Columbia Pictures
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The Swimmer
When you talk about "The Swimmer" will you talk about yourself?
A man spends a summer day swimming home via all the pools in his quiet suburban neighborhood.
- Original title
- The Swimmer
- Language
- EN
- Country
- US
- Budget
- —
- Revenue
- —
Abstractals
Apr 6, 2026 · via TMDB
Burt Lancaster referred to this film as ""**'Death of a Salesman'** in swimming trunks,"" and that's not a bad characterization. You could also think of it, in many ways, as ""**'American Beauty'** in the late 1960s."" This movie came out nine years after the original **'Twilight Zone'** series aired, and it would have made an interesting episode. As a movie, it lasts a little too long, is fairly melodramatic, and has some weirdly filmed scenes. Were they going for psychedelia? One scene in particular, where Lancaster simply crosses a busy highway, is just crazy with canted camera angles and weird zoom and blur shots. But one could argue that it helps build the dreamlike (or nightmare) quality upon which this story depends. I am beginning to suspect that Burt Lancaster created the acting style most often attributed to William Shatner. That is to say, he's vain and overblown, he dramatically stares off into space a lot, and his disregard for personal space with women quickly becomes a little creepy. *No means no, Burt Lancaster!* Maybe a lot of male actors were like this in the 1960s, I don't know, but it's a little odd from a 2026 perspective. As weird and as dated as this movie is, it's a fun enough watch for a sleepy summer's afternoon -- if only to see Joan Rivers' first dramatic role, and a brief scene with a young Diana Muldaur (Doctor Pulaski on **'Star Trek: The Next Generation'**).
Wuchak
Jun 16, 2024 · via TMDB
**_Offbeat parable of self-discovery on the collapse of the “American dream”_** A somewhat confused man in swimming trunks (Burt Lancaster) travels from pool to pool in suburban Connecticut on his way home. Some of the people he comes across are played by Janet Landgard, Janice Rule, Joan Rivers and Diana Muldaur, amongst several others. "The Swimmer" (1968) is a semi-surreal commentary on mid-60’s America and the emptiness of materialism, as well as self-destruction. The fact that Ned Merrill (Lancaster) is almost naked throughout the film tells all. But the revelations are lowkey; you have to put the pieces together. I liked the insights on the folly of compulsiveness, whether social, youth-obsession, sexual or self-delusion. It’s an immersion into a struggling man’s soul. The allegory offers additional insights about the people we cross paths with in life. Friends might, more accurately, be casual acquaintances. Those whom you least suspect might be your biggest fans, at least in their memories. How did you treat others when you were on top? Who’s there for you when you’re no longer on top? It runs 1 hour, 35 minutes, and was shot entirely in southwest Connecticut (Weston, Wilton, Westport, Stamford and Fairfield). GRADE: B
CinemaSerf
Jun 3, 2023 · via TMDB
"Ned" (Burt Lancaster) has been away for a while so his neighbours are a bit surprised to see him, clad only in his trunks, swimming in their pool. After some chat with them, he discovers that barring the odd bit of terrain to cross, he can pretty much swim his way home through the pools of other neighbours/friends/acquaintances - a river and even a public lido... The film now follows him as this rather unique journey introduces us to his community, and to his own interesting, complicated and lively backstory. I could run to all sorts of amateur psychology about my understanding of what each stop means to him; to those with whom he stops, and to those of us watching - for the adaptation of the pretty depressing Cheever short story would certainly indulge that; but I felt this was more of a testament to an always slightly under-rated actor in Lancaster. He starred in some superb films over his career, and this - with him almost entirely en cueros, with his soul likewise just as scantily attired, allows us to gradually understand where his character has been, and to guess, maybe, where he might be going. Kim Hunter maybe stands out amongst the supporting cast, but I'm not sure that any of them outdo the other - they all fulfil their function adequately offering us a myriad of possibilities for his current and past behaviour. The ending is especially poignant and as an ingenious and imaginative piece of cinema, this takes some beating.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Amazon Video
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Google Play Movies
YouTube
Fandango At Home
Burt Lancaster
Ned Merrill
Janet Landgard
Julie Ann Hooper
Janice Rule
Shirley Abbott
Tony Bickley
Donald Westerhazy
Marge Champion
Peggy Forsburgh
Rose Gregorio
Sylvia Finney
David Garfield
Ticket Seller
Kim Hunter
Betty Graham
Charles Drake
Howard Graham
Bernie Hamilton
Chauffeur
House Jameson
Mr. Halloran
Jan Miner
Lillian Hunsacker
Diana Muldaur
Cynthia
Joan Rivers
Joan
Cornelia Otis Skinner
Mrs. Hammar
Dolph Sweet
Henry Biswanger
Louise Troy
Grace Biswanger
Diana Van der Vlis
Helen Westerhazy
Philip Bruns
Biswangers' Pool Party Guest (uncredited)
John Cheever
Man at Pool Party (uncredited)
Lisa Daniels
Matron at the Biswangers' Pool (uncredited)
Eleanor Perry
Woman at Pool Party (uncredited)
Frank Perry
Man at Pool Party (uncredited)
Sydney Pollack
Co-Director
Frank Perry
Director
Sidney Katz
Editor
Joseph Manduke
Executive In Charge Of Production
Sam Spiegel
Executive Producer
Frank Perry
Producer
Marvin Hamlisch
Original Music Composer
Eleanor Perry
Screenplay
John Cheever
Short Story
Martha, Ruth & Edie
Rear Window
Léon: The Professional
In the Mood for Love
All About Eve
Nightswimming
American Beauty
Rio Bravo
Jean de Florette
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Tenant
Rebel Without a Cause
The Rules of the Game
Almost Famous
The Man Who Would Be King
Kensho at the Bedfellow
Barton Fink
My Girl
Cabaret
Lost in Translation
Match Point
Bridge to Terabithia
Lolita
3:10 to Yuma
Lisbon Story
Vera Drake
Arlington Road
Holiday Inn
Kitchen Stories
Coast to Coast
Revolutionary Road
Inquisition
Shanghai Express
Mifune
Broken Flowers
Gloria
The Queen
Broken Blossoms or The Yellow Man and the Girl
Wonder Boys
Cruel Intentions
The Tree of Life
A Good Year
Moscow, Belgium
The Ref
Out of the Blue
Water Lilies
The Sure Thing
Pieces of April
Mado
Conrad in Quest of His Youth
The Family Stone
Mystic Pizza
Little Pink House
Reckless
Ring 0
The Ballad of Seven Hanged Men
Who's With Me?
Heat
The Private Lives of Pippa Lee
How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog
Video Kings
Margot at the Wedding
The Swimmer
Garden Party
Deadly Maria
Ágata
Ursula
Sliver
Lady in the Water
Jindabyne
Afterschool
What Just Happened
Tara Road
Millimeterle
The Exit Room
You're Not Alone
Salton Sea
Hanele
Love Life
Vollidiot
Ako si Grétička trochu zdriemla
Derailed
Willa
Willa
The Things They Left Behind
Restare
Pilgrims
Walk the Blue Fields
Goldfish
A SHOT IN THE FOOT
Wicker
Run
Hodinář
Jasnovidec
The Graffiti of Mr. Tupaia
Living Together
Big Fish
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Synecdoche, New York
Dark Waters
Train Dreams
The Life of Chuck
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
The Hours
Fathers and Daughters
NYAD
Eleanor the Great
Safe
The Dead
Interiors
The Gift
Pride
James White
The Giver
Puzzle
Here
Dad
The Other Woman
Home Run
September
Hereafter
Janet Planet
A Map of the World
Henry Gamble's Birthday Party
The Truth About Emanuel
Breathe In
Sleep Dealer
May 15, 1968
New York City, New York
