Wednesday, November 8, 2017

Top Five Swimming Themed Movies

Each month my kids' swimming school has a new theme to liven up the environment around the pool and bolster students' enthusiasm about their lessons.  November's Goldfish Swim School theme is CELEBRATE MOVIES.  In recognition of Goldfish Swim School's theme of the month, here are five of A Geek Daddy's top picks for swimming themed movies:



A movie from the golden age of Hollywood starring the legendary Esther Williams who made a name for herself being featured in "aquamusicals" that entertained audiences in the 1940s & '50s with elaborate synchronized swimming and diving performances.  Williams plays Katie Higgins, the sweet daughter of a dairy farmer who enters a contest to become the first person to ever swim across the English Channel in DANGEROUS WHEN WET.  This charming film features a lot of singing and swimming plus special effects that were cutting edge at the time showing Williams interacting with animated characters including the cartoon cat and mouse duo of Tom and Jerry.


_____________________________________________________________________


Based upon a true story, PRIDE is set in 1974 and tells the story of Jim Ellis, a college-educated, former competitive swimmer who struggling to find employment takes a job working at a Philadelphia Department of Recreation pool. There he discovers a group of African-American teenage boys that have a talent for swimming. Ellis recruits them to form the city’s first all African American competitive swimming team.  The film focuses on how he coaches the boys not just in the pool but also on how to handle struggles they are facing in their lives.  


_____________________________________________________________________



A biographical film about Tony Fingleton, a competitive swimmer who turned down an invitation to compete in the 1964 Olympics to take a scholarship to attend college at Harvard.  Fingleton later became a respected Hollywood screen writer and producer.  SWIMMING UPSTREAM is based upon Fingleton's autobiography delving into the physical and emotional abuse he suffered from his father growing up.  The movie highlights father-son dynamics and how Fingleton uses swimming to escape a life of abuse and poverty in Brisbane, Australia and create a new life for himself in America.



__________________________________________________________________



One of the most challenging professions anyone can have involving swimming is to become a U.S. Coast Guard Active Duty Aviation Survival Technician also known as a rescue swimmer/diver.  These rescue swimmers jump from helicopters in hazardous conditions to pull people in distress out of the water.  THE GUARDIAN stars Kevin Costner as an elite swimmer who is  pulled away from active duty in the field to become an instructor at the Coast Guard training school.  There he meets up with a new recruit played by Ashton Kutcher who has the potential to be an incredible rescue swimmer and an attitude that could sink his Coast Guard career.



____________________________________________________________________



This classic movie based upon a short story published in The New Yorker magazine revolves around an out of sorts character named Ned Merrill who is played by Burt Lancaster.  While at a pool party hosted by old friends, Merrill notices that there is a series of backyard swimming pools forming a "river' back to his house.  He decides to go from house-to-house swimming pool-to-pool on his way back home during which he interacts with a variety of neighbors and stirs up old memories.  Each of these interactions connect a surreal puzzle that eventually shows a real picture of the life Merrill has led.



____________________________________________________________________

GOLDFISH SWIM SCHOOL THEME OF THE MONTH: CELEBRATE MOVIES

Goldfish Swim School puts up decorations around the facility tied to each month's theme to get people in the spirit.  At the location we go to right now there is a big Celebrate Movies poster right as you walk in the front door for example.  When an announcement that classes are about to start is made in the waiting area they add some flair relating to the theme as well into the message. Plus each week there are different activities and giveaways tied to the theme. In addition to Celebrate Movies, recent monthly themes have included Ocean Life, Superheroes, and Pirates & Princesses. 

Having a different theme each month is just one of the many ways Goldfish Swim School differentiates itself as an ideal location that truly caters to providing a great experience for families who bring children to go swimming there. Click here to read about some of the other perks of attending.  My kids love going to Goldfish Swim School!


13 comments:

  1. I actually have only seen one or two of these movies. I have to bookmark this so I can watch the rest.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Pride is the only movie on this list that I've seen. I for sure want to check out Dangerous When Wet.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hah how fun! I do have a kid who is gaga nuts over swimming - this is a great list!

    ReplyDelete
  4. These are all wonderful movie choices. Swimming is one of my favorite things to do! I like that the school prepares movies like this for the kids to watch.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is an awesome theme for the month. I wouldn't mind checking out Pride. I did see the Guardian a while ago!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wow, these movies brought back a lot of memories. Haven't seen most of them in many years!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I would love to watch the first film you choose. Looks like a great old film!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great options! It's too cold to swim now, but these will remind me of all the splish splashing fun.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I haven't seen any of these movies yet! I really love old movies like the Esther Williams one so I'll be looking for it first.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I have never seen any of these films, but I guess the hubs had seen The Swimmer because Burt Lancaster is one of his favorite actors. If he has not seen it yet, we'll watch it together then. Sounds like a great one!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I haven't seen any of these movies. I'm curious if they will ever make a documentary of Phelps.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I dont think I have seen any of these movies but they seem pretty good, I should watch them!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I think the only one of these movies I have seen is The Guardian and I LOVED it!! Such a great Nicholas Sparks movie!!

    ReplyDelete