Musings!

Hannibal (Howard Keel) swims with Amytis (Esther Williams) in JUPITER'S DARLING (1955)

Depending on who you talk to, the merit of this movie varies wildly. Some say it's one of the biggest disasters ever, that killed Esther Williams' career. While others disagree. One thing is for sure, few people remember this movie. I always forgot about this movie and it only popped up in my mind again by accident. The production itself is excellent but the idea of making a lightweight musical on Hannibal is, well, a head scratcher, no matter how robust Keel's portrayal is. The songs, including 'If This Be Slav'ry (Then Give Me Slavery)', gets the brunt of the criticism. Personally, I like watching it because it has all the elements of the PEPLUM genre but I'm a big fan of PEPLUM movies so I'll watch anything PEPLUM, no matter how cringy it might be.