La duchessa dell'Idaho

If the ski slopes of Sun Valley in Idaho seem a most unlikely place to find Esther Williams, for those of you who are fans fear not, for she does get a couple of numbers in a swimming pool.

Duchess Of Idaho casts Esther Williams and Paula Raymond as a pair of sisters who were once in the army. Esther is of course an aquatic star and Paula has settled down to work as a secretary for playboy millionaire railroad tycoon John Lund who uses Raymond to fend off the advances of females with marriage on their minds.

The rest of the film plays like a plot from I Love Lucy. Raymond is first elated to get an invitation from Lund for a working vacation in Sun Valley, but then she's told Lund is going it alone. Then Williams gets the Lucy Ricardo like idea to go to Sun Valley on the same train and play up to Lund with the idea that he'll send for Raymond to bail him out again and Raymond can finally get Lund.

It starts to work out that way, but Williams also meets bandleader Van Johnson on the same trip and she starts falling for him. But true to her sister and her mission she still plays for Lund. It all ends a bit happier than Lucy Ricardo's schemes did.

Nothing terribly memorable music wise comes from Duchess Of Idaho. The best number is from Lena Horne as a guest star who sings Baby Come Out Of The Clouds. Eleanor Powell has a specialty dance number and this turned out to be her farewell appearance on the big screen. Clinton Sundberg has a nice bit as Lund's valet, but for the life of me I could not see casting Mel Torme in a film as a bellhop and not giving him at least one number. My guess is they did and it ended up on the cutting room floor.

The film opens and closes with an Esther Williams water ballet for her fans. And it certainly establishes a reason for her to be in the Duchess Of Idaho. Her many legion of fans will like the film and it's a pleasant diversion for the rest of us.

If you can get past the irrelevant title of this film, you will find it's a solid vehicle for Esther Williams, who--remarkably!--plays an aquatic entertainer. As Christine Duncan, she gets involved in a plot to hook up her sister (Ellen Hallit, played by Paula Raymond) with the sister's boss (Douglas Morrissen, played by John Lund), a rich playboy businessman who sees her only as his secretary. Typical for its day, the plot revolves around getting him to notice her legs more than recognize what a great person she is.

Christine's swimming routines include long stretches of swimming underwater and hiding behind scenery, so that audiences cannot see her well. But viewers of this film are treated to underwater shots and close-ups of her languid stroking. So we know up-front that we have entered the world of a Hollywood fantasy and left reality behind--which is where it belongs in this very stylized story.

The sets and the sights are richly colored, the fashions are well-tailored and sharp, the musical numbers are enjoyable and eye-catching. They are also numerous, because (fortunately) the characters spend plenty of time visiting nightclubs and running into singers and dancers (like Lena Horne and Eleanor Powell). Such numbers interrupt the narrative, but are an integral part of the formula. The music is mostly of the big band genre, with some boogie woogie to spice things up.

As for the acting, Ms. Williams is, in my opinion, always competent. The other leads are also up to the task, though the emotional demands of the script are minimal. This is a lighthearted romance where the musical entertainment is a primary draw. I enjoyed it as such.

"You always have to have a plot. There's never an easy way of doing things." So says JOHN LUND in this typical ESTHER WILLIAMS movie based on the familiar mix-ups involved when nobody tells the truth.

The mix-ups begin when Esther offers to help secretary PAULR RAYMOND catch a rich playboy (Lund), suggesting a trip to romantic surroundings in Sun Valley, Idaho would help. Esther, in the meantime, is pursued by VAN JOHNSON, a bandleader at the resort, who soon melts her heart. In the interim, there are guest appearances by RED SKELTON (at a potato square-dance contest that is deftly done) and ELEANOR POWELL, who does a guest spot in the usual MGM manner of at first coyly refusing to dance when requested. Then she rips into an impromptu routine that had to be rehearsed for at least three weeks. So much for reality.

It's a strictly fun, escapist musical, which is all it pretends to be. ESTHER WILLIAMS and PAUL RAYMOND look gorgeous in their various Technicolor outfits and Esther gets to do a couple of swimming numbers in her usual charming manner. JOHN LUND and VAN JOHNSON do nicely in the romantic comedy department as the love interest for the gals.

If you like Esther, this one is for you.

If you want to Esther Williams in one of her better roles check this one out. While she still has two very nice water ballet sequences, the best parts of the movie involve the funny antics of its players. The cast is very good especially Williams and Van Johnson who have a great chemistry. It's no wonder they made 3 other movies together. Johnson is absolutely charming and Williams shows that she can do more than just swim. She definately holds her own.

Of course it is pretty easy to perdict what will happen, but it's still a lot of fun. It will definately puts a smile on the face. It's also very neat to see a very young Mel Torme as a messenger.

DUCHESS OF IDAHO (1950) is one of those lesser-known MGM/Joe Pasternak musicals that bridge the marathon musical spectaculars of the 1940s (BATHING BEAUTY, TWO GIRLS AND A SAILOR) and the more streamlined editions of the 1950s (EASY TO LOVE, Texas CARNIVAL, etc). But as with many of the '40s films DUCHESS is still more concerned with wit, music, and pure style than any kind of cohesive plot line. Musically we're still in the '40s big band mode here, and the songs, by some of MGM's lesser-hyped tunesmiths, are catchy, serviceable, and very 40-ish. (JAILHOUSE ROCK and Presley were still seven years in the future). A highlight is "Let's Choo Choo Choo to Idaho," arranged by Skip Martin, and performed on a train on route to Sun Valley by vivacious band singer Connie Haines, Van Johnson, and an African American quartet called the Jubalaires.

Lena Horne is also on hand with a few numbers, as is Eleanor Powell for one of her last big solo dances on film, and comedian Red Skelton also puts in a guest appearance. A none-singing Mel Torme briefly appears (as a bellhop), and ditto "Gunsmoke's" titian-haired Amanda Blake as one of Lund's rejected girlfriends). In the second female lead Paula Raymond is one of those obscure but promising MGM personalities who, however, never quite made a break through. In DUCHESS she shows glimmers of charm but is seriously handicapped by some of the clunkiest outfits in the usually impeccable MGM wardrobe.

The look of DUCHESS anticipates the peak Technicolor styling of such early 50s MGMs as LOVELY TO LOOK AT, YOUNG BESS, and SCARAMOUCHE. Many of the interiors are keyed to soft beiges and earth tones against which Esther's always-modish outfits (one of which includes slipper socks!) stand out in jolts of brilliance. And of course it wouldn't be an Esther Williams picture without a few aqua numbers though those featured here are some of her most restrained. (A nocturnal ski run with multi-colored torches also provides a trippy visual/musical interlude mid-film).

Someone once said about Esther that "Wet she's a star, but dry she ain't," but on the whole DUCHESS showcases the star's under-rated acting skills and her often-ironic sense of humor. ("You'll see Esther Williams swim and ski and skate and do a dozen thrilling things!" the movie book ads proclaimed). While as noted the plot is not the strongest, the dialogue (by three credited screenwriters) is witty, often sophisticated, and well-delivered by all involved, including deadpan MGM character staple, Clinton Sundberg, who mutters an on-going chorus of grumbling asides as Lund's much put-upon man Friday. DUCHESS OF IDAHO is the cover story for the August, 1950 issue of "Screen Stories" which also includes a full-page ad for the film in the prime MGM spot right next to the contents, indicating that the studio considered this one of their key box-office attractions for the summer.