The Swimmer (film)
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| The Swimmer | |
|---|---|
 Video cover |
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| Directed by | Frank Perry Sydney Pollack |
| Produced by | Frank Perry Roger Lewis |
| Written by | Eleanor Perry John Cheever (story) |
| Starring | Burt Lancaster Janet Landgard Janice Rule Marge Champion Kim Hunter |
| Music by | Marvin Hamlisch |
| Cinematography | David L. Quaid |
| Editing by | Sidney Katz Carl Lerner Pat Somerset |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) |  15 May 1968 |
| Running time | 95 min |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
The Swimmer is a 1968 film directed by Frank Perry and starring Burt Lancaster. It is based on the short story of the same name by John Cheever, adapted by Eleanor Perry (wife of director Frank). It was made in the US by Columbia Pictures, and filmed largely on location in Westport Connecticut.
Sydney Pollack stepped in at the last minute to finish the film after Perry left because of "creative differences".
The film features cameos by Janet Landgard, Kim Hunter, Cornelia Otis Skinner and Joan Rivers, among others.
The music, a mixture of a traditional orchestral score and a more contemporary style, was by Marvin Hamlisch.
[edit] Plot
On a glorious summer's day in Connecticut, middle-aged Ned Merrill (Lancaster) decides to swim home across the county via his friends' swimming pools.
At first he receives a warm welcome as he bumps into friends and acquaintances from the past, mostly middle-class, affluent couples enjoying life in luxurious, semi-rural homes. However, as the day wears on, he begins to lose energy, and the reception he receives is not so welcoming. His proud boasting about his wife, his daughters and his home is increasingly met with jeers, suspicion and claims that he is not the good man he thinks he is.
As day turns to night, and summer turns to autumn, Ned staggers home to find an empty, abandoned house and no family.
