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Team Experience has been celebrating Esther Williams Centennial with a three part miniseries. Previously we featured Thrill of a Romance and Neptune's Daughter. 

by Cláudio Alves

In some ways, Million Dollar Mermaid is both the quintessential Esther Williams movie and a departure in the screen siren's career. During the 1940s, Williams achieved cinematic stardom through self-knowing exercises in romantic silliness and musical extravagance, lighthearted productions that wore their escapist possibilities as a badge of honor. One can often feel the screenwriter's strain, trying to shoe-horn swimming scenes in stories that could function just as well without them. Even the baseball comedy Take Me Out to the Ball Game had to be retrofitted into having an out-of-place pool number where Williams gets to lip-sync while swimming under the gaze of Busby Berkeley's camera. Consequentially, MGM never presented Williams as a great dramatic actress, preferring to exhalt her natural charms, radiant presence,...

Australia, 1957. Esther William's turn as Australian swimming legend Annette Kellerman has made it out here to the segregated suburbs. From polio to the pool, Kellerman is a foundational figure in synchronised swimming. Her musical biopic Million Dollar Mermaid is the inspiration for the title. Even adjusting for inflation there's some disparity.

Two Bob Mermaid was Darlene Johnson's debut short. Carrie Prosser, who plays protagonist Koorine, and Tessa Leahy, who plays her mother, were similarly new. The story is a simple one, but bound up in the Australian aboriginal experience. In a film that's not shy in its depiction of racist language and attitudes, the consequences of Koorine's ability to pass as white are explored.

This is uncomfortable viewing. Not just because of the language, nor the era. That 1957 is only slightly more than half again as far as 1996 is from today is a different kind of discomfort. There are.

Everyone from Spike Lee to Thom Yorke has hit the streets — and Twitter — in celebration of Joe Biden, who was elected the 46th President of the United States Saturday after a lengthy week of vote tallying.

Spike Lee Lmaooo pic.twitter.com/EXkWrLKFeH

— Paul McCallion (@OrangePaulp) November 7, 2020

In a video shared to Twitter, movie director and producer Spike Lee shook and sprayed a bottle of champagne before a cheering crowd, while Ariana Grande tweeted: “Crying Joe Biden Kamala Harris Thank God” with a chain of hearts. Grande previously endorsed Bernie Sanders...

“Who cares what a lot of females wear on the beach, as long as I can keep you in a one-piece bathing suit? Baby, you’re a swimmer. You belong in the water. Wet, you’re terrific. Dry, you’re just a nice girl who ought to settle down and get married.”

Esther Williams in Million Dollar Mermaid (1952) is available on Blu-ray From Warner Archive. Ordering information can be found Here

James Sullivan works the carny circuit, promoting the likes of a boxing kangaroo or grappling bear. Then the wheeler-dealer meets a million-dollar idea: beautiful swimming champ Annette Kellerman. She’ll churn through a River Thames PR stunt. Cause a bathing-suit scandal among Boston bluebloods. Headline New York’s Hippodrome. And become a Hollywood swimsation as cameras roll and Rin Tin Tin looks on. Glamorous, amphibious Esther Williams portrays the real-life aquatic star in a splashy biopic costarring Victor Mature...

Rebel Wilson.

Rebel Wilson is set to receive the inaugural Screen Nsw Annette Kellerman Award.

Kellerman was born in Marrickville, Sydney in 1887, learning to swim as a teen in order to regain the use of her legs, having suffered from rickets..

She became an endurance swimmer and diver, then became a vaudeville star before embarking on a career in Hollywood, where she starred in The Mermaid (1911), A Daughter of the Gods (1916), Queen of the Sea (1918) and Venus of the South Sea (1924)..

Esther Williams portrayed Kellerman in the biopic Million Dollar Mermaid in 1952. Kellerman died in 1975, aged 89.

The new award will be presented annually by Screen Nsw, in a partnership with Australians In Films and Vogue Australia, to "a screen industry figure who has been a pioneering role model for Australian women."

.Rebel Wilson's blazed her own unique trail in Hollywood and.—.like Annette Kellerman before her.—.she's a complete original; a superstar without peer,...

When it comes to Olympic coverage, the press (guilty!) tends to focus on things like sprinting and weightlifting and basketball, because then we get headlines like "the fastest person alive," "the strongest person alive," and "The USA has the best basketball team ever, deal with it Russia." But that doesn't mean that's all there is to watch at the Summer Olympics. Oh, no. Far from it. There's so much more. Here are five lesser-known events at the Summer Olympics we're oh-so-excited for. Canoe Sprint The canoe sprint is split into two categories, canoe and kayak (which means "man-boat" in Eskimo...

Not funny enough, or too hip for the house? I found the Coen Bros.' send-up of old-fashioned movie madness good fun, with some great new actors. If you like droll comedy combined with spot-on recreations of old movie genres, this show can't lose. And there has to be somebody out there who wants to see George Clooney in a skirt. Hail, Caesar! Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD Universal Pictures Home Entertainment 2016 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 106 min. / Street Date June 7, 2016 / 34.98 Starring Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Alden Ehrenreich, Ralph Fiennes, Jonah Hill, Scarlett Johansson, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand, Channing Tatum, Veronica Osorio, Heather Goldenhersh, Max Baker, Clancy Brown, Fisher Stevens, Patick Fischler, Robert Picardo, Christopher Lambert, Robert Trebor, Michael Gambon (voice), Dolph Lundgren. Cinematography Roger Deakins Film Editors Ethan and Joel Coen Original Music Carter Burwell Produced by Tim Bevan, Ethan and Joel Coen, Eric Fellner Written and Directed by Ethan and Joel Coen...

Prolific Hollywood director Mervyn LeRoy continued an impressive output of work during the collapse of the studio system of the 1950s, churning out twelve titles that decade and starting his own production company associated with Warner Bros. Though his career would taper off in the mid-to-late 60s, he was known for a helming a wide variety of genres. However, his later career would see a return to musical inclinations, though not all of them have withstood the tests of time. One such obscure item in his filmography is 1953’s Latin Lovers, an ‘exotic’ romantic pseudo-musical comedy of rich people’s errors starring one of LeRoy’s most famous credited ‘discoveries,’ Lana Turner. Here, she’s swathed in decadent black and white numbers as a woman of impressive and independent financial means, victim to a shared paranoia of the historically sensitive wealthy American in that she believes men only want her for her money.

Above: French poster by Boris Grinsson for You’ll Never Get Rich (Sidney Lanfield, USA, 1941).In the new edition of Film Comment, out this week, I write about British airbrush artist Philip Castle and his iconic poster for Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange. The other man behind that poster, aside from Kubrick himself, was producer, director and writer Mike Kaplan who, at the time, was Kubrick’s marketing guru.Kaplan, who has been collecting movie posters, as well as art directing them, for 35 years, is a tireless proselytizer for the art form and his latest project is a labor of love and a pure delight. Gotta Dance! The Art of the Dance Movie Poster, a book he wrote and curated, was born out of a touring exhibition of his own personal collection that he has been exhibiting around the country for the past few years. Its latest stop is...

Musicals have been tap dancing their way into moviegoers' hearts since the invention of cinema sound itself. From Oliver! to Singin' in the Rain, here are the Guardian and Observer critics' picks of the 10 best

• Top 10 documentaries

• Top 10 movie adaptations

• Top 10 animated movies

• Top 10 silent movies

• Top 10 sports movies

• Top 10 film noir

• More Guardian and Observer critics' top 10s

10. Oliver!

Historically, the British musical has been intertwined with British music, drawing on music hall in the 1940s and the pop charts in the 50s – low-budget films of provincial interest and nothing to trouble the bosses at MGM. In the late 60s, however, the genre enjoyed a brief, high-profile heyday, and between Tommy Steele in Half a Sixpence (1967) and Richard Attenborough's star-studded Oh! What A Lovely War (1969) came the biggest of them all: Oliver! (1968), Carol Reed's adaptation of Lionel Bart's 1960 stage hit and the recipient of six Academy awards.

Larri Thomas, an actress and dancer who did a striptease during the steamy opening title sequence of The Silencers, the first movie to star Dean Martin as counter-agent Matt Helm, has died. She was 81. Thomas, who also adorned the big screen as a featured Goldwyn Girls dancer in the classic musical Guys and Dolls (1955), died Sunday at her home in Van Nuys shortly after suffering a fall, a family friend said. A leggy blonde, Thomas also appeared in such films as Road to Bali (1952), Million Dollar Mermaid (1952), House of Wax (1953), Artists and Models (1955),

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Swimmer who found movie fame in a string of MGM musicals

Esther Williams, "Hollywood's Mermaid", who has died aged 91, swam her way through more than a dozen splashy MGM musicals in the 1940s and early 50s. While smiling at the camera, she was able to do a combination of crawl, breast and backstroke, and was forever blowing bubbles under water, seemingly having an inexhaustible supply of air.

Like the starlets Lana Turner, Kathryn Grayson and Donna Reed before her, she started out for MGM in a Hardy Family picture, Andy Hardy's Double Life (1942) – though one that allowed her to swim with Mickey Rooney. After being billed 19th in A Guy Named Joe (1943), she shot to stardom in her third film, Bathing Beauty (1944).

It started out as an average Red Skelton vehicle, first called Mr Co-Ed, then Sing and Swim, but Esther's superb figure and pretty features were heightened by Technicolor...

Esther Williams: ‘Pools and Smiles’ formula grows stale [See previous post: "Esther Williams: Swimwear MGM Musical Star Dies."] By the early ’50s, Louis B. Mayer had been ousted from the studio he had helped to found, having been replaced by Dore Schary. Whether or not a coincidence, with the exception of Million Dollar Mermaid, the Esther Williams movies of the ’50s — e.g., The Duchess of Idaho, Skirts Ahoy! (stolen by Vivian Blaine in a supporting role), Dangerous When Wet, Easy to Love — lacked the luster of those released in the previous decade, despite more prestigious directors (George Sidney, Charles Walters, Robert Z. Leonard) and the usual co-stars (Van Johnson, Red Skelton, Howard Keel). (Photo: Esther Williams in Million Dollar Mermaid.) Not surprisingly, although MGM’s color musicals would remain in vogue a few more years, Esther Williams and the studio parted ways following George Sidney’s tired-looking Jupiter’s Darling (1956), with Williams and Howard Keel (as Hannibal) fooling around in ancient times.

Esther Williams: Swimwear-garbed star of MGM Technicolor musicals dead at 91 Esther Williams, known for her swimming skills and ability to smile and keep her makeup and coiffure intact underwater in several MGM Technicolor aqua-musicals of the ’40s and ’50s, died in her sleep earlier today at her Beverly Hills home. Williams, who in recent decades launched a successful swimwear line, was 91. (Photo: Esther Williams publicity shot ca. 1945.) Born on August 8, 1921, in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, Esther Williams began honing her swimming skills at the Los Angeles Athletic Club. Following several victories in swimming competitions, she looked forward to taking part in the 1940 Olympics. World War II, however, interfered. In the early ’40s, she was reportedly discovered by an MGM scout while appearing as a "bathing beauty" at the World’s Fair in San Francisco. The swimming champion would write in her 1999 autobiography The Million Dollar Mermaid that...

"The comfort that I felt in a swimsuit was from knowing I could get to the end of the pool first," Esther Williams once told The Huffington Post.

The swimming legend died today at the age of 91, but she left an indelible mark on the style world. Throughout her career, Williams was the picture of aquatic elegance in classic bikinis and one-pieces, including her favorite pink maillot from 1944's "Bathing Beauty." She later went on to release her own line of swimwear, which centered around subtly sexy one-pieces and retro bikinis.

As an Olympic swimmer-turned-actress, she shined in musicals like "Easy To Love," "Jupiter's Darling" and, of course, "Million Dollar Mermaid," which soon became her nickname. We dug up a stunning photo of Williams wearing one of her iconic swimsuits circa 1945 below. Take a look and tell us how the late star influenced your poolside fashion.

Photo:

How do today's celebs compare?...

Movie star and champion swimmer Esther Williams passed away today at the age of 91. To remember her Hollywood career, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will be airing a 24-hour movie marathon of many of her most famous films from the 1940s and ’50s beginning June 13 at 8pm Et. Included in the Esther Williams movie marathon, which TCM says will feature 13 titles, are her film debut in Andy Hardy’s Double Life (1942); her first starring vehicle, Bathing Beauty (1944); the colorful musical Neptune’s Daughter (1949); the biopic of swimmer Annette Kellerman, Million Dollar Mermaid (1952); the romantic comedy Easy [...]

The post TCM to remember Esther Williams with 24-hour movie marathon appeared first on Channel Guide Magazine.

She made a name for herself as both an actress and a swimmer, and sadly Esther Williams died peacefully in her sleep earlier today (June 6).

The 91-year-old thespian rose to fame in the 1940s thanks to several high-profile roles in MGM Musicals such as “Bathing Beauty,” “Neptune’s Daughter,” and “Million Dollar Mermaid.”

Given her string of successful films, Hollywood created a completely new genre called The Aqua Musical, and MGM built a 90-square-foot pool that was 20-feet deep at their Stage 30 lot.

Williams previously told press, "No one had ever done a swimming movie before, so we just made it up as we went along. I ad-libbed all my own underwater movements."

All in all, Esther starred in 25 aqua musicals during her career.

Million Dollar Mermaid (1952)

Star of the silver screen and in the swimming pool, actress Esther Williams has passed away at the age of 91. Williams died early today in her sleep, according to her longtime publicist Harlan Boll.

Million Dollar Mermaid (1952)

Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will pay tribute to legendary film star and swimmer Esther Williams with a 24-hour marathon of films beginning Thursday, June 13, at 8 p.m. (Et). TCM’s tribute will feature 13 of Williams’ films, including her film debut in Andy Hardy’s Double Life (1942); her first starring vehicle, Bathing Beauty (1944); the colorful musical Neptune’s Daughter (1949); the biopic of swimmer Annette Kellerman, Million Dollar Mermaid (1952); the romantic comedy Easy to Wed (1946); and the Hawaii-set musical Pagan Love Song (1950).

The following is a complete schedule of TCM’s June 13-14 tribute to Esther Williams:

Thursday, June 13

8 p.m. – Bathing Beauty (1944)

10 p.m. – Neptune’s Daughter (1949)

11:45 p.m.

Actress and champion swimmer Esther Williams passed away at the age of 91 this morning.

Born in Inglewood, Calif., in 1921, Williams took an interest in swimming at a young age and began breaking individual U.S. swimming records as a teen.

Williams was slated to represent the U.S. in the 1940 Olympics; however, she was unable to participate in the Olympics, which were hosted in Finland that year, as they were canceled due to the outbreak of World War II in Europe.

She then utilized another one of her talents, good looks, to become a model.

Then 18 years old, she drew attention from MGM scouts at the Aquacade, an aquatic spectacle, in San Francisco and was shortly thereafter signed to a contract.

Two years later, Williams made her film debut in the comedy Andy Hardy's Double Life, starring Mickey Rooney.

As she continued to refine her acting craft over the years, Williams landed...

Esther Williams, the professional swimmer who parlayed her skills in the pool into a successful career in films, has died. She was 91. On screen, Williams helped popularize the so-called "aquamusicals," which paired musical numbers with synchronized swimming. Throughout the 1950s, she was a witty, vivacious and chlorinated presence who was never too far from the diving board in films with titles that positively dripped, like "Million Dollar Mermaid" and "Dangerous When Wet." She became a top box-office draw and was seen by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as its answer to Sonja Henie, the Olympic...

Esther Williams, iconic actress and bathing beauty of the forties and fifties, died today, her publicist announced this afternoon. She was 91. Williams, a one-time Olympic hopeful, made a slew of "aquamusicals" for MGM and was famous for her onscreen swimming in movies like Million Dollar Mermaid (also the title of her autobiography), Dangerous When Wet (half live-action, half animated), and Neptune's Daughter. Her elaborate underwater ballets made her the godmother of synchronized swimming and one of the most popular pinups of her day. Here she is in 1955's Jupiter's Darling:...

Esther Williams, the bathing beauty who tantalized Hollywood in the aquatic Technicolor musicals of the 19402 and 19502 has died. She was 91. According to her longtime publicist, Harlan Boll, the swimming champion turned actress known as the Million Dollar Mermaid died early Thursday in her sleep. Awww.

So long Ms. Williams and thanks for the Technicolor dreams!

Here's more info on Williams' life from Wiki:

Esther Jane Williams (August 8, 1921 . June 6, 2013)[1][2] was an American competitive swimmer and MGM movie actress.

Williams set multiple national and regional swimming records in her late teens as part of the Los Angeles Athletic Club swim team. Unable to compete in the 1940 Summer Olympics because of the outbreak of World War II, she joined Billy Rose's Aquacade, where she took on the role vacated by Eleanor Holm after the show's move from New York City to San Francisco.

While in the city, she spent five months swimming...

Swimmer-turned-actress Esther Williams has died, aged 91.

Her publicist Harlan Boll has confirmed that Williams passed away in her sleep earlier today (June 6) in Beverly Hills, CA.

Williams first gained fame while setting swimming records with the Los Angeles Athletic Club both nationally and regionally, but missed out on the 1940 Olympics due to the outbreak of World War II.

The athlete transitioned into the film industry and became famous for appearing in many Technicolor movie musicals in Hollywood's golden era.

Williams is perhaps best known for her roles in Easy to Wed, Dangerous When Wet, Bathing Beauty and Take Me Out to the Ballgame.

She also famously played swimming champion Annette Kellerman in the hit 1952 film Million Dollar Mermaid, which was choreographed by Busby Berkeley.

Williams was one of the most successful box officers stars of the early 1950s, but stepped away from the spotlight a decade later.

She was married four times throughout her life,...

Los Angeles — Esther Williams, the swimming champion turned actress who starred in glittering and aquatic Technicolor musicals of the 1940s and 1950s, has died. She was 91.

Williams died early Thursday in her sleep, according to her longtime publicist Harlan Boll.

Following in the footsteps of Sonja Henie, who went from skating champion to movie star, Williams became one of Hollywood's biggest moneymakers, appearing in spectacular swimsuit numbers that capitalized on her wholesome beauty and perfect figure.

Such films as "Easy to Wed," `'Neptune's Daughter" and "Dangerous When Wet" followed the same formula: romance, music, a bit of comedy and a flimsy plot that provided excuses to get Esther into the water.

The extravaganzas dazzled a second generation via television and the compilation films "That's Entertainment." Williams' co-stars included the pick of the MGM contract list, including Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Red Skelton, Ricardo Montalban and Howard Keel.

When hard...

How sad. ‘America’s Mermaid’ peacefully died in her sleep on June 6, her rep reports, after a number of health setbacks over the past few years.

Esther Williams, the swimming champion turned actress, was a huge box-office attraction of the ’40s and ’50s, but she sadly lost her life on June 6 — she was 91 years old.

Esther Williams Dead — Sad Breaking News

Her longtime publicist Harlan Boll said Esther was in a peaceful sleep when she passed away, People reports.

In films such as Easy to Wed, Neptune’s Daughter and Dangerous When Wet, Esther appeared in swimsuit scenes. Her films all seemed to follow the same formula, according to ABC News. They included romance, music, comedy and a plot that provided excuses to get Esther into the water!

Following the ’50s, Esther tried non-swimming roles, but she found little success. And she retired from public life after her 1962 marriage to Fernando Lamas.

Los Angeles, Calif. - Esther Williams, the swimming champion turned actress who starred in glittering and aquatic Technicolor musicals of the 1940s and 1950s, has died. She was 91.

Williams died early Thursday in her sleep, according to her longtime publicist Harlan Boll.

Following in the footsteps of Sonja Henie, who went from skating champion to movie star, Williams became one of Hollywood's biggest moneymakers, appearing in spectacular swimsuit numbers that capitalized on her wholesome beauty and perfect figure.

Such films as "Easy to Wed," ''Neptune's Daughter" and "Dangerous When Wet" followed the same formula: romance, music, a bit of comedy and a flimsy plot that provided excuses to get Esther into the water.

The extravaganzas dazzled a second generation via television and the compilation films "That's Entertainment." Williams' co-stars included the pick of the MGM contract list, including Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Red Skelton, Ricardo Montalban and Howard Keel.

Esther Williams, the swimming champion turned actress who starred in glittering and aquatic Technicolor musicals of the 1940s and 1950s, has died. She was 91.

Williams died early Thursday in her sleep, according to her longtime publicist Harlan Boll.

Following in the footsteps of Sonja Henie, who went from skating champion to movie star, Williams became one of Hollywood’s biggest moneymakers, appearing in spectacular swimsuit numbers that capitalized on her wholesome beauty and perfect figure.

Such films as Easy to Wed, Neptune’s Daughter, and Dangerous When Wet followed the same formula: romance, music, a bit of comedy and a flimsy plot that provided excuses to get Esther into the water.

The extravaganzas dazzled a second generation via television and the compilation films That’s Entertainment. Williams’ co-stars included the pick of the MGM contract list, including Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Red Skelton, Ricardo Montalban and Howard Keel.

When hard times signaled the end of big studios and costly musicals in the mid-’50s, Williams tried non-swimming roles with little success. After her 1962 marriage to Fernando Lamas, her co-star in Dangerous When Wet, she retired from public life.

Actress and champion swimmer Esther Williams, who showcased a combination of glamour and athleticism by starring in several spectacular and splashy MGM musicals of the 1940s and '50s, has died. She was 91. Williams died peacefully in her sleep Thursday in Beverly Hills, family spokesman Harlan Boll announced. Williams swam her way to stardom in such timeless motion pictures as Bathing Beauty (1944), Neptune's Daughter (1949) and Million Dollar Mermaid (1952). The audience response to the athletic All-American girl was phenomenal as MGM put Williams' career into high gear. For more than a decade, she reigned in a new Hollywood

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The silver screen has long boasted many great beauties, but only one was ever worthy of the title "America's Mermaid." Esther Williams, MGM's great synchronized swimming star and box-office attraction of the '40s and '50s, died. She was 91. The star's publicist Harlan Boll told the Associated Press she died in her sleep Thursday. Relatively removed from the public eye since the publication of her 1999 memoir, The Million Dollar Mermaid, Williams suffered some health setbacks in the past several years. In 2001, she fractured her ankle (which then became infected, necessitating the use of a walker) after a spill down...

Swim in peace, America's Mermaid.

Esther Williams, a champion swimmer who became a movie star, has died. The 91-year-old passed away in her sleep, according to family spokesman Harlan Boll.

Called "America's Mermaid," Williams starred in several splashy, Technicolor "aquamusicals" in the 1940s and '50s, including "MIllion Dollar Mermaid," "Neptune's Daughter," and "Bathing Beauty."

As a teenager, Williams was a competitive swimmer who dreamed of going to the Olympics. But when the 1940 Games were canceled due to World War II, she joined the Aquacade at the San Francisco World's Fair alongside "Tarzan" star Johnny Weissmuller. There, she caught the eye of MGM scouts.

She acted opposite Mickey Rooney in her first movie, 1942's "Andy Hardy's Double Life." From there, a bathing suit-clad Williams became a sex symbol in a genre created just for her -- the aquamusical.

"No one had ever done a swimming movie before," she once said,...

American swimming champion-turned-film-star Esther Williams died in her sleep today, at age 91.

Williams, who was a national champion in her teens, was spotted by an MGM talent scout and made her screen debut in Andy Hardy's Double Life in 1942. MGM would go on to make her in to a synchonised screen siren, developing "Aqua Musicals" specifically for her in the 1940s.

Dubbed Hollywood's Mermaid, she became a huge box office draw in the Forties and Fifties, with her films including The One Piece Bathing Suit - co-starring Victor Mature - Dangerous When Wet and Fiesta.

Other big-name co-stars included Howard Keel, Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly.

As studio appetites for musicals declined, she tried to carve a name for herself out of the water but failed to match her earlier succes. She retired from public life in the Sixties, marrying her Dangerous When Wet co-star Fernando Lamas - her third husband after.

Welcome to BroadwayWorld.com's newest photo series 'Photo Blast From the Past'. Featuring some of the collected theatre gem's of BroadwayWorld's own senior photographer Walter McBride, the series will feature images from his archives of theatre and Hollywood related gems.Today, we bring you MGM movie musical star Esther Williams circa 1985. After appearing in several small roles, alongside Mickey Rooney in an Andy Hardy film, and future five time co-star Van Johnson in A Guy Named Joe, Williams made a series of films in the 1940s and early 1950s known as aquamusicals, which featured elaborate performances with synchronized swimming and diving.In 1952, Williams appeared in her only biographical role, as Australian swimming star Annette Kellerman in Million Dollar Mermaid, which would go on to become her nickname while at MGM.

TCM Spotlight: Esther Williams, Vol. 2 (Thrill of a Romance / Fiesta / This Time for Keeps / Pagan Love Song / Million Dollar Mermaid / Easy to Love) Twenty-first century moviegoers don’t understand Esther Williams, and you get funny looks when you try to explain her appeal. Why on earth would you go to the movies just to see someone swim? It must be admitted that, as an attraction, Williams’ aquatic frolicking is not exactly Indiana Jones fleeing a runaway boulder. But it’s important to remember that in a world before anyone had access to so much as a football game a week the opportunity to watch any feat of athleticism was a rare thing. Movie audiences’ need to see [...]...

The weekend’s here. You’ve just been paid, and it’s burning a hole in your pocket. What’s a pop culture geek to do? In hopes of steering you in the right direction to blow some of that hard-earned cash, it’s time for the Quick Stop Weekend Shopping Guide - your spotlight on the things you didn’t even know you wanted…

(Please support Quick Stop by using the links below to make any impulse purchases - it helps to keep us going…)

Those fans that have only experience the butchered editions of weird and wonderful The Mighty Boosh that have been running on Adult Swim need to run - not walk - to their favorite DVD emporium and snag copies of the new-to-the-us unexpurgated editions of The Mighty Boosh seasons 1-3 that have now been collected into the massive Mighty Boosh Special Edition DVD set (BBC,...

TCM has put out some great vintage film collections in the last few years. The collections usually have a fair collection of winners and so-so contenders who need the better films to make them palatable and Esther Williams: Volume 2 is no exception. However, to the volume’s credit, it has a better ratio than most sets with 4 good to great films supporting 2 mediocre ones. The set could very well help reel in some younger viewers as the films in this volume have a surprisingly modern feel to them all. This one maybe good, but it might still qualify as “for collectors only”.

Thrill of a Romance (1945)

Directed by Richard Thorpe and written by Richard Connell and Gladys Lehman.

Co-starring Van Johnson and Henry Travers.

Summary: Two lovebirds get swept up in a whirlwind romance; one a girl looking for love and one a celebrated veteran, the two find their...

Tuesday night was ladies' night at the ballroom. While there was no open bar, there was a two-dance minimum, just like the male contestants had on Monday's performance show. Known for her tough-talking on-screen persona, Debi Mazar opened the night with a less-than-commanding salsa, earning just 16 out of a possible 30 points. The audience felt actress Melissa Joan Hart, TV's Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, was mildly magical performing the Viennese waltz with Mark Ballas, but the judges thought otherwise and scored her a devilish six-six-six, for a total of 18 points. Singer Mya and Dmitri Chaplin got a standing ovation -- and caused the evening's first rift -- for their Viennese waltz. Carrie Ann Inaba shouted, "Way to set the bar tonight!" But a cranky Len Goodman slammed the performance, saying it was "a theatrical hodge-podge." Bruno Tonioli retorted -- as only Bruno can do -- and declared, "that was artistry in motion!