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Million Dollar Mermaid, starring the incomparable Esther Williams, is the story of "the incomparable Annette Kellerman," an Australian swimming champion and water ballet artist who went on to perform in New York's Hippodrome. We start off in Sidney, Australia, where a young Annette is hampered by cumbersome leg braces. She starts swimming to strengthen her legs and before you know it, a star is born. Annette swims and dives her way through the show-biz ranks, struggling to support her musician father and fighting every woman's battle between Love and Career. The highlight of Million Dollar Mermaid is a jaw-dropping water ballet production number that simply must be seen to be believed. Colored smoke! Trapezes! Water slides! Water starlets making floating stars with kicking legs! And, of course, Esther herself, surrounded by sparklers and swimming in all her mermaid glory. They don't make 'em like this anymore: this blast from the past is not to be missed. --Ali Davis ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Very good film!
This film starring Esther Williams and Victor Mature, is very entertaining, a biography of Annette Kellerman. It os very well done, and well worth seeing.

Williams' best movie
MILLION DOLLAR MERMAID is Esther Williams' best work on film, and is the most successful attempt at combining a passable dramatic story with water ballet that was crucial to the plot of the story.

Esther Williams plays the famed Australian swimmer Annette Kellerman, who wowed audiences in London and at New York's Hippodrome with her beautiful water ballets.

Williams is good as Kellerman, she seems to have the character well in hand. Never in any other picture did Williams display her considerable acting talents. She is terribly good here - both in her acting and in her swimming.

Rounding out the cast is Victor Mature, Walter Pidgeon (as her loving father), Donna Corcoran (as the young Annette), and David Brian.

There are lavish costumes and beautiful period sets. The entire production is flawless.

As classics go, it's one of the best
A great fan of this movie, they just do not make movies like they used to. Look forward to seeing it re-released on video so many more people can enjoy this wonderfully put together musical.

A YOUNG, AVID ESTHER WILLIAMS FAN!
Considering that I am of the minority group of young people in this day and age, I have a deep appreciatiation and love for classic movies, particularly musicals. Maybe it was my mom's influence back when I was only 10 or 11 years old, but it didn't take long for me to fall in love with this clean-cut, family-oriented, entertaining films of both the lives of hopeful dreamers and realistic persons who just wanted to experience the warm feeling of good old times amongst famous Hollywood faces. Nevertheless, throughout all the countless classics and musicals I've seen, Esther Williams stood out as the best actress and representative of musicals for all time. The movie Million Dollar Mermaid, debuted in 1952, was and is probably William's greatest feature film. The first time I saw this movie was when just about any Hollywood musical could be found in any store that sold VHS video tapes. Unfortunately, there are few people who still fall in love with classics and musicals each time they see their favorite black-and-white (or for those who think Technicolor is the saving grace for classics) Hollywood flame grace the screen...me, I'm the lover of both kinds. If I had to choose a favorite classic movie musical, I am certain that one of Esther William's feature films would come to mind, and more than likely her most memorable debut was Million Dollar Mermaid. I hope that MGM will re-release this great, all-time classic...it would please the hearts of any Esther William fan, or for that matter, any musical lover!

Classic Esther Williams musical
I'm very disappointed that Million Dollar Mermaid is not available on video. I fondly remember the movie from my childhood and would like to share it with my grandaughter. I hope that it will be released in the near future so that this great Esther Williams classic can be discovered by a new generation.` ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Unworthy of a legend.
As a former dancer with NYCB during the Tallchief years, I was eager to view this videotape and revisit the greatness of this magnificent ballerina. Although television is hardly the best medium for dance, I was startled by the terribly confined space allotted to the dancers. Surely that contributed heavily to performances that were little more than the "marking" dancers do in rehearsals when they need to conserve their energy. Always a confident technician and musical performer, Tallchief looked self-conscious, awkward, and unsteady. Perhaps she was uncomfortable dancing for cameras, not an unusual predicament for dancers used to a large stage and broad audience vistas. As her partner in the pas de deux of "Scotch Symphony," Andre Eglevsky, who set virtuoso standards for American male ballet dancers in his prime, had little to do and less room to do it in. "Allegro Brilliante" was most disappointing of all. An inspiring ballet to dance and to watch under normal circumstances, this truncated version gave Tallchief no chance to show off her physical and temperamental brilliance. Hampered by unattractive camera angles, an annoying fabric "set," and no room to move with music that is a joy for the performer, the ballet suffered, as I felt she must have. Better pass this one by. ... Read more