A leisurely summertime sail with Ann Blyth as the mermaid and William Powell as Mr. Peabody in Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid (1948). Powell plays a man facing a mid-life crisis who catches the lovely mermaid while fishing, and so begins his ethereal, and hilarious, adventure.
William Powell is so entertaining and so sweet in his role, which is
basically comic, but lends it such skillful depth and poignancy. Ann
Blyth’s work here is luminous and captivating. It is a non-speaking role,
but there is remarkable and touching eloquence in the way her eyes roam over
his face, as if trying to read him, trying to understand his words and his
facial expression. Middle-aged Mr. Peabody is wondrous and fascinating to
her, and her unlikely crush for him alone adds another level to the comedy, and
the poignancy. We can see why he might take a fancy to her, but her radiant
and achingly silent adoration of him is charming.
Fortunately, the movie is apparently now available on DVD from Olive Films, but you can see it here on YouTube at the moment.
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