Bathing Beauty (1944)

71% of users liked it
(737 ratings)

If you've never seen a '40s singing, swimming musical this may be the one to catch. Featuring a mammoth cast, including such notables as Xavier Cugat, Basil Rathbone, Red Skelton, and Esther Williams, this is a swimming spectacular. The plot's quite thin: Skelton plays a lovesick songwriter who… More If you've never seen a '40s singing, swimming musical this may be the one to catch. Featuring a mammoth cast, including such notables as Xavier Cugat, Basil Rathbone, Red Skelton, and Esther Williams, this is a swimming spectacular. The plot's quite thin: Skelton plays a lovesick songwriter who enrolls in a girls' school to stay near his new wife who ditched him shortly after the wedding bells rang and was hired on as the college's swim teacher. Of course Esther Williams is the beautiful swimming instructor who spends most of her time in the pool performing in a score of choreographed pieces. ~ Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 41 min.
Directed By: George Sidney II
Written By: Dorothy Kingsley
Genres: Musical & Performing Arts, Classics, Comedy

In Theaters: Jun 27, 1944 Wide
On DVD: Jul 17, 2007
Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Critic Reviews

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
Director George Sidney has all the oomph and vulgarity required, but he can't do anything about Red Skelton, who takes up way too much time and space.

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Featured Audience Ratings

moon r

i know what you're thinking:"looks like a big, fat, and old (released in 1944!) marshmellow!" and you wouldn't be far wrong, but this still manages to be one tasty 64 year old campfire treat. first off, the plot: (and who really cares?) silly campus hijinks ensue… More
i know what you're thinking:"looks like a big, fat, and old (released in 1944!) marshmellow!" and you wouldn't be far wrong, but this still manages to be one tasty 64 year old campfire treat. first off, the plot: (and who really cares?) silly campus hijinks ensue when a guy joins a womens college to win back his wandering wife. the focus here though is equally on both the music and the comedy. the music: harry james, xavier cugat and a slew of old school composers fill out an agenda that veers incredibly from boogie woogie to samba to classical. and look particularly for a scene featuring red skelton in a ballerina class for comedy. the audience i saw this old school everything-but-the-kitchen-sink effort with was laughing throughout, like the work was made yesterday, and the old skeptical cynic in me turned to mush during the picture closing esther-in-a-swimsuit choreographed free-for-all. all this and more big names than your palm tree's got coconuts! me likey bigtime!