Main Cast: William Powell, Ann Blyth, Irene Hervey, Andrea King, Clinton Sundberg
Release Year: 1948
Country: US
Run Time: 89 minutes
MPAA Rating: NR
Plot
Something seems fishy when a married man finds new adventure and romance in this comic fantasy. Arthur Peabody (William Powell) is a slightly stuffy businessman from Boston who after turning fifty finds himself suffering from a full-fledged midlife crisis. On the advice of his doctor, Peabody and his wife Polly (Irene Hervey) head to the Caribbean for a restful vacation. One evening, Peabody decides to do some fishing, and he pulls in a highly unexpected catch -- a beautiful mermaid named Lenore (Ann Blythe). Peabody takes the mysterious creature home with him (keeping her in a backyard pond for safekeeping), but while he soon becomes infatuated with Lenore, she's quite shy around others, refusing to let people see her except for the tip of her tail, so few believe his story about the big one he's reeled in. Makeup whiz Bud Westmore designed the special mermaid costuime for Ann Blythe; keep an ear open for the song "The Caribbees", co-written for the movie by Johnny Mercer. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Art Smith - Dr. Harvey; Hugh French - Maj. Hadley; Lumsden Hare - Col. Mandrake; Fred Clark - Basil, Peabody's Gardener; James Logan - Lieutenant; Mary Field - Wee Shop Clerk; Beatrice Roberts - Mother; Cynthia Corley - Nurse; Richard Ryen - Waiter; Bobby Hyatt - Boy; Ivan Browning - Sidney; Lydia Bilbrook; Winifred Harris; Ola Lorraine - Receptionist; Carol Savage - Daphne
The film stars William Powell as Arthur Peabody, who is undergoing a mid-life crisis as he approaches his 50th birthday. Much of the story is shown in flashback as Peabody tells his skeptical doctor the source of malaise.
Peabody goes on vacation with his wife Polly (Irene Hervey) to a Caribbean resort. While there, he hears singing coming from a distant key and takes his boat to do a little fishing. To his surprise, he reels in Lenore, a beautiful mermaid played by Ann Blyth. Although mute, Lenore is mischievous and childlike and not just a little bit alluring – so much so that before long Peabody has taught her to kiss. He hides Lenore by letting her soak in a suds filled bathtub then later in the resort’s fish pond. But confusion ensues as his wife thinks he has a big fish in their bathtub and later suspects him of infidelity with Cathy Livingston (Andrea King), a vacationing singer. Things get even more complicated when, after Polly returns home without Peabody, police suspect him of murder.
By the end of this fish tale, Arthur Peabody and his wife are happily back at home in Boston with only Lenore’s comb left to prove the reality of his adventure.
