Esther Williams aquamusicals

Maybe this is kind of niche but she made about 15 of these for MGM between 1944 and 1955 and I wondered if anyone had any opinions about them. It seems that Million Dollar Mermaid (1952), a biopic of Australian swimmer Annette Kellerman, is widely considered her aquamusical tour de force, but there are some terrific swimming (or waterskiing) sequences in most of these films and their light romantic plots usually go down easy. I would single out Dangerous When Wet (1953) which has a witty script and a cute storyline in which Esther, playing a backwoods type, signs a promotional deal with a salesman/hustler to swim the English Channel for prize money. It also features Fernando Lamas, possibly Williams' only male costar whose swimming ability matches hers. Jupiter's Darling (1955), her only film in widescreen, is another good one. The sequence where Esther swims underwater in a Roman pool with statues that come to life is quite beautiful. The film also works as a light satire of contemporary life, at least for the first half of it. Howard Keel costars as Hannibal (yes, the historical Hannibal).

I have nothing to contribute unless maybe I quote or summarize what Leslie Caron said about her.

Uh oh. OK please do.

Not much really, just:

I also met Box Office Star Number One, the queen of MGM’s musicals, Esther Williams, openly, arrogantly claiming her status, wet or dry. She was competitive and didn’t try to be friendly—she didn’t see the point. She was also as foul-mouthed as a sailor and didn’t pretend to be a lady. I liked her—but at arm’s length.

That's wonderful

Esther Williams was also one of those big stars who quit acting fairly abruptly, without having her career peter out into appearances on Cannon or The Love Boat or w/e.

When she was retired, she carried around cards that she gave out to anyone who recognized her. They said "Yes, I still swim."