sure, a lot of these mgm musical comedies are entertainment fluff and no doubt, but as results of the studio system they are, like sweets from a bakery, always rich, maybe not too smart, but loaded with flavor. and similarly because of the system, and the intense competition in it, the performers more often than not
were adept at any number of disciplines. yesterday, august 8th, was ms. williams 87th birthday (congrats, ms. williams, and thanks for everything)! yep, still among the living, and this work from 1946 amply displays what a contribution to the culture one human being can make. helping her in between the obligatory swimming scenes is the underrated boy-next-door van johnson, more than able to hold his own in song, keenan wynn as the big, bad, ruthless newspaperman, and also mercurial lucille ball, ever deserving her redheaded fame, as the more-than-a-mouthful second banana.
August 9, 2008
![Karin [Katharine] Booth](http://content9.flixster.com/photo/13/65/58/13655855_tmb.jpg)
