A swim teacher and a wealthy businessman are married after a brief courtship. A charming war hero falls in love with this newly-married woman, after her husband abandons her on their honeymo... Read allA swim teacher and a wealthy businessman are married after a brief courtship. A charming war hero falls in love with this newly-married woman, after her husband abandons her on their honeymoon for the sake of a business meeting.A swim teacher and a wealthy businessman are married after a brief courtship. A charming war hero falls in love with this newly-married woman, after her husband abandons her on their honeymoon for the sake of a business meeting.
- Tommy Dorsey Orchestra
- (as Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra)
- Member Tommy Dorsey & His Orchestra
- (uncredited)
- Cleaning Woman
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe featured song "Please Don't Say No (Say Maybe)" was recorded by numerous singers in the late 1940s.
- GoofsWhen Cynthia and Thomas are lost in the woods she lies down to sleep and she has his jacket over one shoulder. He reaches down and pulls the jacket all the way over her. They cut to him and then back to her and the jacket is still only over one shoulder.
- Quotes
Hobart Glenn: Hello, Mermaid. Have a good day?
Cynthia Glenn: Swell. I got a pretty good headline for you.
Hobart Glenn: Yeah? "Man With Three Wives Asks Why Not?" Fair question. Thank you dear. I'll put it right in the book. Cynthia in the headlines you find all the wisdom and all the foolishness for the alleged human race. I collect the foolishness. There's more of it.
- ConnectionsEdited from The Ice Follies of 1939 (1939)
- SoundtracksPlease Don't Say No, Say Maybe
(uncredited)
Music by Sammy Fain
Lyrics by Ralph Freed
Sung by Lauritz Melchior
Performed also by The King Sisters and Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra with vocal by Jerry Scott
Esther is a swimming instructor at a public pool in Los Angeles and driving by one day is Howard Hughes like tycoon Carleton G. Young. He puts on quite the campaign and they wed.
But Young is far more interested in business and while at a resort hotel on their honeymoon, Carleton gets called away to Washington on a big deal. We know what his priorities are. So Esther is an unconsummated bride alone on her honeymoon, when up pops war hero Van Johnson.
So for a week she and Van keep each other company and look pretty sad all the while.
Now Thrill of a Romance was not advertised to be Hamlet, but I found the premise here to be way to silly. But with lots of shots of Esther wet and dry and music by Tommy Dorsey's Orchestra and Lauritz Melchior of the Metropolitan Opera we had a whole lot of music of every taste. A highlight is a drum solo by Buddy Rich who after Frank Sinatra left as the band's vocalist, was Dorsey's main attraction.
Young Jerry Scott who plays Lyonel a bellboy at the hotel gives a nice lyric tenor interpretation of Because which that year was revived in a big hit record by Perry Como.
Speaking of Sinatra, he recorded a song written for this film I Should Care which was authored by his personal arranger Axel Stordahl and Sammy Cahn. Also sold a few platters back in the day.
Melchior sung a wide range of both classical and popular tunes. And he sort of functioned in the role of a father confessor to both Johnson and Williams. Had this been done at Warner Brothers, Melchior's part would have been played by S.Z. Sakall. Melchior even had the cheeks for it.
It's a nice film, maybe a little too light and too silly for today's audience. But Esther Williams fans got what they wanted.
- bkoganbing
- Aug 22, 2006
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $1,410,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 45 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1