Movie Reviews

‘Million Dollar Mermaid’ Blu-Ray Review – Aquatic Biopic Shines A Light On A Trailblazing Talent

By Dillon Gonzales
December 5, 2021
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One of the great gifts of exploring films from the Golden Age of Hollywood is viewing life through the lens of the audience of the time. What may have been common knowledge then has long since left the cultural mind. In the early 1950s, Annette Kellermann was still a known entity after carving out her place in the first part of the 20th century as a world-class swimmer, vaudeville star and film actress. The name may not be familiar to most today, but it was a pretty big deal when MGM decided to make a biopic about her life in 1952 entitled Million Dollar Mermaid. The film was a passion project for Esther Williams (Ziegfeld Follies), herself a famous swimmer and actress. Williams fought to have the project made, and Kellermann helped to ensure that Hollywood did not make a mess of her life by making it too glamorous or unbelievable. The result still delivers a bit of spectacle and wonder, but it is mostly straightforward in its execution as you go through the broad strokes of her life.

We first see young Australian Annette Kellermann as a polio-stricken girl who takes up swimming to help buoy her health. She is supported by her father, Frederick (Walter Pidgeon, Madame Curie), as she develops into a champion swimmer and aquatic performer and beyond to the star that was known by many. Of all of the relationships in the film, the relationship between Annette and her father is the one that feels the most warm and genuine, likely due to the fact it did not stray too much from reality. Pidgeon radiates a touching paternalistic quality as he tries to protect his daughter from those who would try to take advantage of her while encouraging her to reach her full potential. Slightly less successful is the romantic relationship she forms with James Sullivan (Victor Mature, Samson & Delilah), the man who would become her one-and-only husband for over 60 years. The movie makes the odd decision to portray him as a slightly oily businessman always scheming and even introducing the famous pooch Rin Tin Tin to Hollywood – all of this manufactured. Throw in a couple of unnecessary romantic roadblocks, and you see that Hollywood is up to its old tricks.

Where the film fairs better is when it is portraying Kellermann as the iconic trailblazer she was, even changing what type of bathing suits were acceptable for public viewing. Kellermann broke down a lot of barriers when it came to how women were perceived both in aquatic athletics as well as entertainment. Williams does a lovely job of inhabiting the role, but the film ultimately does her and the character a disservice by not showcasing what she can do in the water enough. For a film about an aquatic performer, the film does not have the actress in the water as much as you would believe or might want. Those times where we are getting the razzle dazzle of the aquatic ballets are wondrous, especially since they were designed by Busby Berkeley. The film refuses to deliver more than a small portion of this for the audience, which can make some of the more dense talking moments less engaging. The film delivers a bit of spectacle and a biographical exploration that has an up-and-down relationship with the truth. Those who have no relationship with Kellermann are likely to have a decent time getting to know more about her, but those who know a bit more of the truth might have more trouble accepting this feature.

Video Quality

Warner Archive presents Million Dollar Mermaid with a drop dead gorgeous new 1080p master transfer sourced from a 4K scan of the nitrate Technicolor negative. Warner Archive nearly always knocks it out of the park with their transfers, but this one ranks close to the best I have ever seen for a classic film. The level of detail and clarity is stunning with the appropriate amount of natural film grain intact. The film appears to be almost entirely free of dirt and damage, which makes the feature feel like it could have been made yesterday. The film features some vibrant colors within the costumes and set design that pop off the screen with a wondrous intensity. The black levels are also very deep with a nice stability throughout. There does not appear to be any pesky digital anomalies such as compression artifacts, banding or any other such nuisances. This presentation is a miraculous effort from Warner Archive on all fronts.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray comes with a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that is incredibly strong. With music being a notable part of the film, it is important to report that the track nails these elements beautifully. The track balances vocals with the wondrous show setting and the accompanying music with magnificent clarity. There are moments where the track is pushed to its limits with all of the competing elements, but the track maintains its fidelity very well. Normal dialogue comes through clearly from beginning to end. Warner Archive has provided a wonderful 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

Vintage Pete Smith Specialty Short – Reducing: An eight-minute live-action short that takes a cringeworthy, mocking look at weight loss and overweight people.

Classic Cartoon – Little Quacker: A seven-minute Tom & Jerry short which marks the debut of Quacker. This is presented in beautiful HD.

Lux Radio Theater Broadcast with Esther Williams and Walter Pidgeon: The 45-minute radio broadcast is included here from its December 14, 1953 airing.

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

Final Thoughts

Million Dollar Mermaid is an enjoyable look at the life of a groundbreaking performer of whom many modern audience members may not be aware. Esther Williams does a lovely job of keeping you glued to the screen, but the film ultimately could have used a bit more of the Busby Berkely-designed aquatic performances. Warner Archive has released a Blu-Ray featuring a magnificent A/V presentation and a couple of fun supplemental features. If you are a fan of Old Hollywood Technicolor spectacles, this is a pretty decent one to check out. Recommended

Million Dollar Mermaid can be purchased directly through the Warner Archive Amazon Store or 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.