The Swimmer, starring Burt Lancaster, Janice Rule, and Janet Landgard, was made in 1968 and directed by Frank Perry. It is one of the few movies that stuck with me after I first watched it. Concerning the dialogue and tone of the film, I always put this movie under the rich gothic category.
The idea for this movie came from a short story from The New Yorker Magazine on July 16, 1964. It was also titled “The Swimmer ” by John William Cheever. Originally, John Cheever wanted to turn the short story into a novel but decided against it, and it ended up being the only work of John Cheever to be adapted into a film.
Burt Lancaster plays Ned Merrill, a tan and buff man who goes around an affluent Connecticut suburb swimming in people’s pools. He dons a dark blue swimsuit and swims through neighbors’ pools, and every time, he walks into acquaintances he once knew. Those acquaintances are shocked, happy, mad, or confused about why he is there.
He pleads with his acquaintances that he must swim through their pools to reach his. Along this journey, he meets an old babysitter, people who gossip about him, and a former lover. This all leads to the sad reality that has become Ned Merril’s life.
Here are some interesting facts about the movie:
Burt Lancaster considered this the best role of his acting career.
Burt Lancaster took extensive swimming lessons from UCLA coach Bob Horn to conquer his fear of water.
George C. Scott, Glenn Ford, and Paul Newman were some of the actors who had turned down this role before Burt Lancaster accepted it.
Burt Lancaster had seventeen pairs of blue swimming trunks similar to his wardrobe for this movie.
Actress and writer Illeana Douglas discusses why she loves this movie from Trailers from Hell:
About ten pools were used in the making of this movie.
This is Joan Rivers’s first acting credit, and it took about seven days to shoot her scene:
The short story that John Cheever wrote was about 12 pages.
Until Next time!
Source:
YouTube, Internet Movie Database, and Wikipedia
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