Esther Williams Ranked
A ranking of Esther Williams's film performances.
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- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsEsther WilliamsVictor MatureWalter PidgeonBiopic of Australian swimming champ and entertainer Annette Kellerman. After overcoming polio, Kellerman achieves fame and creates a scandal when her one-piece bathing suit is considered indecent.
- DirectorGeorge SidneyStarsRed SkeltonEsther WilliamsBasil RathboneA contrived misunderstanding leads to the breakup of a songwriter and his fiancée. She returns to work as a gym teacher at an all-girls school, but a legal loophole allows the man to enroll as one of her students.
- DirectorEdward BuzzellStarsEsther WilliamsRed SkeltonRicardo MontalbanA swimsuit fashion designer is determined to protect her scatterbrained sister from a South American heartbreaker, but a case of mistaken identity complicates matters.
- DirectorGeorge SidneyStarsEsther WilliamsHoward KeelMarge ChampionFabius loves his beautiful but vulnerable city, Rome, and he also loves his beautiful but invulnerable fiancée, Amytis. Fascinated by the tales she has heard about Hannibal, who is about to attack Rome, Amytis is driven by curiosity to the edge of his camp. Captured, she makes a last request of the indifferent Hannibal...that he spare the city. She offers to lead him to a hilltop where she can prove that taking the city is not worth the trouble. Hannibal goes with her, even though she has to cup her hand under his chin and float him across a river as he can't swim. Before long, Hannibal is doing more surveying of Amytis than of Rome. And Fabius finds he can defend neither his city nor his fiancée against the advances of Hannibal. Especially after he has his elephants painted bright colors because Amythis thinks gray is drab.
- DirectorCharles WaltersJoseph BarberaWilliam HannaStarsEsther WilliamsFernando LamasJack CarsonWith her promoter-trainer and family in tow, Katie Higgins swims her way from the Arkansas Ozarks to foggy London and the English Channel. - SimonJack
- DirectorRichard ThorpeStarsEsther WilliamsPeter LawfordRicardo MontalbanWhile shooting on location in the South Pacific, a movie star is pursued by a handsome Naval officer who is convinced she is the girl for him.
- DirectorCharles WaltersStarsEsther WilliamsVan JohnsonTony MartinAn aquatic performer tries to attract the man she loves.
- DirectorBusby BerkeleyStarsFrank SinatraEsther WilliamsGene KellyTwo turn-of-the-century baseball players, who work in vaudeville during the off-season, run into trouble with their team's new female owner and a gambler who doesn't want them to win the pennant.
- DirectorRobert AltonStarsEsther WilliamsHoward KeelMinna GombellA man from Ohio inherits a coconut plantation and falls in love with a half-American, half-Tahitian beauty. Song-and-swim musical ensues in the tropical paradise.
- DirectorRobert Z. LeonardStarsEsther WilliamsVan JohnsonJohn LundEllen Hallet is in love with her playboy boss, Douglas Morrison, but too timid to do anything about it. Her roommate Chris devises a plan to help her: she follows Morrison on his trip to Sun Valley, Idaho and plays the overattentive female, hoping he'll send for Ellen, who often plays his "fiancée" when he has a female he can't discourage otherwise. Complications arise when Chris catches the eye of band leader Dick Layn and lands in a triangle with the two men.
- DirectorRichard ThorpeStarsVan JohnsonEsther WilliamsFrances GiffordA swim teacher and a wealthy businessman are married after a brief courtship. A charming war hero falls in love with this newly-married woman, after her husband abandons her on their honeymoon for the sake of a business meeting.
- DirectorSidney LanfieldStarsEsther WilliamsJoan EvansVivian BlaineThree women in three different situations report for induction at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station and end up roommates. What follows is a frothy and fun musical.
- DirectorEdward BuzzellBuster KeatonEdward SedgwickStarsVan JohnsonEsther WilliamsLucille BallTo prevent a libel case against the paper, a reporter tries to compromise the reputation of a tycoon's slandered daughter.
- DirectorRichard ThorpeStarsEsther WilliamsAkim TamiroffRicardo MontalbanWhen a matador leaves town to focus on his music, his twin sister takes on his identity in the bullfighting ring.
- DirectorRichard ThorpeStarsEsther WilliamsLauritz MelchiorJimmy DuranteExpected to follow his opera star father into the business, but discontent with his life, a young man pursues a career in popular music and romances the aquatic ballet dancer he met during his time in the service.
- DirectorCharles WaltersStarsEsther WilliamsRed SkeltonHoward KeelA showmen team is mistaken for a cattle baron and his sister.
- DirectorGeorge B. SeitzStarsLewis StoneMickey RooneyCecilia ParkerCollege-bound Andy blurts marriage proposals to his sweetheart Polly and her pert swimmer friend Sheila.
- DirectorHarry KellerStarsEsther WilliamsGeorge NaderJohn SaxonA beautiful teacher is protective of a high school boy who sexually harassed her, and later he becomes a murder suspect.
- DirectorVictor FlemingStarsSpencer TracyIrene DunneVan JohnsonA dead World War II bomber pilot, Pete Sandidge becomes the guardian angel of another pilot, Ted Randall. He guides Ted through battle and helping him to romance his old girlfriend, despite her excessive devotion to Sandidge's memory.
- DirectorJames B. ClarkStarsEsther WilliamsCliff RobertsonNehemiah PersoffThe owner of a German traveling circus is power-mad and exploits everyone in his path, including his family.
- DirectorFernando LamasStarsEsther WilliamsFernando LamasMarta RevesA financier decides to take a vacation somewhere where nothing can disturb him. He travels to the south of Spain, to a small village where he lives a primitive life. A chance meeting with a young American sociologist who works to guide women towards a healthier and more comfortable life change the pace of his life.
- DirectorRichard WilsonStarsEsther WilliamsJeff ChandlerRossana PodestàOn a small Mediterranean island live Costanza, her father Urbano, and beachcomber Moore, whom she plans to marry. Into this Eden come two plane crash survivors, supermodel Laura and her playboy friend Wally. The shapely, worldly Laura becomes a bad influence, especially when triangles start to develop. But beyond this, little mysteries lead Laura and Wally to wonder what's going on and who Moore really is.
- DirectorNorman TaurogStarsWilliam PowellEsther WilliamsAngela LansburyA former reporter returns home after serving in the Army during World War I and discovers that finding work is more difficult than he expected. Desperate, one day he crashes a wedding attended by many of the city's rich and powerful, meets a beautiful girl named Kay Lorrison (Esther Williams), who turns out to be his ticket to meeting those rich and powerful people, and he soon manages to land a job on a newspaper. He gets caught up in the "make money at all costs" game, but receives a rude awakening when the stock market crashes in 1929. The Depression's lows uncovers new plateaus that this vet couldn't foresee while raking in the big bucks. Spiritual nudges help Our Man to finally see the light that money can't buy everything, especially the love and happiness he's been searching for.