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Crystal Champions

1929 , Silver Springs, Florida (USA)

Cat no. 8453

Swimming and diving demonstrations by Olympic champions.

Combining Olympian feats with spectacular underwater and slow-motion camerawork, this film opens with swimmers bathing in an 'underwater playground' amongst turtles, fish and plants. Meanwhile, a group of female swimmers compete in an underwater treasure hunt, swimming through hoops and deep diving along rope lines until they find the 'treasure'. Two Olympians demonstrate their record-breaking swimming strokes: Martha Norelius holds fifteen women's world records and swims with perfect leg and arm action, whilst Johnny Weissmuller holds every swimming and speed record for distances between 50 and 500 yards thanks to his powerful leg movement. The pair provide a tandem demonstration of the 'crawl' stroke, whilst Newton Perry is shown chasing and catching turtles by hand in a nearby lagoon. Diving demonstrations are also given, with slow-motion cameras capturing the perfect formations of American Olympians Helen Meany and Pete Desjardins, who perform a variety of dives, from half-turns and swallow-dives to somersaults, full twists and a tandem jump.

Keywords

Diving; Sport; Swimming; Underwater photography

  • Director : Jack Eaton

  • Director : Grantland Rice

  • Producer : Grantland Rice

  • Commentator : Grantland Rice

  • Camera : Ernest Corts

  • Music : Frank Black

  • Himself Pete Desjardins

  • Herself Helen Meany

  • Herself Martha Norelius

  • Himself Newton Perry

  • Himself Johnny Weissmuller

Manifestations

Crystal Champions

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