When “The Swimmer,” starring hunky Burt Lancaster, came out in 1968, people weren’t quite sure what to make of it.
The New York Times critic Vincent Canby acknowledged that it was odd, but he liked it very much. He described it as a film that has “the shape of an open-ended hallucination. It is a grim, disturbing and sometimes funny view of a very small, very special segment of upper-middle-class American life.”
Interesting note: Also appearing in the movie was an actress who later went on to become a famous comedian. In a small role written just for her, Joan Rivers played a pool-party guest flirting with Ned Merrill (Lancaster).
Why Burt Lancaster wanted to be in “The Swimmer” -- and the reason he enlisted the help of famed UCLA swim and water polo coach Bob Horn -- is an interesting story in itself. In a video, ISHOF’s CEO, Bruce Wigo, interviews the coach. Read More
