It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
Texas Carnival (1951) – Musical #68

Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director:
Charles Walters

Starring:
Esther Williams, Red Skelton, Howard Keel, Ann Miller, Paula Raymond, Keenan Wynn, Tom Tully, Glenn Strange, Dick Wessel, Donald MacBride, Marjorie Wood, Hans Conried, Thurston Hall, Duke Johnson, Wilson Wood, Gene Coogan (uncredited), Bess Flowers (uncredited), Beatrice Hagen (uncredited), Alex Romero (uncredited)
Themselves: Foy Willing and His Orchestra, Red Norvo Trio,

Plot:
Cornie (Skelton) and Debbie Telford (Williams) work together in a dunk tank sideshow. They aren’t doing well financially, and Debbie wants a well-balanced meal. While in Texas, Cornie is mistaken for a cattle barron, Dan Sabinas (Wynn), when Cornie drives his car back to the hotel. They think Debbie is Marilla Sabinas (Raymond). Unable to untangle the misunderstanding, Cornie and Debbie wait for the real Dan Sabinas to return to the hotel. The mistaken identity leads to high gambling debts and romances. The sheriff’s daughter (Miller), Sunshine, falls for Cornie, while Sabinas’s ranch hand Slim Shelby (Howard), knows they are phonies, but plays along.

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