Million Dollar Mermaid

"Inspired by the true story of bathing beauties!"

Mar 13 1953 Approved 1h 55m
Biography, Drama, Musical

After overcoming polio, Annette Kellerman achieves fame and creates a scandal when her one-piece bathing suit is considered indecent.

Plot

Million Dollar Mermaid tells the story of Australian swimming sensation Annette Kellerman, who overcame childhood polio to go on and achieve fame as a professional swimmer and film star in the early decades of the 20th century. At the same time, she scandalized the world by wearing a one-piece bathing suit on public beaches long before the style was accepted in polite company, and made waves in other ways as well. The story was a perfect vehicle decades later to showcase the star quality of Esther Williams in the 1950s, and Kellerman's moniker was picked up by Life Magazine when it named Ms. Williams the "Million Dollar Mermaid" herself.

Written by

Everett Freeman

Directed by

Mervyn LeRoy

Production Countries

United States of America

Production Companies

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Languages

English

Awards

Nominated for 1 Oscar. 2 nominations total

Scores
# of Votes
1,934
Average Rating
6.5 out of 10
Metascore
50
Popularity
NA