The Swimmer (Columbia Pictures) (1968)

Mat 2A; Still No. 50 Burt Lancaster realizes, in "The Swimmer," that the teen-ager who used to baby-sit for his children now has grown up into a tall, leggy blonde beauty. She is screen newcomer Janet Landgard, a featured player in the new Columbia Pictures and Horizon Pictures release in Technicolor. Janice Rule also is featured in the suspenseful new romantic drama. COLUMN ITEMS Burt Lancaster's role in "The Swimmer,'' the Columbia Pictures and Horizon Pictures presentation in Technicolor, was a physically and emotionally gruelling one which called for him to work every moment of the film and to be the hub of every scene. He was in and out of swimming pools a good part of the shooting, and he swam strenuously for considerable stretches of time. A former professional acrobat who has retained his splendid physical condition, Burt was equal to the demands of the role. * * * Reams of copy have been written about the elaborate wardrobes worn in some films by the stars, male and female. Burt Lancaster, starring in "The Swimmer," the Columbia Pictures and Horizon Pictures presentation in Technicolor, wears a single costume throughout—a pair of blue nylon trunks! I+ must be some kind of record! * aK * Nancy Cushman, who plays a key role in ''The Swimmer,’ starring Burt Lancaster in Technicolor, created the role of Mrs. Barker in Edward Albee's play, "The American Dream." The role required her to take off her dress on stage. To make her feel less self-conscious, the director allowed her request to wear gloves. In "The Swimmer," a Columbia Pictures and Horizon Pictures presentation, Miss Cushman appears as the distaff side of a suburban couple who like to sit by their pool in the nude. In this instance, she asked—and received permission —to wear a pearl necklace. * * * A six-year-old guest on the set of ''The Swimmer,'’ Columbia Pictures and Horizon Pictures presentation in Technicolor, filmed in Westport, Conn., watched as Burt Lancaster's stand-in posed for the camera prior to a take. After a time the boy grew impatient. "Good grief,"’ he said, "when does the real Burt Lancaster go on?" * * * The set of "The Swimmer,'' the Columbia Pictures and Horizon Pictures presentation starring Burt Lancaster in Technicolor, was crowded with extras. A woman passerby strolled in, sat in a makeup chair, and was promptly made up. She then walked nonchalantly on set, approached the star and began chatting with him. When an assistant director asked if she was a member of the company she replied with verve: ''No, but I've always wanted to be a movie star ever since | was so high." With a sigh, the assistant director invited her to stay on the set behind the camera. o* * * When a dancer hurts her leg and is laid up for two months, it's usually considered a stroke of bad luck. For Janice Rule, who has a key role with Burt Lancaster in "The Swimmer," the Columbia Pictures and Horizon Pictures presentation in Technicolor, it was a lucky break—no pun intended. lt happened to the actress when she was dancing professionally on Broadway. Her long layoff prompted her to take drama lessons. Now she eschews dancing completely for acting. Mat 2B; Still No. 41 Burt Lancaster hears some harsh truths about their earlier, illicit romance from Janice Rule in "The Swimmer." The film, which introduces Janet Landgard, is a Columbia Pictures and Horizon Pictures release in Technicolor based on a story by John Cheever. Frank Perry directed and co-produced "The Swimmer" with Roger Lewis. Eleanor Perry wrote the screenplay. Burt Lancaster SSSSSSSSSS SSSSSSsSsss Burt Lancaster is one actor who is willing to take a chance, not only in his choice of roles but in the inevitable comparisons which sometimes are drawn. There may never have been as fiery, and as hypocritical, a screen evangelist as “Elmer Gantry,” but Lancaster’s performance in the role won him the Academy Award. His performance as an adventurer in “The Professionals” helped to make that film one of the most exciting in motion picture history, although there have been Western heroes a’plenty. Now there is “The Swimmer,” at the ..... Theatre in Technicolor, with Lancaster in the title role. “The Swimmer” is a suburbanite, easy-living, who leaves a swimming pool party to take a unique route home; he will swim in the pools of his friends along the way. It is his relationship with these “friends,” notably featured players Janice Rule and screen newcomer Janet Landgard, which provides the sharp emotional impact of “The Swimmer.” A great natural athlete and former circus acrobat, Lancaster unhesitatingly admits he never was a Johnny Weissmuller. But his new role demanded virtually that sort of natatorial perfection, as well as the exuberant lustiness which has come to be a Lancaster trade mark. Lancaster is the focus of every scene in “The Swimmer” and, of course, some scenes required him to swim strenuously for considerable stretches of time. To meet the demands of his role, emotionally and physically, Lancaster started to train intensively three months before shooting got under way. His instructor was Robert Horn, head swimming and water polo coach at the University of California at Los Angeles. Before meeting Horn, Lancaster had never been an accomplished swimmer. In fact he swam with a great deal of effort and with his head out of the water. Once Lancaster went to work to improve his technique, he was an apt pupil and learned extremely fast, according to Horn. Lancaster was helped by the fact that he was in “marvelous” condition and extremely well-coordinated, Horn said. Because of his acrobatic background, the star learned to dive very quickly. When shooting finally got under way, Lancaster was able to apt pupil, according to Horn. “The Swimmer” was written for the screen by Eleanor Perry from a story by John Cheever. Frank Perry who also directed, produced the unusual drama with Roger Lewis. Mat IA; Still No. 16 Burt Lancaster stars, and Janice Rule and screen newcomer Janet Landgard are featured, in "The Swimmer," released by Columbia Pictures and Horizon Pictures in Technicolor. The drama is based on a story by John Cheever. Cornelia Otis Skinner SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS Cornelia Otis Skinner, a leading Broadway star and monologist for many years, makes one of her rare film appearances in “The Swimmer,” a Columbia Pictures and Horizon Pictures presentation starring Burt Lancaster in Technicolor at the ........ Theatre. Miss Skinner plays an elegant suburban “grand dame” who bears a bitter grudge against Lancaster. Miss Skinner made her last Broadway appearance in 1958 when she costarred with Cyril Ritchard in “The Pleasure of His Company,” which she co-authored with Samuel Taylor. She Joan Rivers Actress-comedienne Joan Rivers, who plays a seductive bachelor gir] in “The Swimmer,” starring Burt LanCaster at thesiinct.k ace Theatre in Technicolor, became an_ overnight comedy success when she made her first appearance on Johnny Carson’s “Tonight” show. Before that she performed in the Chicago and New York Companies of Second City, the satirical, improvisational theater group. The versatile Miss Rivers has worked in many night clubs and written for a number of other comics, as well as for her own act. Born in Brooklyn and raised in Westchester, Joan began taking acting lessons at the age of 12 and within a few months won a role in the movie “Mr. Universe,” which starred Bert Lahr and the then-unknown Vince Edwards. In the Swim (Suit) Swimsuits were de rigueur for all three principals in “The Swimmer,” the Columbia Pictures and Horizon Pictures presentation in Technicolor Oe eer orgee Theatre. Burt Lancaster wears a pair of blue trunks throughout the film. Janice Rule wears a _ clinging one-piece suit while blonde newcomer Janet Landgard’s wardrobe consists of a bikini. “The Swimmer” is chiefly set around a New York suburb’s private swimming pools on a midsummer Sunday and most of the other players in the drama also are lightly garbed. has authored many books and _ her biography of Sarah Bernhardt, “The Divine Sarah,” was a recent best-seller. Over the years she has combined her writing and acting talents in solo character sketches in which she has appeared throughout the world. These include “The Wives of Henry VIII,’ and “The Loves of Charles II.” The distinguished daughter of a famed actor of yesteryear, Otis Skinner, Miss Skinner has appeared in two previous motion pictures: “The Uninvited” and “The Girl in the Red Velvet “Star Stuff DSSSSSSSSSSSSS Burt Lancaster, when he arrived in Hollywood, probably was fully qualified for everything but success. Or, to phrase it differently, for nothing but success. The actor, currently starred at the oe Theatre in “The Swimmer,” a Columbia Pictures and Horizon Pictures presentation, had been a circus acrobat, a road gang worker, a salesman, a boiler stoker, a singing waiter, a soldier for three years and a Broadway actor for three weeks. With that background, he cracked filmdom’s sixfigure salary circle within six months! John Cheever SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS “The Swimmer,” starring Burt Lancaster at the ...... Theatre in Techni color, is based on a New Yorker Magazine story by John Cheever, one of America’s most prestigious authors. The film was co-produced by Frank Perry and Rogers Lewis. Perry also directed, from a screenplay by Eleanor Perry. SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS$SSSSsSsSsssK Advance Notice Burt Lancaster stars in “The Swimmer,” a Columbia Pictures and Horizon Pictures presentation in Technicolor opening ...... AGUtREH cess ae Theatre. The drama features Janice Rule and newcomer Janet Landgard. Frank Perry, who also directed, and Roger Lewis produced “The Swimmer” from an Eleanor Perry screenplay based on a story by John Cheever. SSSSSSSSSSsSsSsessssesssssssss Page 7