AllMovie

As Texas Carnival amply demonstrates, you don't watch an Esther Williams movie for its screenplay (let alone its plot); you watch it to see what Williams does in the water. Texas Carnival skimps somewhat on the aquatic star's time in the water, but the one big ballet it provides is a doozy. Choreographer Hermes Pan and MGM's special-effects technicians do an excellent job of superimposing the star's routine over and around co-star Howard Keel's hotel room, creating an impressive two or three minutes. The rest of the film is amazingly routine, with almost no spark or imagination from director Charles Walters and a screenplay that is built-to-order for its stars but clunky and mechanical. Harry Warren and Dorothy Fields' score is somewhat better -- pleasant but unremarkable -- which means that it's up to the cast to make Texas Carnival work. Fortunately, they're up the task. Williams is no great actress, but she's fine, as is Keel; but it's the secondary Red Skelton and Ann Miller who make Texas come alive, even with less than stellar material. The stars -- and that one ballet -- make Texas Carnival worth the occasional look.