Esther Williams has an underwater encounter with both cupid and a hunky Roman statue (played by 1950s NFL star John Olszewski) during the I Have a Dream fantasy number in the MGM/George Sidney musical romance Jupiter's Darling, 1955. Williams was hastily assigned to the production after three months maternity leave (following the birth of her daughter Susan) and she ruptured her eardrum while filming the underwater scenes, the fifth time she'd suffered an aquatic-related ear injury while working at MGM. Released on February 18th, 1955, the movie was critically panned and a box office disappointment, ultimately becoming Esther's last film at the studio when MGM decided not to renew her contract after fourteen years in their employ. With the passage of time, Jupiter's Darling has been positively reappraised, and the beautiful and imaginative I Have a Dream segment is now considered a particular stand-out in Esther's vast and varied catalogue of underwater production numbers from her heyday as an aquatic superstar.
