inka Dinka Doo”) and a fun performance piece called “I’m the Guy Who Found the Lost Chord” — his overall performance is more dramatic than in most films, but he lets comedically loose as soon as he approaches a piano. More serious performers include co-star Johnny Johnston, singing in a very conventional fashion, and opera signer Lauritz Melchior — leading to a blend of musical styles that may or may not be too heavy for the kind of melodramatic romance that This Time for Keeps is aiming for. Durante, in particular, seems torn between a desire to be in a dramatic performance and his natural talent as a comedic entertainer. The plot doesn’t do itself any favours by playing heavily on some tired ideas (like familial approval) or under-developing some ideas that don’t quite fit in the framework. But those issues should be familiar to MGM musical fans — the form typically meant mixing plenty of elements in a single film, in the hope that they would come together for broad appeal. It does not work as well here as in other films, probably because of the lesser emphasis on comedy to the benefit of a dubious melodrama. Oh well — Williams is fantastic in the water and likable outside of it, Durante is funny, you get to listen to some opera, and the setting is not without its forested rustic attraction. It could have been worse, but there is definitely better.