The Swimmer
1h 35m
Directed by Frank Perry • 1968 • United States
Starring Burt Lancaster, Janet Landgard, Janice Rule
In the affluent community of Westport, Connecticut, advertising executive Ned Merrill (Burt Lancaster) shows up at a distant neighbor’s pool clad only in swimming trunks. To return the few miles home, he decides to swim across Westport via the neighborhood pools. On the way Ned meets several women from his past: Shirley Abbott (Janice Rule), his embittered ex-mistress; Betty Graham (Kim Hunter), the sensual wife of an old friend; and Julie Hooper (Janet Landgard), a seductive young woman who once had a crush on him. Adapted by Frank and Eleanor Perry from the short story by John Cheever, THE SWIMMER is an enigmatic journey through the wilds of American suburbia.