Karneval in Texas

Debbie Telford (Esther Williams) is the dunk tank girl with partner Cornie Quinell (Red Skelton). Cornie is too honest and helps out wealthy rancher Dan Sabinas with the carnies. Dan takes the taxi while Cornie returns his car to his hotel. Cornie and Debbie are mistaken for Dan and his sister Marilla.

The start is a little funny. I would have liked more carnival. I like Debbie being pursued by Slim Shelby. Then the movie stalls a bit. It was fast becoming a failure before the wagon race. The wagons allow Red Skelton to do some physical comedy and the stunt people to do some good work. It basically woke me up.

Penniless carnival barker Red Skelton and chorine-turned-dunking girl Esther Williams are mistaken for millionaires and are forced to enter a Chuck Wagon race to eradicate a gambling debt. Modest M-G-M comedy-musical filmed in Technicolor looks just as good as the studio's more-popular output--what was needed, however, was a screenplay with bigger laughs and stronger characterizations. Skelton juggles, sings, and performs some pleasing comedy shtick, but he's too polite here; director Charles Walters keeps Red reigned-in so much that a nutty drunk routine late in the movie seems out of place. Williams has a nifty fantasy number where she appears to pole-dance underwater (!), while Ann Miller has one great tap-dance sequence accompanied by a mad xylophone. Isolated moments of fun linked by the barest minimum of plot, though the wild slapstick finale nearly makes up for the picture's deficiencies. **1/2 from ****

This little-known musical might be considered the Texas answer to (the stage musical) "Oklahoma!" And though things in Texas are supposed to be bigger, this film is smaller in many ways. But the four leads get their moments in the sun: Esther swims, Red mimes, Ann dances, and Howard sings.

Cornie the carny (Red Skelton) and his collaborator, Debbie (Esther Williams) run a dunking booth in a carnival, but they are not making ends meet. When Cornie runs into a rich, drunk cattleman Dan Sabinas (Keenan Wynn), who takes a shine to him, Cornie and Debbie leave the midway and head for a posh hotel where Sabinas is supposed to be staying. A case of mistaken identity allows them to reside there indefinitely.

The Sabinas foreman (Howard Keel as the real Slim Shelby) becomes interested in Debbie, and a hoofer named Sunshine Jackson (Ann Miller) sets her sites on Cornie. The rest of the plot is a jumble of unimportant events, including a rough and tumble chuck wagon race that is reminiscent of Ben Hur.

Keel's singing is up to his usual standards, but the songs are not Rodgers and Hammerstein. Ann Miller taps up a storm with choreography by Hermes Pan. Esther Williams swims less than she usually does in her aquafests, but she has a dream sequence that is clever. Red Skelton transforms the entire film, making it more comedy than any other genre.

Credit Helen Rose for the beautiful designs worn by the female leads.

The ending is weak, but the overall production entertains adequately.

How to get ESTHER WILLIAMS wet and still have an entertaining musical must have finally gotten to whomever dreamed up this lackluster, shoddy script for the MGM swimming star. She seldom dips a toe into the water and when she does her swimming scenes are brief.

In fact, the whole story is told in little more than one hour and seventeen minutes--and even then, it's exasperating to watch so little happen. The story is the tired old mistaken identity theme taken to ridiculous heights by RED SKELTON, who's mistaken for an obnoxious and wealthy oil baron (KEENAN WYNN) at a luxury hotel with a deluxe size swimming pool. HOWARD KEEL ambles into the story via horseback singing just one of several unmemorable songs and is soon ogling Esther poolside in a manner designed to get her to take a dip (for the sake of her fans).

ANN MILLER pops up to add some breezy Texas charm to the proceedings, but even her lively dance numbers lack the usual splash MGM gave to its production numbers. Esther is supposed to be a carnival girl who gets dumped into water by any man who can throw a curve ball--and she's hungry, or so we're told, to the point where she faints in the arms of Howard Keel who then chases her until she's caught. Esther has to be one of the healthiest gals ever supposed to be suffering from malnutrition that I've ever seen.

The hazy plot plods along until the predictable ending with the stolen identity cleared up and Esther is ready to melt into Keel's arms--none too soon.

Summing up: At least Esther had MILLION DOLLAR MERMAID in her future--but this is one where she's just killing time. Very unworthy vehicle for the swimming star par excellence.

The movie has several fun moments, some good songs and a couple of nice dances by Ann Miller. The problem is that it really doesn't work as an Esther Williams vehicle so it's best to approach it as a Red Skelton movie featuring Esther Williams. With a slightly different perspective this can be an enjoyable experience.