Na Voragem de uma Paixão

This time, don't expect anything "wet" in this Esther Williams performance, nothing at all. She on the contrary shows us that she was more than a swimming pool ingenue, or a simple comedy faire valoir...she was a genuine good actress. I won't come back to this stiry, but it's a surprisingly good suspense, especially starring an actress who was always put in a specific category, swimming musicals for MGM company. Don't miss it.

The "unguarded moment" seems to come from the forties ,when the Freudian movie was so trendy: "secret beyond the door" "cat people" " "spiral staircase" "the dark mirror" ,the list is endless.

Unfortunately it's marred by a providential love story between the teacher and the cop.Had it focused on the father/son relationship,the movie could have renewed the genre.The character of the father is by far the most interesting of the screenplay: he must have failed professionally as well as sexually in his own life and he wants his whizz kid (a young John Saxon) to be all that he could not be .If he disappoints him,he will break him!Esther Williams is an attractive teacher ,but to be interesting ,such a character needed to show some ambiguousness.After the first thirty minutes ,there's no real surprise.

Watch it for Edward Andrews' offbeat performance.

In her first nonaquatic role, Esther Williams plays a school teacher who's the victim of sexual assault. She gives a fine performance, proving she could be highly effective out of the swimming pool. As the detective out to solve the case, George Nader gives perhaps his finest performance. And he is so handsome it hurts! John Saxon is the student under suspicion, and although he gets impressive billing in the credits, it's Edward Andrews as his overly-protective father who is the standout.

Bathed in glorious Technicolor, The Unguarded Moment is irresistible hokum and at times compelling drama.

An extremely enjoyable film which sees Esther Williams battle the stereotype of the single woman in the not-so-fabulous '50s. For anyone who prefers the noir side of 1950s cinema (ie Cape Fear as opposed to Oklahoma) it portrays both the dark side of human nature and the seething naivety of the decade. After hearing about Esther's biography it was amusing to see her in a role which so strongly defended her sexual innocence!

Esther Williams is a hot teacher. So it's natural for her boys to have a crush on her. But to act on it! John Saxon, in his screen debut, is the boy in question. Goerge Nader is the law, who's brought in, when she is coaxed by a series of letters to meet the boy in the boys' locker room at night! In the scuffle, she is shaken up and her clothes a bit torn, and the officer, who is quite taken by her, is out to get the boy, despite the fact she wants to forget the whole thing and put it behind her. He's just a boy! But if you don't punish the behavior, they don't learn, says George Nader. Then there's the question of whether Saxon is the suspect they are looking for in the case of a young girl murdered. Despite the facts that the movie starts out really melodramatic with corny dialogue and that George Nader has practically no screen personality, I got really engrossed in the film. I thought I had heard that this film was really bad. It does have some parts that were overdone or done to extreme, like Edward Andrews' performance as Saxon's father. But, costarring good supporting actors like Jack Albertson and Les Tremayne, the film certainly delivers a punch. '7' is still a little generous, but for pure entertainment and camp value, it sure fits the bill.