Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Dangerous When Wet Blu-ray Movie Review

This review is sponsored by Liquapep.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III July 7, 2023

Neither as sensual or tawdry as its title or original poster suggest, Charles Walters' Dangerous When Wet feels like an odd hybrid of family sitcom pilot, romantic musical, and sports drama. Starring the irreplaceable Esther Williams and her future husband Fernando Lamas, it follows the fitness-obsessed Higgins family led by Ma (Charlotte Greenwood) and Pa (William Demarest) with their kids Katie (Williams), Suzie (Barbara Whiting), and li'l Junior (Donna Corcoran). Starting each day with a song, a warm-up stretching routine, several laps in the lake, and a hearty breakfast of good old-fashioned wheat germ, they're mostly content in their routine but Katie seems to want something more out of life. After a chance meeting with travelling vitamin drink vendor Windy Weebe (Jack Carson), the silver-tongued salesman offers the family a chance to swim The English Channel for a cash prize. They'd be crazy not to, right?

Despite a relatively quick-moving setup, Dangerous When Wet takes its sweet time to reach the finish line, shifting from the Higgins' ordinary lives on an Arkansas dairy farm to their Liquapep-sponsored trip overseas where intrigue, competition, and maybe even romance -- in the form of hunky French swimmer André Lanet (Lamas) -- awaits. Their extended training sequence whittles the competing family members down to just one (couldn't they have done this in America?), especially once they learn the swimming race will last somewhere between 20 and 42 miles depending on current conditions. The remainder of Dangerous When Wet concerns itself with Katie's inner struggle: sponsor Windy Weebe and handsome Lanet are pulling her in different directions, and she's unsure of her ability to complete the race. Somewhere between all this she has a dream about swimming with the beloved cat-and-mouse duo Tom and Jerry, an eight-minute live-action/animated hybrid scene that might be the film's most memorable moment.

Obviously there's a lot going on here idea-wise, yet Dangerous When Wet still feels slight as big-screen entertainment. Pacing is hit-or-miss even after it gets going, and even the well-done Tom and Jerry sequence -- which feels less in-the-moment than Gene Kelly's dance with Jerry in Anchors Aweigh, and more of a flight-of-fancy break that would be used to greater effect in Mary Poppins -- kinda sucks out some of the film's momentum leading to the big race, well-done as both are. There's just not enough of a story to hang the window dressing on, yet a few solid fundamentals elevate this film to modest heights. The performances are appropriately buoyant and the same goes for most of its original songs by Arthur Schwartz (music), Johnny Mercer (lyrics), Georgie Stoll (music direction), and Charles Walters (choreography and staging), and its cinematography shines in glorious Technicolor. The climactic Channel swim is another highlight, a well-staged and at times thrilling sequence about a sport that doesn't get many "big movie moments".

So while it's hard to get totally swept away by Dangerous When Wet unless (a) you're either a huge fan of its cast and genre (I'm not), or (b) have nostalgic attachment to it (I don't), this is still decently accessible entertainment and looks absolutely fantastic on Blu-ray from Warner Archive. Enough can't be said about the boutique label's pristine new 4K-sourced restoration, and a handful of DVD-era extras provides some added value once the show's over.

Dangerous When Wet Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Sourced from a new 4K scan of its Technicolor camera negatives and treated to a round of careful manual cleanup, the visually pleasing Dangerous When Wet shines like new on Blu-ray thanks to Warner Archive's reliably great restoration efforts. The vast majority of this film shares the same visual template as the studio's other musicals from the era with colorful costume designs, bright scenery, and razor-sharp fine details that look stunning in close-ups and wide shots alike. A few aesthetic detours are present along the way, including the family's almost comically foggy arrival in London (screenshot #11) and of course the eight-minute live-action/animated sequence (screenshot #4 below, as well as #14 and #15 further down), both of which play without a hitch. The former retains as much detail as possible under the circumstances, while the boutique label's typically strong encoding stands in the way of compression artifacts including banding and macro blocking; in contrast, the latter's more fanciful animated backdrop retains its original color timing and occasionally dodgy matte lines, which were both present theatrically and look extremely faithful to that original source. Overall, yet another five-star effort that will knock the socks off fans and first-timers alike.

Dangerous When Wet Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Similarly restored from its original monaural magnetic master, Warner Archive's split-channel DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix cleans up a bit of age-related wear and tear without compromising the track's dynamic range, with clean and crisp dialogue and lively musical numbers leading the charge. A bit of hiss and very light gauziness remains, as well as some (perhaps unavoidable) thinness at the high end, but the majority of this track is just about perfect. It easily outpaces the lossy Dolby Digital 1.0 counterparts heard on earlier DVD editions where, interestingly enough, Dangerous When Wet was never offered as a stand-alone release but instead included on various Esther Williams collections.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are offered during the main feature only, not the extras.

Dangerous When Wet Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a standard keepcase with vintage poster-themed artwork and no inserts of any kind. The bonus features are all worth a look and seem to be fully ported over from previous DVD editions.

• "C'est La Guerre" Unused Musical Outtake (2:52) - This deleted musical number, featuring Denise Darcel and Fernando Lamas, is presented in unrestored 1.33:1 with Dolby Digital mono sound.

• The Cat and the Mermouse (7:40) - This lively 1949 Tom and Jerry short, which likely wasn't still playing theatrically in 1953 but certainly fits the theme, follows the duo from the beach to the ocean floor when they encounter a mermouse, a swordfish, and an octopus. (Stick around for the twist ending!) Another bonus is that this short has been lovingly restored and looks great, which marks yet another classic T&J episode debuting in HD that wasn't part of the Golden Collection. Volume 2 when, dammit?!

• This is a Living? (9:19) - A 1953 installment of the long-running Pete Smith Specialty series, this black-and-white short takes a look at unusual professions including stunt performers and acrobats.

• Demo Recordings by lyricist Johnny Mercer (11:04) - An audio recording of Mercer performing three separate pieces co-composed by Arthur Schwartz, including one not used during the film.

• Interview with Esther Williams and Dick Simmons (4:51) - A shorter audio-only piece, this clip includes a few helpful swimming tips and details some of the training Williams did before filming began.

• Theatrical Trailer (3:10) - This appropriately jovial promotional piece can also be seen here.

Dangerous When Wet Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Colorful and wholesome but still kinda scattershot, Charles Walters' Dangerous When Wet nonetheless has a couple of tricks up its sleeve including amiable lead performances from Esther Williams and Fernando Lamas, catchy songs, and outstanding Technicolor visuals including an underwater Tom and Jerry segment that feels out of place but is fun to watch anyway. Warner Archive works their usual magic here, serving up a fan-pleasing Blu-ray featuring immaculate visuals and a nice helping of supportive DVD-era bonus features. Recommended to the right audience.