Customer Reviews

Thrill of a Romance [VHS]

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Esther Williams and Van Johnson make a perfect romantic couple in this film, and realy shine in this film. "A Thrill of a Romance," has a great plot, and interesting people. The songs and swim scenes with Esther are lovely as well.

It's a bout a young swimming teacher, named Cynthia who marries a buisness men after he shortly couts her and weds her, only to find that before the honeymoon, he leaves her for a buisness trip. Trerribly lonely and sad, Cynthia cries on her balcony, and a young man who is in the military hears her cry, they meet, and have a romance, by the time her husband is ready to come back, they have fallen in love. It's a film well worth seeing.

A great story but not worth $75 - 85 dollars! This is an amazing hipe for putting dollars before the storyline. The movie is a wonderful love story which happens to anybody in this world during the war years. Still overpriced in the market - beware of this. If found @ a garage sale or Used VHS shops, buy it and you will have a lovely hour or so of entertainment.

Just watched on TMC while ill. Expected romantic soap opera and to turn it off. Instead was rewarded with great music: Tommy Dorsey AND opera and more, as well as fabulous Technicolor 40's fashion, cars, interiors, and kitsch, not to mention the stupendous Esther Williams' diving and pool scenes. Also, great scenic outdoor shots of hiking in the high Rockies. Actually, came on web to find out where it was shot, and left this review. Better than expected. Actually this is a good intro to the opera-phobic to see how great and fun it can be in an updated, non-formal staging context.

Beautiful swimming teacher Cynthia (Esther Williams) catches the eye of a wealthy businessman (Carleton G. Young) and it's all over. Soon they're wed and off on their honeymoon at an expensive hotel. But before things can really get started, he's called away on business and Cynthia is all alone.

It isn't long before she starts spending time with a decorated war hero (Van Johnson), teaching him to swim, eating meals with him, and taking long walks through the gorgeous landscape. And it isn't long before he confesses his love for her, and now Cynthia is stuck, a kiss-less bride in love with another man.

The chemistry between Williams and Johnson is perfect, and his heartfelt confession to her on the balcony will send chills up anyone's spine. They make a decent script into something really special.

There are several musical numbers performed by operatic star Lauritz Melchior to add a little something extra to the film.

Wow, how do you get a flirtatious extramarital affair past the censors in 1945? A big no-no, especially with their leading ladies and boy nextdoor leading men. But they found a way to double-cancel the problem and love conquers all.

Esther Williams winds up abandoned on her honeymoon and keeps bumping into Van Johnson, who can't swim. She's lovely, lonesome and feeling neglected. Van is handsome, smitten and just back from being lost in action during the war. With nothing else to do, she winds up teaching him how to swim.

The music from Tommy Dorsey's orchestra still sounds wonderful and vibrant, just what you'd want to hear in a beautiful hotel. Opera singer Lauritz Melchior is perhaps a little off the wall in this piece, and a bit of a ham, but he has a Gerber Baby look about him as he tries to endure a strict diet. Who goes to a first class hotel to go on a diet? A hotel worker watches him like a hawk and even sits down and eats his food when he tries to cheat. That part is a little silly, but you'll enjoy the stars, the swimming, the swing music and the sets.

La película "Trhill of a romance" en España se llamaba "Juego de Pasiones". Tengo unos vagos recuerdos de haberla visto a los 8 años. Luego me ví todas las películas de Esther Williams porque era el primer amor de mi infancia. Desearía saber si es posible encontrar una copia, en VHS o DVD, pero doblada o con subtítulos en español. Gracias.