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)VOD (1)
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
Scott Seaton
USA
Best movies:
Some Like It Hot (1959)
Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
North by Northwest (1959)
Maria Tallchief
USA
Ben Frommer
Poland
Best movies:
Scarface (1983)
Shadow of the Thin Man (1941)
American Pop (1981)
Robin Hughes
Argentina
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Dial M for Murder (1954)
Quo Vadis (1951)
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Louise Lorimer
USA
Best movies:
The Heiress (1949)
The Young Philadelphians (1959)
The People Against O'Hara (1951)
James Gonzalez
USA
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North by Northwest (1959)
Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956)
Days of Wine and Roses (1962)
Clive Morgan
UK
Best movies:
Gaslight (1944)
The Young Lions (1958)
Ministry of Fear (1944)
Bobbie Hale
UK
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Fury (1936)
Gaslight (1944)
Waterloo Bridge (1940)
Adrienne D'Ambricourt
France
Best movies:
Casablanca (1942)
The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939)
Bernadette (1943)
Gordon Richards
UK
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National Velvet (1944)
Samson and Delilah (1949)
Arthur Gould-Porter
UK
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The White Cliffs of Dover (1944)
Random Harvest (1942)
Marshall Bradford
USA
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White Heat (1949)
The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955)
Band of Angels (1957)
Walter Merrill
USA
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Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)
The Rainmaker (1956)
Adam's Rib (1949)
Jack Lomas
USA
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It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956)
Giant (1956)
Skelton Knaggs
UK
Best movies:
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)
The Lodger (1944)
Night and Day (1946)
Elizabeth Slifer
USA
Best movies:
The Man from Bitter Ridge (1955)
Funny Face (1957)
The Story of Three Loves (1953)
Eugene Borden
France
Best movies:
Casablanca (1942)
The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939)
All About Eve (1950)
Rosemarie Stack
USA
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All in a Night's Work (1961)
Big Trouble (1986)
Carol Brewster
USA
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Rosemary's Baby (1968)
It's a Great Feeling (1949)
Patrick O'Moore
Ireland
Best movies:
My Fair Lady (1964)
Hello, Dolly! (1969)
Conflict (1945)