In the 1950s MGM would go nuts remaking their earlier hits in color but they were already at it in 1946, adding colour and songs to Libeled Lady.
This one has a B grade cast - not in terms of box office draw or acting talent but in terms of star charisma. Van Johnson was hugely popular at the time - he's not as skilled as Bill Powell but is amiable and cheerful; he never seems too sleazy, possibly because he was gay in real life but that might just be his acting. In real life Johnson was best friends with Keenan Wynn and Wynn divorced his wife so Johnson could have a beard so it's fun to see them as friends here with Johnson pretending to go out with Lucile Ball...
It's so Johnson can pursue Esther Williams and get to to stop suing Wynn's paper. Wynn is a solid character actor but not a star; Williams is a star, in the water, and doesn't spend that much time in the water here - she really should have. She is pretty, with a strong athletic body (she's sunning herself in her first scene) and tries She's okay just not Myrna Loy.
Lucille Ball looks gorgeous in colour in some scenes and has her moments but she's not Jean Harlow. Wynn isn't Spencer Tracy. (I think Wynn is better as a villain or in more broadly comic parts).
There's some musical numbers but not a lot. Maybe it needed more.This started off well, I went with it, but got more of a strain the longer it went on - it stuck too close to the original, and I found myself wishing I was watching that.
Buster Keaton added some gags for the film. The colour is nice.
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