Exclusive“Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid” (1948): First Magical Movie

Now the dancing sunbeams play On the green and grassy sea Come and I will lead the way Where the pearly treasures be Come and I will lead the way Where the pearly treasures be Come with me and we will go Where the rocks of coral grow Follow, follow, follow me Come with me and we will go Where the rocks of coral grow Follow, follow, follow me There, what did I tell you? A real-life mermaid. Now who's crazy? I'm Mrs. Peabody, Bostonian, born and bred, and with every chance of leading a perfectly normal life. That is, until my husband and I went on vacation to the British West Indies. It all started one day when he went fishing. Imagine my surprise when I came home to find a fish in my bathtub. A very large fish. This is hardly the sort of story I would have imagined ever involving myself. I'm a respectable married woman, and hardly the type to get mixed up with mythical aquatic creatures. That is, until Mr. Peabody and the mermaid. I'm Tiffany Brannan. The mermaid is Rebecca Brannan. Welcome to Real Thoughts on Cinema. Modern Hollywood is absolutely obsessed with fantasy movies. I would venture to say that might be the most popular film genre. Well, I think that might be a bit of an overstatement. Perhaps, but it's definitely one of the most popular, and that's probably because of the success of so many big franchises which are fantasy-based, like Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean. They've all met with great financial and commercial success. Is Pirates of the Caribbean a fantasy? Technically, I would say yes, because in addition to the rather supernatural villain Davy Jones, in the film On Stranger Tides, there are mermaids. Oh, yeah. That's interesting. But despite having mermaids and Davy Jones, it's not a fantasy world. That's true. It's more of a historic setting in these pirates, which were real. There really were pirates in the Caribbean in the 18th century. That is very similar to one of the few golden era fantasy films, Mr. Peabody and the mermaid from 1948. This film has a very unusual and charming plot. It follows a vacationing Bostonian married couple, the Peabodies. They go to the British West Indies and rent this beautiful house with this luscious fish pond. And Mr. Peabody is struggling with approaching his 50th birthday and feeling like he's getting old, until one day he's out fishing, and he catches this beautiful young mermaid, whom he names Lenore. And at first, he brings her back to the house, and his wife only sees her tail in the bathtub and says, get that fish out of my tub. And somewhat accidentally, he ends up releasing her into the fish pond, where she lives in this beautiful castle at the bottom of the pond. And complications ensue as his wife thinks he's interested in this other woman, Kathy Livingston, not knowing that he actually has developed sort of complicated feelings for this mystical mermaid. Now, this was a universal picture, and it was directed by Irving Pitchell. The screenplay was by Nunnally Johnson, and it was based on a 1945 novel, Peabody's Mermaid. It stars some big names in Hollywood. William Powell as Mr. Peabody, and Blythe as the mermaid. Irene Hervey, who was less well-known today, definitely, but she was a very successful actress in her day, and she plays his wife. They're definitely the three main stars. Yes, there's a very, if you know a lot of old movies, you'll probably recognize character actor Clinton Sundberg. As, what exactly is he? He's the press agent for the British West Indies. He's one of the few other American characters. Very funny, basically just there for comic relief, but he was one of the great character actors in old Hollywood. Something interesting to note about this film is that it was the main inspiration for the much better-known 80s film Splash, starring Daryl Hannah and Tom Hanks. Oh, yes. And I wouldn't immediately say that they're that similar, because in that, she actually becomes a woman when she goes online, which is more similar to some older mermaid myths about selkies and so forth. Now, it's really interesting to note there's a classic film about a mermaid, because you think about cartoons like The Little Mermaid, or even the old Peter Pan movie, there were mermaids in that. Right, Disney was one of the main makers of mermaids. Yeah, and you'd think it would be like a Disney film. You wouldn't think that there actually would be a very serious film starring big actors, like William Powell, about a mermaid. Because, as we were observing earlier, fantasy films weren't made that much. The most famous is obviously The Wizard of Oz from the classic era, and everyone's like, A Midsummer Night's Dream. But this one is very unusual. Right, because it starts out, just a couple of people set in current times, 1940s, a couple of people who are Americans, then they go to a real place, the British West Indies, and then he catches this mermaid. It really takes a very magical twist at that point. But what's so interesting to me is that not only was there this movie, a second mermaid movie was released in 1948. That's right. The British Miranda. Which also had a sequel in the mid-50s, right? Mad About Men? Yeah, 1953, Mad About Men. And that was starring Glynis Johns, who's most recognizable as Mrs. Banks from Mary Poppins, the original. And it's just really funny that something so rare from the era of mermaid movies, that two came out in the same year, and in different countries. In some ways, Miranda's more like Splash, isn't it? Definitely. Because she goes on land and she's masquerading as a woman. And because she talks. That's right. And because the mermaid is mute, she's a lot more fish than Miranda. She doesn't seem like just a woman with a tail. She really seems more like a magical creature. This is just conjecture, but I would guess the very good reason for the mermaid craze right around this time is in 1947, just the year before, the famous Weeki Wachee Springs in Florida opened. And it's famous, this little town is famous for being the city of mermaids. A World War II veteran, Newt Perry, in 1946 found the springs, and this beautiful natural spring was just in horrible condition. There were cars and junk in it, and it was just a mess. And he started wanting to make it into a tourist attraction. And he had trained Navy SEALs to different techniques for breathing underwater during World War II. So he wanted to explore that more in different techniques for diving and so forth, and use it as a commercial. So he built this underground theater that looked out into the spring. It's technically six feet underwater, this amphitheater. I always wondered how they did that. Yeah, so it's an amphitheater, and it was smaller at first, and then later, quite a few years later, it was expanded to larger audiences. But there were glass windows and looks out. I feel like it's sort of comparable to the submarine ride at Disneyland. It's kind of a similar idea. It's sort of like there are some aquariums that have... Right, but it's amazing because this is a natural spring. This isn't a tank. This is real nature, and he just built this amphitheater in there. And then he started finding the mermaids and training them. They didn't wear mermaid tails that much in the early years. They were all called mermaids, and they were mermen as well. But they oftentimes were just in flippers and one-piece bathing suits and diving masks. But they used this revolutionary technique of breathing with a water hose or an air hose underwater. And two of the most impressive tricks they would do is they could eat and drink underwater. They would eat bananas and drink grape soda. It's some kind of a technique of sucking in the air and then, like, pushing air into the bottle, and then the liquid goes into your mouth. And then they would put on different shows. And then in later years, they started doing shows like they do a full Little Mermaid and Wizard of Oz and all the interesting classic fairy tales enacted underwater. And speaking of wiki-watching, an amazing tie-in is that almost all of the underwater footage in Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid was filmed there in that theater. Right. That's so amazing. The film crew actually sank that little castle that Lenore lives in into the spring. And two of the original wiki-watching mermaids, Nancy Tribble and Marianne Ziegler, served as stunt doubles for Anne Blythe. Although she did learn to swim in the tail, so some of it she did herself. And they filmed all the beach and ocean things in Florida as well. So it really was on location. I think it's interesting at the end, he mentions going to live in the Florida Keys. So it's kind of an interesting reference to that. The fact that they collaborated with wiki-watching indicates that it... Because the book was written three years earlier. Right. It wasn't just the book came out, it was a huge hit, they made it into a movie. They were inspired to see, okay, mermaiding is becoming... people love this. I really don't know how the book did commercially. You can't find it very easily now. You could find some physical copies. You can't find a digital copy and there isn't a Wikipedia page about it. It's very hard to find information about the book. So while the film isn't really well known, it's definitely eclipsed the book significantly. The amazing thing about it is just that something like this seems like it could be a relic of the past, but that wiki-watching is still a thriving tourist attraction. That town still is known as being the City of Mermaids. It suffered quite a blow with the arrival of Disney World in Florida. That really cut their tourist trade significantly, but it sort of worked its way back up. They had to kind of reinvent. So do they actually swim wearing mermaid tails? They do. Now that's all they do. They're always in mermaid tails, I believe, in shows now. And they also have training. They have mermaid classes and mermaid camps for young swimmers or just people who want to get into mermaiding because that is a thriving subculture. I don't know if a lot of people know about it necessarily, but what has been dubbed mermaiding is very popular with a lot of professional mermaids. That's their life's work. It's really amazing. How does it really work for Anne Blythe or these people? What kind of fabric is it? There are varying levels. The first level for younger swimmers or if you're just sort of an amateur, it's made out of the same material as a bathing suit. It just goes over your legs and your feet like that. There's something called a monofin, which is in the shape of a fin. There's usually a vinyl or a flexible plastic piece inside. And then there's fabric over the top. Oftentimes, it's sort of like a wetsuit material. And you put your feet into that, and then that is what gives you the propulsion. And then at a higher level, there are tails that are made of silicone. And they look better, first off. Of course, all the scales are hand-molded. Those are all handmade. And they're heavier, but they have more buoyancy and thus more speed. But the monofin is always a feature of that. And it's interesting looking back at old pictures of the original WikiWatcher mermaids, how tails have changed. How did they look different back then? Well, the tail used in this movie is impressively realistic and like a fish fork if you compare it to what most of the mermaids at the actual attraction would have been. I know they made it out of rubber and latex. It was really expensive, though, because they had the Hollywood budget. The budget, yeah. Usually, if you see those mermaid tails, they look more like they're just made out of a swimsuit fabric. They didn't wear bra tops then. They wore one-pieces. So a lot of times, it looks like the tail is actually attached to the bathing suit. So it goes all the way up, and it's one piece. Yeah, sort of like an evening gown. It's an evening gown. That's interesting. Now, looking at the actual film aspect of this movie, it's a really good performance from Anne Blythe, considering she doesn't talk at all. And she was very young at the time. She was only 19 when this movie was made. But she does get to exhibit her beautiful singing voice. Yes, she does. And she was a very talented singer. You hear her doing the beautiful mermaid siren. But she had been making movies at Universal, which was the studio that made this, since she was an adolescent. She was alongside Donald O'Connor and other child actors in the early 40s. And she already had won an Academy Award for her performance in Mildred Pierce. But it was a Juvenile Academy Award because she was 16 at the time. Do they still have Juvenile Academy Awards? I haven't heard of one having been given in a long time. There really have only been a handful given. For very special people. It's not a yearly category. It's sort of a special award when they do give it. And then, of course, William Powell. It's really all about him. And he's best known for being in The Thin Man, of course, that detective series from the 30s going through the 40s. Opposite Myrna Loy, his most frequent co-star, right? Yes, they made 14 movies together. But in this time, this is a bit of a different outing for him. It's not an MGM. It's one of two movies he made with Nunnally Johnson. And it's sort of just exploring his inner monologue. And, like many fantasy films, maybe blurring the lines a little between fantasy and fact. What was he imagining? I've always loved fantasy stories like that. And it's sort of like Peter Pan and that. Or even a little bit like some versions of The Valley of the Nutcracker where they kind of leave you with this, like, did it happen? Did it not happen? And the ending, I don't know if you want to spoil it, but the ending is just like, oh. It's a very nice ending. They kind of leave you with the magic. Yes. It's interesting to look at this film, the idea of a mermaid film, and some of the themes explored from the context of when it was made. Absolutely. The mid to late 40s. Now, besides the fact, like we were saying, Hollywood wasn't big on fantasy or anything that wasn't very realistic and logical. Why would you say that is? Could you pinpoint why you think a particular reason that they just didn't do it as much then? I think because, in general, movies were considered a more modern type of entertainment as opposed to the stage... And fantasy is seen as more like fairy tales. It seems older. Yes. So that's something you read about it. There are some old plays. Shakespeare dabbled in fantasy. Many operas and ballets are about fantasy. But I think they thought, it'll be more relatable if it's like daily life, something that people see as like that. And that's what's brilliant about this movie. It starts just like people in their daily life, and then enter magic. It still is with that kind of Hollywood realism. It's not in some distant land a long time ago. It's easier to get into than, like, now you're in Middle Earth. Yeah, it's more relatable in that way. And just plainly wanted to make things quickly, efficiently, and affordably. Yes. If you spend a lot of money to make some elaborate fantasy film, it may not be successful, and then you've lost a lot of money. The summer blockbuster had not become a thing yet. They wanted to make movies in a quick, cost-effective manner. The studio system was all about... It was like Henry Ford with his manufacturing system. Mass production. Mass production to make cars quickly and efficiently. Yes. And that's kind of what movies were like. Yes, they wanted to make artistic things, and there were people who were more artsy than others. Definitely. But they didn't want to stray too far from the norm, because if you put out a lot, you could lose a lot. So in light of all that, any time a mermaid was mentioned, it could be controversial, because at this time, the Motion Picture Production Code was a guiding force in Hollywood. That's right. With the Production Code Administration from 1934 to 1954, under Joseph Breen's leadership, and it had a lot of rules about things that were decent to avoid censorship, and to have a very difficult standard of saying that everything has to be what we now call family-friendly. Now that's something that is a separate category, but back then, everything had to be family-friendly. Only most films that are considered family-friendly or G-rated now would not get past the Code, frankly. Yeah. And by the same token, Code films dealt with topics that the modern rating system might not think are G-rated. You're right. They will give something a harsher rating just based on mature content. The topic that's being discussed, because modern filmmakers don't know how to handle difficult topics without it being blatant and sort of obscene. And one of the rules in the Code is no nudity. Right. And any time a mermaid swims into the picture, you know, any old painting, this is before The Little Mermaid, even though she wasn't exactly that decent. She was wearing a top. So you couldn't have any topless mermaids. That was not acceptable. Yet that's what history told us was the way mermaids would traditionally dress. The Little Mermaid statue in Denmark, that's just how it was. So how do you do that properly? As far back as in The Bride of Frankenstein in 1935, there's some figurine of a mermaid, and the PCA warned them make sure the mermaid isn't decently shown as being topless. Now, Lenore doesn't seem like a person, so it wouldn't make sense for her to have clothes. So how do you deal with the fact? It's implied at the beginning that she is wearing nothing but her tail. Yet she has very full hair, and they do it all with perspective. She's always behind something. Yeah, she's behind something. And then he, part of the way through, goes to a store and buys her three different two-piece bathing suits, and gives her a very good lecture about modesty. Yes. And gets her to wear one. So then we get to see all of her after that. She's wearing a little... I don't think a bikini top is fair. It's more covering than a bikini top. Yeah, it's more like a halter top. Yes, a little halter top. Because bikinis were not allowed in code films either. That's right. Nor were they allowed on American beaches in 1948. Would you say that a lot of times it was actually the lower half of the bikini that was more questionable than the top? Yeah, that was a big part of it. And that's another thing to consider. Because two-piece bathing suits from earlier, you'll see they're more like what we call like a boy short kind of cut than now when they came up higher. And that's another thing to consider. The mermaid tail had to come up almost to the ribs, because people like to even joke about the codes rule about not showing the belly button. Like, oh, that's so ridiculous. But it's because it can end up being an indecently hip hugger or low riding showing too much of the hip area. It has nothing to do with the belly button itself. So the tail is more like a skirt, almost. Yes. I mean, some old paintings, it varies so much, but sometimes the tail starts like here. Yeah, they're more like leg warmers. Yeah, they're actually like the beginning of legs. So there's a lot of conjecture amongst painters like how much, how far up does the tail come? And different myths are different. And even some writers at the time sort of joked about the fact how the Johnson office, now that's referring to Eric Johnston, who is the head of the parent organization of the PCA. That was the Motion Picture Association of America. He was in Washington, and that was more the political side of it. But they joked about how they use like her hair and seaweed to make it not be indecent. They don't, they just plain don't show it. Yeah. And you're really not sure until he brings her. That's when his first tricky state is like, okay, she isn't. And from what they show or don't show, she clearly could be wearing a top. And in one far shot where they show her swimming to her castle, you can tell she's wearing a top, even though that's before he's given her a top, which is good. There should not be toplessness in movies because that's not the point. It would be so, I'm just trying to imagine, I mean, any classic film. If you randomly threw in some nudity, it's so far from what the film is like. Unlike Miranda, who is a very human, very more than typical siren temptress, this is more like the Little Mermaid. She's very innocent. She seems very young. She's very pure. She doesn't really know much about the world. Her lack of clothing is similar to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. It's simply like the lack of knowledge of modesty or decency. It's just she's like a fish. They're not wearing clothes and they don't think anything of it. That's how she is. Then as she goes into the human world, even though she never really sees anybody besides Mr. Peabody, he clothes her to be more decent. There's a very stark contrast from this to Splash. I was reading about it when the character later dubbed Madison the Mermaid first arrives in New York. She gets arrested for indecent exposure because she's not wearing any clothes and she is fully a woman at that point. I see. Very different tone right there. Now, even besides the issue of mermaid clothing, there were a couple other things in this movie that had to be considered. Yes, they deal with some difficult topics, which is interesting for a film of this type. Yeah, I would say casual flirtation would probably, extramarital flirtation would be an appropriate term. It would be too strong to say it's adultery or an affair. There's nothing like that. But you have Mr. Peabody. He's in love with this mermaid. And yes, it's a midlife crisis and you wonder, is he just making a whole thing up? And he does kiss her a few times, but I've always been struck by the way they're kissing. It's sort of like on the side of the mouth. It's like the most innocent kissing on the lips possible. And his wife, Mrs. Peabody, says she's had lunch a couple times with this dashing English... Is he some sort of a military? He's in the military there, yes. Major Ronald Hadley. That I've always felt is almost more questionable or just surprising than what is happening. Because he doesn't mean to catch the mermaid. Right. And he's going to tell his wife about it, but she won't believe him when he does tell her. Or he thinks about sending her to a museum. It's not his intention to keep her that just kind of happens. I think she's trying to make Mr. Peabody jealous because she sees him talking to Kathy Livingston because he thinks she was that voice he heard before he catches the mermaid. She's an actress and avid swimmer and singer whom he encounters, and then once he expresses an interest in her, then she's just quite flirtatious. He's not interested in her. She's very pushy. And I think that Mrs. Peabody is sort of trying to keep him from being interested in her by making him jealous. But as usual, these things are handled delicately. And in a way, you almost want to root for him and the mermaid, but you know that ultimately it's not the right thing because he's married to Mrs. Peabody. He can't run off with some mermaid. So it's like many stories about wild animals where the little boy has to release his beloved pet. It's sort of like that. He has to set the mermaid back to the ocean. It's not meant for them to be together living on some island somewhere. That was simply a wild vacation fancy, but he ends up going back to Boston and becoming a more sensible man again. So that's an interesting theme in this story. Now, even though it's set in the tropics, there's an interesting blend of some bathing suits, a mermaid tail, and also some very nice 1940s fashion, both from Mrs. Peabody and Kathy Livingston. Because it's set in the tropics, a lot of Mrs. Peabody's costumes are white or very light-colored. The dress I'm wearing is similar to an outfit she wears when she decides to leave Mr. Peabody because she's so angry at his perceived flirtation with Kathy Livingston. It's a tailored white dress with a white and black hat, white and black spectator shoes, and white pearl earrings. My outfit is inspired by a beautiful gown worn by Kathy Livingston and later by Lenore after she steals it from her. It is very much like this, a gold lamé evening dress. It has beautiful black beaded detailing, which I have emulated with this black fur, as well as gold evening slippers and matching earrings. How do you think that this film would be to someone who maybe hasn't seen any classic movies, but who really loves mermaids? Like a young woman. The only thing I would say is you have to have a little bit of patience because it takes a while for the mermaid to actually enter the scene. They talk about her right from the beginning. So you'll definitely be like, when's the mermaid going to come? But the building of anticipation is quite brilliant because it actually is told in flashback. It begins with him, his wife has gotten him to talk to the psychiatrist because her husband is in love with a mermaid, which is the startling line to be quite near the beginning of the film. So you're just waiting, and it's like, when's he going to catch her? And he hears her voice. And so the building up of anticipation is wonderful, and then the payoff is magnificent. Probably my favorite scene from the movie is actually the first time you see her. He catches this big fish, and he's grabbing her tail, and then all of a sudden he sees this little hand, and then the face comes up, and she's so beautiful. Her hair is sparkly. The underwater footage is very amazing. I think a lot of people would be surprised by how good it is, how well all this underwater footage is done because people have... Yeah, a warped perception of the technology. And a lot of it was due to being able to film through glass. They didn't have to shoot underwater because of having this amazing venue of the Weeki Wachee Springs. Yeah. And getting to see these two stunt doubles, these real athletes, they're amazing swimmers, and they get to show off their skills, particularly in this one sequence where she hears Mr. Peabody say that he loves her, and so she's just swimming around her little underwater kingdom, and she's so happy, and you really get to see some beautiful swimming displayed by these well-trained mermaids. Yeah, it really introduces you to some 1940s culture. There's some humor, some romance, some drama. It's, in general, a pretty lighthearted film. It's a short film. It's less than an hour and a half. That's always good. Yeah, it's in black and white, but I think it could sort of introduce you to what classic films are like. I think it is actually a much better choice than Miranda because she spends so much time masquerading as a woman. You don't see that much of her being a mermaid. I think you see more of her being a mermaid actually in the sequel. I almost prefer the sequel because of that. And it's in color, so you get to see the blue tails. But a lot of the time, she's just an invalid girl and her tail's all wrapped up. So I like that in this one, you really get to see more of her being a mermaid. You get to see the tail a lot, and there's more underwater. One of the only mermaid stories where she doesn't masquerade as a human, even in The Little Mermaid, she turns into a person. That's right. This one, she is nothing but a mermaid. She is the Little Mermaid the whole time. That's something nice to see as a mermaid fan. Yeah, so I think that would be very enjoyable. And for classic film fans, I think you'll really appreciate seeing William Powell because he's so suave. And he actually was 56 at the time that he made this movie, but he still looks good. He could easily be 50. I've always enjoyed getting to see this very young performance of Anne Blyth because I really love her. I think she's a wonderful actress and beautiful singer, and this is such an unusual role for her, but I think it's really good. And 1948, in addition to being the year of the mermaid, was also the year of the silent actress because the best actress at the Oscars was won by Jane Wyman for Johnny Blyndon, which she plays a deaf mute and doesn't speak. So there are two notable performances where they had to communicate wordlessly. That's something that I appreciate a lot as a ballet dancer. That's right. Seeing someone play a part and bring across emotions and everything without the use of dialogue. She laughs and cries and sings, but for the most part, she just splashes around. So definitely any mermaid-er or mermaid fan, someone who likes The Little Mermaid, Splash, anything that's mermaid-related. And unlike movies like The New Little Mermaid that just came out within the last couple of years, live action, yet most of it, is computer-generated. I was very disappointed with that. I would have loved to see them use some mermaiding technology and to actually have somebody in a tail. I mean, I get they thought it looks more realistic or something if you use CGI, but I think with the technology that we have now and the way that tails are made so advanced, that would have been a wonderful opportunity to really reach out to the mermaiding community. And this movie is impressive because it is real. It's a real ocean. It's a real spring. They're real people wearing real tails. You know, they're not real tails, but they're... It's as close to a real mermaid as you can get. Yeah, they're real people wearing some kind of apparatus so that they can swim like a mermaid would swim. When they did do them, rarely. That's what I do like about classic fantasy films is there's more things that they really try to do with more practical effects rather than just doing it in a computer. And a good thing about this movie is that it's widely available for free. There are several very clear copies right there on YouTube, completely free. You can find it for free on the Internet Archive and it's also available to purchase on DVD. You won't find it on any of the other streaming platforms but that's good. Like I said, why should you pay $9.99 on Amazon Prime if you can watch it for free at multiple places for a good copy? So what have you got to lose? It's a great film to explore that I think could be enjoyable both for men and women of all ages. On the topic of fantasy, storybooks and old fairy tales always feature wonderful stories about royalty and such pieces have become very popular in modern cinema as well. But there are some beautiful historical pieces from the classic era as well. Join us next time as we talk about a beautiful Technicolor classic movie based on a very dramatic chapter from true British history. Thank you for watching. Goodbye.