Editing Howard Keel (section)

===MGM===
[[File:Esther Williams and Howard Keel (kneeling).jpg|thumb|Esther Williams and Howard Keel]]
From London's [[West End theatre|West End]], Keel went to Hollywood in 1949 where he was engaged by the [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] film studio. He made his musical film debut as Frank Butler in the film version of [[Irving Berlin]]'s ''[[Annie Get Your Gun (film)|Annie Get Your Gun]]'' (1950), co-starring with [[Betty Hutton]].<ref name="Larkin"/> The film was a big hit and established Keel as a star.<ref name="Mannix">{{Citation | title = The Eddie Mannix Ledger | publisher = Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study | place = Los Angeles}}.</ref>

MGM put him with [[Esther Williams]] in ''[[Pagan Love Song]]'' (1950), which was successful, but not as profitable as most Esther Williams films because it went over budget.<ref name="Mannix"/> Keel had a third hit in a row with the comedy ''[[Three Guys Named Mike]]'' (1951), supporting [[Van Johnson]] and [[Jane Wyman]].

Even more popular was ''[[Show Boat (1951 film)|Show Boat]]'' (1951), where Keel played the male lead with [[Kathryn Grayson]] and [[Ava Gardner]].<ref name="Larkin"/> Keel was reunited with Williams in ''[[Texas Carnival]]'' (1952). He had his first flop at MGM with the comedy ''[[Callaway Went Thataway]]'' (1952) co-starring [[Fred MacMurray]] and [[Dorothy McGuire]].<ref name="Mannix"/> ''[[Lovely to Look At]]'' (1952), with Grayson and based on the stage musical ''[[Roberta (musical)|Roberta]]'', was popular but lost money.<ref name="Mannix"/>

MGM tried him in the adventure film ''[[Desperate Search]]'' (1953), which was poorly received. So too was the comedy ''[[Fast Company (1953 film)|Fast Company]]'' (1953). More popular was ''[[Ride, Vaquero!]]'' (1953), with Gardner and [[Robert Taylor (American actor)|Robert Taylor]].

[[File:Calamity Jane trailer.jpg|thumb|left|[[Doris Day]] and Howard Keel in ''[[Calamity Jane (1953 film)|Calamity Jane]]'' (1953)]] Warner Bros borrowed Keel to play [[Wild Bill Hickok]] with [[Doris Day]] in ''[[Calamity Jane (film)|Calamity Jane]]'' (1953), another hit. Back at MGM, he and Grayson made ''[[Kiss Me Kate (film)|Kiss Me Kate]]'' (1953), which again was liked by the public but unprofitable. The same went for ''[[Rose Marie (1954 film)|Rose Marie]]'' (1954) which Keel made with [[Ann Blyth]]. However ''[[Seven Brides for Seven Brothers]]'' (1954) with [[Jane Powell]] was a huge success, and it made MGM over $3 million in profit.<ref name="Mannix"/>

Keel was one of many guest stars in ''[[Deep in My Heart (1954 film)|Deep in My Heart]]'' (1954). He and Williams made ''[[Jupiter's Darling]]'' (1955), which lost MGM over $2 million - the first Williams movie to lose money. ''[[Kismet (1955 film)|Kismet]]'' (1955) with Blyth also lost over $2 million, and Keel was released from his MGM contract.