Who knew she was a record-setting American swimmer who had won three US National championships in breaststroke and freestyle by the age of 16? It's Esther Williams week on TCM, honouring her because she died recently at a ripe-old age -- probably because she swam.
Watching a couple of her movies, I marvel at her gorgeous strokes. The fact that she was a freestyle champion tells it all. She could really move. And she seemed to enjoy it, unlike some of us who pound the lanes in an effort to stay in shape. Some days I actually hate it!
Not only could she swim fast, she could also perform magnificent acts of synchronized brilliance. And the hair! A marvel. I remember when step-daughter was in "synchro", I had to devise a way to keep her locks under intense control; believe me, it wasn't easy.
But you have to marvel at how they built entire movie plots around a woman who swam. Reminds me of the old 'Hammy Hampster' TV series, in which they built both dialogue and plot around what Hammy was doing at the time. "Oh look, Hammy has decided to have a piece of carrot", the over-dialogue would say when the rodent wandered off to eat. It was ingenious how they devised a credible plot around an untrained animal.
Esther was, of course, perfectly trained. But they still had to come up with a love story around an elegant swimmer.
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