Bathing Beauty

Play trailer

Bathing Beauty

Released Jun 27, 1944

1h 41m

Musical

Comedy

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

Tomatometer

5 Reviews

76%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

Songwriter Steve Elliot (Red Skelton) has just wed his sweetheart, Caroline Brooks (Esther Williams), when a scheming Broadway producer breaks up the marriage. Caroline returns to her position as a college swimming instructor at a girls' college. Desperate to set things right, Elliot enrolls at the college as its sole male student and tries to get Caroline to fall in love with him all over again. But he'll face some competition from stodgy botany professor Willis Evans (Bill Goodwin).

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

James Agee

TIME Magazine

Miss Williams, a pretty young woman in the pink of condition, should have a pleasant and pleasing career on the screen.

Feb 27, 2018

Full Review

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.

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

Danielle Solzman

Solzy at the Movies

Red Skelton and Esther Williams have solid chemistry in Bathing Beauty but the studio was smart to recognize that Williams--in her third screen outing for MGM--was going to be a star.

Rated: 3.5/5

Feb 18, 2025

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

The first but hardly the best of the splashy (in both senses of the word) MGM musicals starring Esther Williams.

Rated: 2.5/4

Oct 27, 2024

Full Review

Elena de la Torre

Cine-Mundial

Very luxurious and colorful. [Full review in Spanish]

Sep 17, 2019

Full Review

Read all reviews

Jo C

The swimming was very cool! The mishaps are funny. Overall it was a fun movie to watch.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/08/25

Full Review

Audience Member

The best musical movie ever made!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/26/23

Full Review

ashley h

Bathing Beauty is a decent film. It is about a lovesick songwriter who enrolls in a girls' school because he wants to be near his new wife. Esther Williams and Red Skelton give good performances. The screenplay is a little slow in places. George Sidney did an alright job directing this movie. I liked this motion picture because of the music and humor.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Don't blink and you'll miss the water sequences! There was one at the beginning of the movie and one at the end. Cute enough, but really the showstopper was Red Skelton attempting to perform ballet in a tutu!

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/03/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The plot is only an excuse for the star turns, but those star turns! Harry James' trumpet, Basil Rathbone's soft villainy, the 1940's water ballet/synchronized swim are as enjoyable as anything in today's cinema, and Red Skelton into a girdle and bra is one of the memorable clown bits of the century. Absolutely top-rated cotton candy.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/10/23

Full Review

Audience Member

MGM spared no expense for Esther Williams' first starring role but forgot about a plot.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

George Sidney

Director

Red Skelton

Steve Elliot

Esther Williams

Caroline Brooks

Basil Rathbone

George Adams

Bill Goodwin

Professor Willis Evans

Ethel Smith

Ethel Smith

View more photos

Synopsis

Songwriter Steve Elliot (Red Skelton) has just wed his sweetheart, Caroline Brooks (Esther Williams), when a scheming Broadway producer breaks up the marriage. Caroline returns to her position as a college swimming instructor at a girls' college. Desperate to set things right, Elliot enrolls at the college as its sole male student and tries to get Caroline to fall in love with him all over again. But he'll face some competition from stodgy botany professor Willis Evans (Bill Goodwin).

Director: George Sidney
Producer: Jack Cummings
Screenwriter: Dorothy Kingsley, Allen Boretz, Frank Waldman
Production Co: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Genre: Musical, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 27, 1944, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2009
Runtime: 1h 41m

Most Popular at Home Now