William Powell plays a man whose wife thinks he's having a mid-life crisis and who police later think has murdered his wife! It all is told through a flashback as Mr. Peabody tells how this all transpired. Apparently, he was in the Caribbean with his wife and managed to catch a sexy young mermaid (Ann Blythe). While he tries to tell his wife, she isn't willing to listen--even though he went to all the trouble to bring the mermaid home! Later, after the wife leaves him (she thinks he's having an affair),the cops begin to think he's killed her. What exactly happens next you'll have to see for yourself.

This is not the most distinguished film William Powell ever made. Now it's not because the story idea is bad, but the writing just didn't seem to always make a lot of sense. It was like they had a nice story idea but weren't sure exactly where to go with it. They seemed unsure if it should be a comedy, a fantasy, a romance or melodrama--and the ending sure didn't help. It SHOULD have been a lot better given the plot and Powell--a wonderful and generally underrated actor. Worth seeing, though.

When William Powell was lent out to Warner Brothers for Life With Father it marked for him a transition to roles more suited for his age. In her memoirs Esther Williams noted that Powell felt very ridiculous trying to play a convincing love scene with Esther. MGM lent him out to Universal for Mr. Peabody And The Mermaid and while the film is not a classic like Life With Father, it is still a charming fantasy that holds up well after over 60 years.

The film is told in flashback by Powell narrating his involvement with a mermaid to a sympathetic psychiatrist Art Smith. Powell is on vacation in the Caribbean with wife Irene Hervey and he's finding it hard to admit he's reaching that crucial age of 50. In real life Powell was 56 when he made Mr. Peabody And The Mermaid.

Hugh French who's a vacationing lizard and would be gigolo puts the moves on Irene. Powell gets to do some deep sea fishing and catches a mermaid by hooking her tail. The mermaid is Ann Blyth who is absolutely enchanting as she steals the film without a word of dialog. Her facial expressions are priceless signifying wonder and terror and both at the same time.

Blyth gets a temporary home in the resort aquarium and Hervey suspects Powell of trying to romance vacationing Broadway singer Andrea King. King in fact gets to meet Blyth and she's not quite the same after that.

This fantasy had elements of it in the Ron Howard film Splash, but Mr. Peabody And The Mermaid will still delight audiences even today. I only wish Universal Studios had invested in some color cinematography.

Polly tells her doctor that her husband Arthur Peabody (William Powell) is in love with a mermaid. She had only seen the tail but she believes him. Of course, no one else believes the tale but at least, the doctor is fascinated with the Caribbean fishing story.

I love the opening minutes of this movie. I love the kid calling him crazy. I love that the doctor is taken with catching a big fish on that particular line whether it's a mermaid or not. I love that there is a questioning of reality like Harvey. The movie loses something when it actually shows the mermaid. I would have liked for this to be another Harvey. Maybe he could be sent to a retreat where nobody believes him except some patients and they could go find the mermaid together. The opening has great humor and a sense of mystery. The flashback in the main body of the movie has some fun but the reality of the situation is no longer in question. It becomes a sitcom of misunderstandings and missed meetings. It's less fun than the opening but it's still a little fun.