Esther Williams and Fernando Lamas star in this musical, romantic aquacade — Williams as a girl from Arkansas who has vowed to swim the English Channel to raise the money to save her family farm; and Lamas as the rich man who wins her heart and almost blocks her from reaching her goal . . . but who comes to realize that the woman of his dreams is Dangerous When Wet. Featuring a delightful original music score written by Johnny Mercer and Arthur Schwartz, the film is best remembered for Esther’s famous swim with M-G-M’s beloved animated characters Tom & Jerry.

For thoughts on Dangerous When Wet, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/Nj7nOR-2yJ8?t=1112]

Video Quality

Warner Archive presents Dangerous When Wet with a sterling new 1080p master transfer sourced from a 4K scan of the nitrate Technicolor negatives which were recombined for perfect alignment. Warner Archive has been making Esther Williams fans ascend with their treatment of her films, and this one is another 5-star effort from the company. The natural film grain is precisely rendered with no environments causing any problems, even the scenes with dense fog which could prove to be a challenge. The film appears to be free of any dirt and damage, which provides a timeless quality that is lovely.

The film features some vibrant colors within the costumes and set design that radiate off the screen with force. Black levels are very deep with impeccable stability throughout. The level of detail and clarity is jaw-dropping with so much texture in all of the background elements. This also applies to the animated Tom & Jerry sequence, which looks simply radiant. There does not appear to be any digital anomalies such as compression artifacts, banding or any other such nuisances. Warner Archive has more than delivered what is expected from such a consistent company.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray comes with a newly restored DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that is wonderful. Once again music is a very important part of the narrative, and the track nails these elements beautifully. Dialogue comes through crisp and clear from beginning to end. The presentation balances exchanges with the bustling environments and the accompanying music with magnificent clarity. There are moments when there are many elements at play, but it maintains its fidelity like a champ. Warner Archive has provided a pleasant audio track that does not exhibit any glaring signs of age-related wear-and-tear. The disc also comes with optional English (SDH) subtitles.

Special Features

C’est La Guerre Unused Musical Outtake: A three-minute unused musical number featuring Fernando Lamas and Denise Darcel is provided here from a standard definition source with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio.

The Cat and The Mermouse: An eight-minute Tom and Jerry cartoon is provided here in HD. In this short, a restful day at the beach turns into an underwater squabble.

This Is A Living: A nine-minute Pete Smith Specialty short in which you see some unusual ways people earn a living wage.

Demo Recordings by Lyricist Johnny Mercer: An 11-minute audio outtake is provided here with several different tunes.

Interview with Esther Williams and Dick Simmons: A five-minute audio interview is provided in which Esther Williams discusses her career very briefly before giving tips on how to get into swimming safely.

Theatrical Trailer: The three-minute trailer is provided here.

Final Thoughts

Dangerous When Wet is a light and charming effort from the great Esther Williams in which she shines alongside a less captivating male counterpart. We have nothing against the men in the film, but none of them really make much of an impression in either a romantic or comedic sense. Williams has a natural grace which keeps you transfixed, even when her scene partners are an iconic animated duo. The story feels slightly bloated, but there is so much to appreciate with this one. Warner Archive has released a Blu-Ray with a practically flawless A/V presentation and a nice array of special features. If you are an Esther Williams fan, this release will blow you away. Recommended

Dangerous When Wet can be purchased directly through MovieZyng or through various other online retailers.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Warner Archive has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.