STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

Those who live in Sun Valley know well about the 1941 movie “Sun Valley Serenade” with its rollicking ski scene starring ice skater Sonja Henie and the song “It Happened in Sun Valley” that makes the rounds with carolers every Christmas at Sun Valley Resort.

But there’s a 1950 less well-known movie that also takes place in Sun Valley.

The Hailey Public Library will show this movie at 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 19, at Hailey Town Center West at 116 S. River St. The free screening is part of the library’s IDAHO in the Movies series.

The library can’t reveal the name of the movie because of contractual reasons. But you would be close if you ventured it was about the “Duke of Idaho.”

The musical romantic comedy starring Esther Williams, Van Johnson and Red Skelton features playboy bosses, matchmakers, handsome band leaders, love triangles, a midnight ski carnival, water spectacle and a song about “Choo choo chooing” to Idaho. Parts of it were shot in Sun Valley.

“This is totally escapist cinema, just in time for the holidays,” said Kristin Fletcher, the library’s programs manager. “Esther Williams, America’s favorite mermaid, is cast as a successful swimmer who dons a ski parka and journeys to splendid 1950s Sun Valley. The song-filled film also features the great singer Lena Horne, tap dancer Eleanor Powell and a gorgeous water ballet.”