On an Island with You
Encyclopedia
On an Island with You is a 1948 musical
romantic comedy film
directed by Richard Thorpe
. It stars Esther Williams
, Peter Lawford
, Ricardo Montalbán
, Cyd Charisse
and Kathryn Beaumont
.
Williams stars as Rosalind Reynolds, a swimming movie star who goes to Hawaii
to make a film, bringing her fiance, Ricardo Montez, played by Montalbán, with her. Lawford stars as Lawrence Kingsley, a military technical advisor for Reynolds's film, who eventually falls in love with her. Charrise plays Reynolds's best friend and fellow movie star, Yvonne Torro, who secretly wants Ricardo for herself.
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
romantic comedy film
Romantic comedy film
Romantic comedy films are films with light-hearted, humorous plotlines, centered on romantic ideals such as that true love is able to surmount most obstacles. One dictionary definition is "a funny movie, play, or television program about a love story that ends happily"...
directed by Richard Thorpe
Richard Thorpe
Richard Thorpe was an American film director.Born Rollo Smolt Thorpe in Hutchinson, Kansas, he began his entertainment career performing in vaudeville and onstage. In 1921 he began in motion pictures as an actor and directed his first silent film in 1923. He went on to direct more than one hundred...
. It stars Esther Williams
Esther Williams
Esther Jane Williams is a retired American competitive swimmer and MGM movie star.Williams set multiple national and regional swimming records in her late teens as part of the Los Angeles Athletic Club swim team...
, Peter Lawford
Peter Lawford
Peter Sydney Ernest Aylen , better known as Peter Lawford, was an English-American actor.He was a member of the "Rat Pack", and brother-in-law to US President John F. Kennedy, perhaps more noted in later years for his off-screen activities as a celebrity than for his acting...
, Ricardo Montalbán
Ricardo Montalbán
Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino, KSG was a Mexican radio, television, theatre and film actor. He had a career spanning six decades and many notable roles...
, Cyd Charisse
Cyd Charisse
Cyd Charisse was an American actress and dancer.After recovering from polio as a child, and studying ballet, Charisse entered films in the 1940s...
and Kathryn Beaumont
Kathryn Beaumont
Kathryn Beaumont is an English actress, singer, school teacher, and a Disney Legend who was born in London. She is best known for playing the voice of both Alice, in Disney's Alice in Wonderland and Wendy in Disney's Peter Pan...
.
Williams stars as Rosalind Reynolds, a swimming movie star who goes to Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
to make a film, bringing her fiance, Ricardo Montez, played by Montalbán, with her. Lawford stars as Lawrence Kingsley, a military technical advisor for Reynolds's film, who eventually falls in love with her. Charrise plays Reynolds's best friend and fellow movie star, Yvonne Torro, who secretly wants Ricardo for herself.
Production
During a scene in which Williams was supposed to fall into a hole in the jungle floor camouflaged by vegetation, Williams walked into the hole and fell straight down. However, the crew had put no sort of cushioning at the bottom of the hole to break her fall. She sprained her ankle and had to finish the film using crutches.Cast
- Esther WilliamsEsther WilliamsEsther Jane Williams is a retired American competitive swimmer and MGM movie star.Williams set multiple national and regional swimming records in her late teens as part of the Los Angeles Athletic Club swim team...
as Rosalind Reynolds - Peter LawfordPeter LawfordPeter Sydney Ernest Aylen , better known as Peter Lawford, was an English-American actor.He was a member of the "Rat Pack", and brother-in-law to US President John F. Kennedy, perhaps more noted in later years for his off-screen activities as a celebrity than for his acting...
as Lt. Lawrence Y. Kingslee - Ricardo MontalbanRicardo MontalbánRicardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino, KSG was a Mexican radio, television, theatre and film actor. He had a career spanning six decades and many notable roles...
as Ricardo Montez - Jimmy DuranteJimmy DuranteJames Francis "Jimmy" Durante was an American singer, pianist, comedian and actor. His distinctive clipped gravelly speech, comic language butchery, jazz-influenced songs, and large nose helped make him one of America's most familiar and popular personalities of the 1920s through the 1970s...
as Jimmy Buckley - Cyd CharisseCyd CharisseCyd Charisse was an American actress and dancer.After recovering from polio as a child, and studying ballet, Charisse entered films in the 1940s...
as Yvonne Torro - Leon AmesLeon Ames (actor)Leon Ames was an American film and television actor. He is best remembered for playing fatherly figures in such films as Meet Me in St. Louis , as Judy Garland's father, and in Little Women ....
as Cmdr. Harrison - Kathryn BeaumontKathryn BeaumontKathryn Beaumont is an English actress, singer, school teacher, and a Disney Legend who was born in London. She is best known for playing the voice of both Alice, in Disney's Alice in Wonderland and Wendy in Disney's Peter Pan...
as Penelope Peabody aka Pineapple - Dick Simmons as George Blaine