Watch Bathing Beauty

In the year of 1944, Bathing Beauty is a romantic comedy musical film directed by George Sidney. The film starred Red Skelton, Esther Williams, Basil Rathbone, and other famous personalities in the lead roles. The movie contains 101 minutes of colorful entertainment, music, dancing, and humor. The movie follows a struggling songwriter named Steve Elliot (Red Skelton), who is working as a college professor after being fired from a theater for his bad performance. His former girlfriend Caroline Brooks (Esther Williams), whom Steve broke up with, is the current swimming instructor at the same college. One day, Steve goes back to the theater to collect a letter of recommendation from his former boss, who mistakenly believes that Steve is still employed with him. Steve does not correct his employer and accepts a commission to write a musical play for the boss's new production.

However, Steve's new job conflicts with his teaching position, and he decides to resign from the college to finish writing the play. He seeks the help of his former boss's partner and rival George Adams (Basil Rathbone) and his assistants, Sharpe and Watson, to complete the task. Meanwhile, Caroline discovers that Steve is writing a play and thinks he is only using the job as a pretext to reconcile with her. She agrees to be part of the production for Steve's play.

The narrative of Bathing Beauty is set in the backdrop of Water Carnival, an annual college event where various swimming events take place. Amidst all the confusion, Steve finds himself being attracted to Gigi (Jean Porter), one of his chorus girls, who is obsessively in love with him. He somehow manages to navigate the complexity of his personal relationships and work towards staging the play at the Water Carnival event.

The primary selling point of the movie is its musical numbers and water ballets. Esther Williams, who was a former Olympic swimmer, showcases her skills in a few scenes, including the "All For One" number. She performs synchronized swimming with other women, wearing colorful swimsuits and flower bonnets. In another act, she enacts a mermaid who sings jazzy songs and dances with Steve.

Apart from Esther Williams' underwater sequences, the film features several dance and song routines. The opening number, "Nine Girls from Little Rock," performed by a group of female dancers, is a noteworthy piece, featuring colorful costumes and impressive choreography. The other memorable song numbers from the movie are "Buckle Down, Winsocki" and "I Love a Piano."

The movie Bathing Beauty is not just a light-hearted musical film. It also touches upon some serious issues like classroom discipline and student teacher interactions, which were significant concerns during the 1940s. Overall, Bathing Beauty is an enjoyable, colorful, and entertaining movie. It contains all the essential ingredients of classic Hollywood movies like romance, humor, music, and dance. It is an exemplary illustration of classic cinema that will remain one of the greatest musical comedies of all time.

Bathing Beauty is a 1944 comedy with a runtime of 1 hour and 41 minutes. It has received moderate reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 6.4.