Esther Williams is another beautiful golden age girl, like Judy Garland, Ginger Rogers, Ruby Keeler, Eleanor Powell, June Allyson, Myrna Loy, Ingrid Bergman, and others. They're all wonderful. And the music from that era is wonderful too. The music at the very start of the film was heavenly music, beautiful music with the background women's sweet sounding opera voices and/or the sweet violin sounds. It was so common in the 30s, 40s, and early 50s. I also love most swing style music in general from that era with the violins, muted trumpets and trombones, and woodwinds. And of course, I also love the wonderful singers from that era, Judy Garland, Katheryn Grayson, etc. It seemed a better age than today in many ways. "On an island with you" is a very good film. We got another of the water ballets here that Esther is so famous for, which is very good. I also like the "movie within a movie" theme here. A movie crew, which includes Jimmy Durante (the shnoz) as the director, is filming a movie in Hawaii. I sorta found funny when Durante gets off the phone from his superiors in LA who are complaining and seemingly blaming him for the sun setting too soon and they're not getting enough scenes. Durante is filming Esther, Ricardo Montalban, and Cyd Charisse in a tropical musical. One of the musical numbers being filmed is an interesting sort of a tribal dance number with Cyd and men in masks and spears. There's another great erotic dance scene between Cyd and Ricardo (where Durante even says afterwards "they were beautiful together, and I don't think I like it" (Ricardo was engaged to Esther)), and a beautiful sequence at the beginning with the heavenly music with Esther and other beautiful girls swimming around palm trees. During filming, a military air force man, Peter Lawford notices Esther and immediately becomes obsessively infatuated with her. Esther is already romantically linked up with Ricardo but Peter doesn't care, he still wants her. At a nightclub, Durente notices Peter's obsession with Esther and tries to keep him away from her (added is a funny little line when Jimmy sits with him and says "this is a cozy table for two, you and me"). Peter stubbornly refuses to change how unhealthily obsessed he is with her, and this is the big fault of the movie. Peter kidnaps her, and flies them both to an island a hundred miles away. This is not OK. Peter should be arrested for such a move, but after they're both taken back to where they came from. Esther defends Peter. I never could understand why. There's a reason why I took away three points, SPOILER: Peter Lawford ends up with Esther. That is not good, Peter did not deserve her at all. The writers having Peter win the girl makes it look like what he did was not that big a deal, and the film was still treating him as the good guy in spite of what he did. That's what really hurt the film. The other seven points I gave was that I still loved Esther, I still loved her water ballet, I still loved her swimming, I still loved the music, I still loved some of the dialogue between the characters, and I still loved some parts of the story. One funny add in was an older woman with her granddaughter trying to audition for a part and uses her English accent, Durante says "too British, won't do", she then asks her grandma "how can anyone be too British?". Another funny bit later when she shows up again saying a line trying to talk like Durante, and Durante says "better go back to the other way, this way, no one will understand you". I've liked whenever I've seen someone trying to talk or act like Durante, such as Frank Sinatra in "It happened in Brooklyn" when singing "A song must come from the heart". Then come the very good parts at the nightclubs with this girl singing "The dog song" with pretty good Spanish style while holding a tiny chihuahua (which Durante called a mouse). Durante himself sang a couple of good numbers of his, "Mr. Dobbins" and "The struttaway" in his typical Durante style.

Whew! I'm glad I saved this one for last to watch from the Esther Williams Vol. 1 Collection. It's the only one – and only Williams film period – that I think falls flat on its face. The only reason I give it six stars is because the dance numbers, musical and swim scenes are top notch. The acting is quite good for most characters – save one: Peter Lawford. And the plot has two huge faults that seem to be big blunders. I've read some reviews of other films where viewers have said actors in some roles were miscast. Before this, I figured that the producers and/or directors must have known what they were doing, and I didn't agree with those comments. But in this film, I think there's no doubt that Lawford doesn't belong. That, or his acting is the worst of his career; and I have seen a number of films in which he was quite good. Some have commented about conflicts among people in the film. I don't know about those, but any assessment of this film just on its surface clearly spots the Lawford character and role as way out of place. I grant Hollywood its leeway in story plots and scripting. And, I can understand how most films need some fiction or fantasy scenes to improve. But this plot seems to be way overboard to me. Lawford's character is an almost inept, hapless, love struck Navy lieutenant. He kidnaps Esther Williams, who plays a movie star, and flies her to a small island 500 miles away. All the time, during this, before it, and after, he acts like a listless, whimpering, love struck boy. He really acts like a wacko. Esther later pleads for him and says the Navy's everything to him. Huh? He just showed it meant nothing by kidnapping and flying someone 500 miles away, while failing to follow orders, and cutting off his radio so he couldn't be tracked. Even in outright comedies that have fun with the military, such a culprit gets drummed out of the service. But here, Lawford gets off the hook and his CO and whole unit are there to support him to the end. OK, it's Hollywood and it's fantasy and it's supposed to be entertainment. But it really fails with the part of Lawford. One other quirk that is done so poorly. In almost all comedy romances that involve love triangles, the first match is obviously not the right one, and it's clear to the audience. The missing ingredient is real love (at least as we would perceive it). So, everyone cheers when the hero gets the gal, or vice versa. That's not the case in this film though. In all scenes right up until near the end, Esther and Ricardo Montalban are clearly deeply in love. It shows in all their scenes. And, initially, her irritation with Lawford appears obvious and genuine. So, at the end she suddenly finds herself in love with Lawford while Montalban just as quickly finds himself in love with Cyd Charisse. So much for real love as portrayed in the beginning. Where most Hollywood romance fantasies leave us satisfied that the right match happens at the end (happy ending), "On an Island with You" leaves the audience wondering what true love really is – as understood or portrayed in this movie, at least.

Musical-comedy vehicle for swimming star Esther Williams set in Hawaii. Peter Lawford has a rather hopeless role as a moony-eyed Lieutenant who becomes obsessed with Esther, playing a movie actress; she's already involved with her co-star (Ricardo Montalban) and is also busy sparring with her unloved movie-rival (Cyd Charisse, in a demeaning part as a girl nobody seems to want). In its day, probably a very acceptable piece of fluff, but in this age of celebrity stalkers, Lawford's intrusive, seemingly off-balanced fan is unintentionally creepy (at one point he even kidnaps Williams, but she stops him from being arrested). Only for die-hard MGM musical buffs, although Esther's swimming sequences are not on their usual grand scale here. *1/2 from ****

"On an Island with You" offers, as Neil Doyle has already remarked on this forum, escapist entertainment to warm any fan of this genre with the magnificent colors and the music in the film. MGM was the studio that excelled in this type of movies and this Esther Williams vehicle offers a lot of fun. Although predictable, it offers the viewer a nice time at the movies.Directed by Richard Thorpe, the movie takes us to a movie location where a film is being shot. The gorgeous Rosalind Reynolds is the star that combines acting with water ballet and incidental singing and dancing. Rosalind is attracted to a Navy Lieutenant that is serving as technical adviser to the movie. Larry Kingsley, in turn, seems to have fallen head over heels with the beautiful Rosalind.Esther Williams looks ravishingly beautiful in her water scenes as well as in her scenes with Peter Lawford, who plays Larry. Ricardo Montalban and Cyd Charisse play roles in the film and they become involved with one another with the blessing of her mother in a funny scene at the end of the picture.The great Jimmy Durante almost steals the film from its stars. As Jimmy Doyle, the assistant to the director, he plays a key part in the movie and makes it his own. Xavier Cugat and his orchestra are also seen in the picture."On an Island with You" will not disappoint.