Reunited with Gold Diggers of 1933’s Mervyn LeRoy, Berkeley contributes two ebullient dance numbers to MGM’s wildly successful aquatic frolic starring Esther Williams. Based on the life of Australian swimming sensation Annette Kellerman, whose fascinating achievements in ladies’ swimwear, water-based spectacle and cinema directly paved the way for Williams, who sparkles most brightly in Berkeley’s numbers—their exciting set design, surprising camera angles, multiple bodies and sheer grandeur standing out sharply from any other sequence. However, the imaginative wizard put Williams to the test by requiring she perform a high dive in a stunning, yet cumbersome, costume. Ironically mirroring a tragic event in the film, the star broke three vertebrae in her neck as a result, but would risk working with Berkeley once more in the following year’s Easy to Love.