Williams made Duchess of Idaho (1950), shot on location in Sun Valley, Idaho, co-starring Van Johnson.
MGM paired her with Howard Keel for three films, Pagan Love Song (also 1950), Texas Carnival (1951) and later Jupiter's Darling (1955).
They both had cameos in the film Callaway Went Thataway (1951).

In Million Dollar Mermaid (1952), Williams portrayed Annette Kellermann, a real-life Australian swimming and diving star.
Williams co-starred with Victor Mature, who played Kellermann's husband and manager, James Sullivan.
The two engaged in a passionate affair during filming.
Williams often called this her favorite film, and named her autobiography after it.
Williams also won the Henrietta Award at the 1952 Golden Globes, for World Film Favorite – Female.
Easy to Love (1953), also with Van Johnson, was filmed on location in Cypress Gardens, where a swimming pool in the shape of the state of Florida had been built specifically for the film.
Williams was pregnant during shooting, but still performed all her own waterskiing stunts.

In Dangerous When Wet (also 1953), Williams worked with three important males – Tom and Jerry and future husband Fernando Lamas.
During casting, Lamas told Williams he did not want to star in the film with her because he only wanted to be involved in "important pictures".
His part had to be rewritten to persuade him to take part in the film.

In 1953, Williams had been on maternity leave for three months while pregnant with daughter Susan, and assumed she would go straight to work on the film Athena when she returned.
However, production started without her, and the studio cast Jane Powell in the lead role, rewriting much of the premise that Williams and writers Leo Pogostin and Chuck Walters had come up with.
The studio moved her to Jupiter's Darling.
Two more films were planned, Bermuda Encounter and Olympic Venus, about the first Olympic swimmers; however, these were never made.

Many of her MGM films, such as Million Dollar Mermaid and Jupiter's Darling, contained elaborately staged synchronized swimming scenes, with considerable risk to Williams.
She broke her neck filming a 115 ft dive off a tower during a climactic musical number for the film Million Dollar Mermaid and was in a body cast for seven months.
She subsequently recovered, although she continued to suffer headaches as a result of the accident.
Her many hours spent submerged in a studio tank resulted in ruptured eardrums numerous times.
She also nearly drowned after not being able to find the trapdoor in the ceiling of a tank.
The walls and ceiling were painted black and the trapdoor blended in.
Williams was pulled out only because a member of the crew realized the door was not opening.
Williams made Duchess of Idaho (1950), shot on location in Sun Valley, Idaho, co-starring Van Johnson. MGM paired her with Howard Keel for three films, Pagan Love Song (also 1950), Texas Carnival (1951) and later Jupiter's Darling (1955). They both had cameos in the film Callaway Went Thataway (1951).
In Million Dollar Mermaid (1952), Williams portrayed Annette Kellermann, a real-life Australian swimming and diving star. Williams co-starred with Victor Mature, who played Kellermann's husband and manager, James Sullivan. The two engaged in a passionate affair during filming. Williams often called this her favorite film, and named her autobiography after it. Williams also won the Henrietta Award at the 1952 Golden Globes, for World Film Favorite – Female. Easy to Love (1953), also with Van Johnson, was filmed on location in Cypress Gardens, where a swimming pool in the shape of the state of Florida had been built specifically for the film. Williams was pregnant during shooting, but still performed all her own waterskiing stunts.
In Dangerous When Wet (also 1953), Williams worked with three important males – Tom and Jerry and future husband Fernando Lamas. During casting, Lamas told Williams he did not want to star in the film with her because he only wanted to be involved in "important pictures". His part had to be rewritten to persuade him to take part in the film.
In 1953, Williams had been on maternity leave for three months while pregnant with daughter Susan, and assumed she would go straight to work on the film Athena when she returned. However, production started without her, and the studio cast Jane Powell in the lead role, rewriting much of the premise that Williams and writers Leo Pogostin and Chuck Walters had come up with. The studio moved her to Jupiter's Darling. Two more films were planned, Bermuda Encounter and Olympic Venus, about the first Olympic swimmers; however, these were never made.
Many of her MGM films, such as Million Dollar Mermaid and Jupiter's Darling, contained elaborately staged synchronized swimming scenes, with considerable risk to Williams. She broke her neck filming a 115 ft dive off a tower during a climactic musical number for the film Million Dollar Mermaid and was in a body cast for seven months. She subsequently recovered, although she continued to suffer headaches as a result of the accident. Her many hours spent submerged in a studio tank resulted in ruptured eardrums numerous times. She also nearly drowned after not being able to find the trapdoor in the ceiling of a tank. The walls and ceiling were painted black and the trapdoor blended in. Williams was pulled out only because a member of the crew realized the door was not opening.
Esther Williams