The New Pictures

Skirts Ahoy! (M-G-M), a musical about the U.S. Navy's WAVES, might just as well have been titled Encores Aweigh. The film follows three sailorettes through boot camp, where the activities seem to consist mostly of swimming, singing and dancing in Technicolor. Esther Williams is a spoiled society girl who left her bridegroom languishing at the altar; red-haired Joan Evans is a small-town girl who was stood up at her wedding; blonde Vivian Elaine is a salesgirl with a Brooklyn accent.

On the prowl for wine, men and song, the three girls finally snag their sailors. Esther glides gracefully through several swimming numbers, and there are guest appearances by Billy Eckstine, Keenan Wynn, Bobby Van and Debbie Reynolds. But, through soggy direction of a waterlogged script, Skirts Ahoy! comes in at only a low tide of musical entertainment.

The San Francisco Story (Fidelity-Vogue; Warner) shows how stouthearted Joel McCrea cleaned up sinful San Francisco during the 18503. The main object of McCrea's moral fervor is Unprincipled Politician Sidney Blackmer, who is apparently responsible for most of the corruption in California. Blackmer's good friend, sultry Yvonne de Carlo, horsewhips McCrea and then tries to have him shanghaied, but deep down she really loves him. In the end, McCrea, assisted by Yvonne, bests Blackmer in a shotgun duel on horseback and sets the stage for law & order in San Francisco. A horse opera that tries determinedly to be rugged, The San Francisco Story merely succeeds in being ragged.

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