Neptune's daughter

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Movie
German title Neptune's daughter
Original title Neptune's Daughter
Country of production USA
original language English
Publishing year 1949
length 94 minutes
Rod
Director Edward Buzzell
script Dorothy Kingsley
Ray Singer , Dick Chevillat (additional dialogue)
production Jack Cummings for
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
music Georgie Stoll
Léo Arnaud
Songs: Frank Loesser
camera Charles Rosher
cut Irvine Warburton
occupation

Unmentioned in the credits

Neptune's Daughter (Original Title: Neptune's Daughter ) is an American musical film romance by Edward Buzzell from 1949. The leading roles in this story about false identities are cast with Esther Williams , Red Skelton , Ricardo Montalbán and Betty Garrett .

action

Joe Backett, owner of the swimsuit manufacturing company "Neptun", has the idea of using the big polo games in Middlebrook as an opportunity to hold a swimwear show there. His plan is also approved by Eve Barrett, who serves as president of his society. Eve sees great potential in Backett's plan and offers her support. In order to prepare everything in advance, she sends her sister Betty to Middlebrook, where the polo teams have now also arrived. The men are preparing for the upcoming competitions. Most of them came with their own masseurs. A very special example is Jack Spratt, the masseur of Jose O'Rourke, the captain of the South American polo players. Spratt is constantly busy taking part in various competitions, convinced that one day the big lot will hit him. In love he has almost no experience at all. Betty meets Spratt of all people on the polo field and, through a chain of circumstances, thinks he is the famous team captain Jose O'Rourke. Immediately she is determined to win over this famous sportsman. With a man who is completely inexperienced in love affairs, she has an easy time of it. Because of this, Betty almost forgets the assignment given to her by Eve.

When Eve learns that her sister has fallen in love with a South American of all people, she is not at all impressed because she does not have the best opinion of men of that nationality. So it happens that she arranges a meeting with Jose O'Rourke, but with the real one. She bluntly explains to the stunned man that he should leave her sister alone. After a moment's thought, Jose realizes the background and so he goes into Eve's game, gives her the promise she requested, but makes it a condition that she has to go out with him once. And so it happens that on the evening of the rendezvous, Eve falls head over heels in love with the extremely charming, courteous South American.

The entanglements now take their course when the sisters have to assume that Jose is fooling them both. On the day of the polo tournament, the real Jose suddenly disappeared, which is a debacle for his team. Nobody suspects that there are greedy business people behind it who absolutely want the local team to win the polo final. But when Betty joins the excited players, she runs to Jack in the cabin. Still assuming that he is Jose, she forces him, who has absolutely no idea about polo, onto the field. However, luck is absolutely with him and so he helps Jose's team to victory without really knowing what he is doing. Exactly at the right moment, the real Jose, who has since been freed by the police, appears to receive the trophy for the team. Of course, the men now have a lot to explain to their women, which doesn't go without a hitch. But in the end love wins and there are two couples who want to stand in front of the altar soon.

production

Production notes

Filming began in late October 1948 and lasted until mid-January 1949; some unusable scenes were shot at the end of February 1949. The film was shot in MGM studios in Culver City, California and in Weeki Wachee Springs, Florida . The production designer Edwin B. Willis also worked on the film, as did the film architects and decorators Edward C. Carfagno and Cedric Gibbons . Irene was responsible for the costumes .

According to the film magazine The Hollywood Reporter , filming, which should begin in the spring of 1948, was postponed for several months out of consideration for Red Skelton's health. The film marks the cinema debut of the radio comedian, voice specialist and musician Mel Blanc. In his role, Keenan Wynn explains individual events in the film.

At the Oscar ceremony on March 23, 1950, the song Baby, It's Cold Outside was sung by the actors who originally appeared in the film, only Esther Williams was represented by Arlene Dahl , as she had just become a mother. During the filming, Williams got pregnant, which she knew how to hide with the help of her costume designer, which gave him a headache, especially with the swimsuits.

Film music

Frank Loesser's song Baby, It's Cold Outside , performed in the film by Esther Williams and Ricardo Montalbán, among others, won an Oscar . Two songs written by Frank Loesser ( I'd Like to Get You On a Slow Boat to China and Tunnel of Love ) intended for this film were included in the Paramount film Let's Dance .

Loesser wrote Baby, It's Cold Outside about five years before it was used in film, which was known in Hollywood. After winning the Oscar, there were discussions about whether the song should be disqualified because it was not written specifically for Neptune's daughter . However, the academy decided to keep the award because the song was just perfect for the film and had not been used commercially before.

  • Baby, It's Cold Outside, written by Frank Loesser
    • Presented by Ricardo Montalbán and Esther Williams
    • as well as by Red Skelton and Betty Garrett
  • I Love Those Men , written by Frank Loesser
    • Performed by Betty Garrett with Red Skelton and Xavier Cugat and his orchestra
  • My Heart Beats Faster , written by Frank Loesser
    • presented by Ricardo Montalbán
  • On a Slow Boat to China , written by Frank Loesser
    • played instrumental during the swimwear sequence
  • Jungle Rhumba , music: Toni Beaulieu
    • Performed by Xavier Cugat and his orchestra
  • Siboney , song by Ernesto Lecuona

reception

publication

The film had its world premiere on May 22, 1949 in Columbia . It started in New York on June 9, 1949. In Sweden it was also published in 1949. In 1950 it started in the following countries: Portugal, Finland, Mexico, Argentina, Turkey, Spain (Barcelona) and Denmark. In 1951 it was published in Italy.

In the Federal Republic of Germany the film was shown for the first time on March 24, 1951, in Austria on September 21, 1951. In 1952 it was shown in Japan and in 2003 it had its DVD premiere in Greece. It was also shown in Brazil, France, Poland and Yugoslavia under the Serbian title Bal na vodi .

criticism

Bosley Crowther of the New York Times said that once a year MGM came along with a great, big film musical, full of cleverness, luxuriously implemented in technicolor, as well as with Xavier Cugat's rhythm and Esther Williams in a water ballet - and everyone would be happy when they did because I like something like that. This year's film Neptune's Daughter is no exception to the rule of opulence. The film has all the luxury ingredients that such a lavish production needs, and Miss Williams is more beautiful than ever. In addition, the film has Mr. Cugat with his rhythms, Ricardo Montalbán with his oaths of love and above all he has Red Skelton and Betty Garrett as buffoons.

Dennis Schwartz saw it similarly in Ozus's World and recommended that if you weren't a fan of Esther Williams, but wanted to see one of her "water films", this film was probably best suited for it.

The Variety said that Neptune's Daughter was a neat mix of airy and light entertainment, combined as an amusing foam brawl in a comedy with songs and dances. The stars of the film are Esther Williams and Red Skelton, with Williams in her role as a bathing beauty and Skelton with his comedic prowess made a pleasant combination. In addition, the film contains a number of beautifully staged water sequences.

Classic Film Guide, on the other hand, spoke of a below-average musical comedy by Esther Williams. Only the scenes in which the Oscar-winning song is sung by the couples Williams / Montalbán on the one hand and Garrett / Skelton on the other are the best in the film. Otherwise it's pretty chauvinistic.

For TCM Spotlight The Cinemalaser, however, the film remains one of the most beautiful that MGM has staged with Esther William.

Awards

Academy Awards 1950 : In the “Best Song” category , the Oscar went to Frank Loesser and his song Baby, It's Cold Outside .

At the Bambi Awards in 1952 , Esther Williams achieved second place behind Ingrid Bergman in the category “Best Actress International” for her achievements in this film and in the comedy Spiel zu Drei .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Neptune’s Daughter (1949) Original Print Information at TCM - Turner Classic Movies (English)
  2. ↑ a b Neptune’s Daughter (1949) Notes at TCM (English)
  3. ↑ a b Neptune’s Daughter (1949) Articles at TCM (English)
  4. ↑ Bosley Crowther: Esther Williams, Red Skelton Seen in 'Neptune's Daughter', New Bill at the Capitol
    In: The New York Times , June 10, 1949 (English). Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  5. ↑ Dennis Schwartz: The best of the Esther Williams swim-musicals is just bubbly
    at homepages.sover.net/~ozus (English)
  6. ↑ Review: 'Neptune's Daughter' In: Variety. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  7. ↑ Neptune's Daughter (1949) at classicfilmguide.com (English)
  8. ↑ Neptune's Daughter ( Memento of the original from June 26, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at thecinemalaser.com (English) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.thecinemalaser.com
  9. ↑ Rüdiger Klausmann: Bambi Stories: Schell and Borsche again at the front at bambi.de