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IMDbPro

The Swimmer

  • 1968
  • M/PG
  • 1h 35m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
13K
YOUR RATING
Burt Lancaster in The Swimmer (1968)
Watch Official Trailer
Play trailer2:43
2 Videos
91 Photos
Drama

A man spends a summer day swimming as many pools as he can all over a quiet suburban town.A man spends a summer day swimming as many pools as he can all over a quiet suburban town.A man spends a summer day swimming as many pools as he can all over a quiet suburban town.

  • Directors
    • Frank Perry
    • Sydney Pollack
  • Writers
    • Eleanor Perry
    • John Cheever
  • Stars
    • Burt Lancaster
    • Janet Landgard
    • Janice Rule
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.6/10
    13K
    YOUR RATING
    • Directors
      • Frank Perry
      • Sydney Pollack
    • Writers
      • Eleanor Perry
      • John Cheever
    • Stars
      • Burt Lancaster
      • Janet Landgard
      • Janice Rule
    • 180User reviews
    • 94Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win

    Videos2

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:43
    Watch Official Trailer
    The Swimmer: Intro
    Clip 1:40
    Watch The Swimmer: Intro

    Photos91

    The Swimmer (1968)
    Burt Lancaster, Janet Landgard, and Janice Rule in The Swimmer (1968)
    Burt Lancaster in The Swimmer (1968)
    Burt Lancaster and Janet Landgard in The Swimmer (1968)
    Burt Lancaster in The Swimmer (1968)
    Burt Lancaster in The Swimmer (1968)
    Burt Lancaster and Bernie Hamilton in The Swimmer (1968)
    Burt Lancaster and Janet Landgard in The Swimmer (1968)
    Nancy Cushman and House Jameson in The Swimmer (1968)
    The Swimmer (1968)
    The Swimmer (1968)
    The Swimmer (1968)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Burt Lancaster
    Burt Lancaster
    • Ned Merrill
    Janet Landgard
    Janet Landgard
    • Julie Hooper
    Janice Rule
    Janice Rule
    • Shirley Abbott
    Tony Bickley
    • Donald Westerhazy
    Marge Champion
    Marge Champion
    • Peggy Forsburgh
    Nancy Cushman
    • Mrs. Halloran
    Bill Fiore
    • Howie Hunsacker
    David Garfield
    • Ticket Seller
    • (as John Garfield Jr.)
    Kim Hunter
    Kim Hunter
    • Betty Graham
    Rose Gregorio
    • Sylvia Finney
    Charles Drake
    Charles Drake
    • Howard Graham
    Bernie Hamilton
    Bernie Hamilton
    • Chauffeur
    House Jameson
    House Jameson
    • Mr. Halloran
    Jimmy Joyce
    • Jack Finney
    Michael Kearney
    • Kevin Gilmartin
    Richard McMurray
    Richard McMurray
    • Stu Forsburgh
    Jan Miner
    Jan Miner
    • Lillian Hunsacker
    Diana Muldaur
    Diana Muldaur
    • Cynthia
    • Directors
      • Frank Perry
      • Sydney Pollack(uncredited)
    • Writers
      • Eleanor Perry
      • John Cheever
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Burt Lancaster always insisted that this was both his best and his favorite film of his career.
    • Goofs
      In the second shot of Ned pounding on the door of the empty house, the film is being run backwards - it's the same shot as before the interior of the house is seen through the broken window.
    • Quotes

      Kevin Gilmartin Jr.: They took the water out of the pool because I'm not a good swimmer. I'm bad at sports and, at school, nobody wants me on their team.

      Ned Merrill: Well, it's a lot better that way, you take it from me. At first you think it's the end of the world because you're not on the team. Till you realize...

      Kevin Gilmartin Jr.: Realize what?

      Ned Merrill: You realize that you're free. You're your own man. You don't have to worry about getting to be captain and all that status stuff.

      Kevin Gilmartin Jr.: They'd never elect me captain in a million years.

      Ned Merrill: You're the captain of your soul. That's what counts. Know what I mean?

    • Connections
      Featured in TCM Guest Programmer: Gilbert Gottfried (2013)

    User reviews180

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    a terrific adaptation of Cheever -- and one of Burt Lancaster's best
    A man beyond middle-age living in tony, upscale Connecticut environs decides to swim home from one neighbors' swimming pool to another, drinking cocktails all along the way, engaging in friendly, empty banter and confronting all the demons of his life -- most of his own making. This is a late '60s experiment (and, thankfully, they were more experimental in the main in the '60s than today) that takes an exceptional short story by the uniquely American master teller of modern tales, John Cheever, and expands it into a character piece for the wonderful Burt Lancaster. Here he's playing an ordinary business executive stuck in an early '60s, three martini lunch time warp, a Viet Nam era/Hippie-Nation prevailed-upon Upper West side would-be master of the universe. A man who is strangely out of place and out of time and will suffer a fate, maybe cruel, maybe just, but one that he is entirely complicit in despite any protest. This is engagingly dark stuff told under the glare of a late summer bright sunny sky. The film's flaws are bound to its era of production -- auto-camera zooms and sunlight flares and delirious music montages -- but they mean little compared to the hyper-sophisticated smarts of its dialogue and the performances, obviously from Lancaster, but also the unique variety of women he encounters from his past before arriving at his horrible present. "It's a beautiful day! Look at that sky, look at that blue water!"
    helpful•32
    4
    • jai-38
    • Jan 24, 2007

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    FAQ1

    • What was this all about? Did he escape from a nut house? Was he a ghost? Awake from a coma?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 9, 1968 (Finland)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Der Schwimmer
    • Filming locations
      • Westport, Connecticut, USA
    • Production companies
      • Columbia Pictures
      • Horizon Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 35 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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