Désir d'amour

Despite the fact that most films done with Esther Williams are just "Little Ditties" The cast in this movie is absolutely delightful. And the choreographed water scenes of water skiing and swimming by Busby Berkley are beautiful. So is the song Easy to Love, sang here by Tony Martin. The cast includes Van Johnson, who gives a touching performance. There is something about this actor that pierces through me in whatever part he plays. There is an appearance of beautiful Cyd Charisse at the end of the film together with her husband Tony Martin. Seeing this movie brings back memories of the time that TV was not available and Cinema was the most prevalent outing. There is nothing frightening or harmful in this kind of film it is pure entertainment.

A likeable enough film. A treat for the eyes. I must admit that, knowing Busby Berkeley was ijnvolved, I was actually frightened for those in the final water number, even though this all happened 70 years ago. It was dangerous to let him play with motorized vehicles. Interesting to read that this was Esther Williams' favorite film. I'm not a fan of Tony Martin, and he looked a little old to be involved in these highjinks. But he was in very good voice, especially with the song about a rainy day.

While not quite an "easy to love" film, 'Easy to Love' is very much an "easy to like" film. Flaws and all, it is a very likable film, one of Esther Williams' most likable.

People will be disappointed at the paper-thin weakness of the story, and that other than the classic Cole Porter title number the songs while okay are not particularly memorable. While Williams swims through with flying colours, her two male leads are less than inspired. Van Johnson is relaxed in his rapport with Williams, but elsewhere looks uncomfortable and disinterested. Tony Martin's heavenly singing isn't enough to disguise his limited, wooden acting ability.

However, Williams is perfectly cast, her presence radiating star quality and she handles the comedic and romantic elements well and with a witty no-nonsense manner that never gets annoying. John Bromfield acquits himself well, as does a lively pre-'Baby Doll' Carroll Baker.

Then there is the involvement of Busby Berkeley. Responsible for some of the most jaw-dropping and imaginative choreography ever seen in film musical history, Berkeley does it again with his choreography of the water ballets something to be cherished forever.

'Easy to Love' looks glorious in rich, vibrant Technicolor, which is complemented by the cinematography and the beautifully designed costumes and sets. Charles Walters directs more than competently, while the pace is bright and breezy and the script is suitably peppy.

All in all, a very easy to like film. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Release dates for this one indicate that M-G-M decorated the nation's movie screens with this tuneful treat on Christmas Day. It was a delightful concoction with Esther displaying just about everything that made her one of the studio's biggest box office favorites, including a frantic number where she's dressed as a clown and required, no doubt by Busby Berkeley, assisting director Charles Walters, to perform some exceedingly lively stunts in the course of an elaborate aquatic display of why she was still a champion when wet.

Tony Martin croons the title tune, a Cole Porter standard, to Esther as she languidly swims for what seems like miles in a moonlit lagoon and there's an extremely sweet little song, entitled "That's What a Rainy Day Is For," tossed off, as they could afford to do in those melodious times, by Mr. Martin again, to a roomful of charming elderly ladies surrounding Miss Williams. The final extravaganza, set in Florida's Cypress Gardens, involves motorboats, dozens of swimmers, and Esther dangling and diving from a helicopter, no doubt the brainchild of Mr. Berkeley, the scourge of everyone assigned to execute the products of his fertile imagination (and, according to some reports, his alcohol-fueled tirades.)

Of course the plot, with Esther pining for a remarkably disinterested Van Johnson, probably irritated even the tolerant audiences of the early Fifties, but it was scripted cleverly enough to display Esther's gift for light comedy, something that is not as appreciated as it should be. When that lengthy sequence of scenes from Esther Williams movies was put together for "That's Entertainment!" in 1974, a young acquaintance of mine, completely unfamiliar with Hollywood's one-and-only mermaid, exited the theater thoroughly besotted with her charms. He found himself literally at a loss for words to express his admiration. I don't know if he ever had the opportunity to see one of her pictures in its entirety, but this wouldn't have been a bad choice, were he limited to just one title.

Easy to Love may yet when the definitive history of film is written to be Busby Berkeley's ultimate triumph. No longer confined by a motion picture sound studio, Berkeley stages a water ballet finale that is probably his ultimate fantasy number.

I have no doubt that somebody at MGM got together with someone at Florida's Cypress Gardens and decided to make a film promotion of the place. In essence that's what you have here. MGM shot the whole thing down there in Florida and the technicolor photography is spectacular.

When MGM did its compilation film That's Entertainment it was also mentioned that for one and one star alone did that studio construct a sound stage just for her. That would be Esther Williams, swimming star and movie star.

Esther's place at MGM was something akin to Sonja Henie's at 20th Century Fox. A sports star who was already a celebrity before becoming an actress, Esther because the Olympics of 1940 was canceled did not quite have the clout Henie did when dickering with the MGM brass. Yet Esther was as good a businesswoman as Henie and MGM did quite all right by her in marketing her to the public. She does some numbers in the tank, but that finale is something else.

For those of you who have only seen the finale because of That's Entertainment, the story is three guys and Esther and who she will choose. Her choice is her boss at Cypress Gardens Van Johnson, nightclub singer Tony Martin, and her swimming partner John Bromfield.

Tony Martin sings the Cole Porter classic title tune and several other numbers, the best of which is one sung with a chorus of senior citizens and Esther, That's What a Rainy Day is For. I particularly like that one it's perfectly suited to Martin's style. Besides the finale Esther a very cute number dressed in a clown get up with a seal and chimpanzee and a mechanical alligator. According to her memoirs they were among her most memorable co-stars.

I think it's unfortunate that Easy to Love did not utilize the musical talents of Van Johnson. He was signed by MGM in fact after he was spotted in the cast of Broadway's Too Many Girls. Of course he was no match for Tony Martin as a singer, but in films like Till the Clouds Roll By and Brigadoon he more than held his own. In fact MGM should have used him more in musicals generally than they did.

And for we who appreciate these things there's the sight of John Bromfield who spends most of the film in a bathing suit.

Easy to Love is quite the spectacle and real easy to take.