Heart: The Marilyn Bell Story (2001)

This made-for-TV bio-pic is about Marilyn Bell, a Canadian teenager who, in 1954, was the first person to swim across Lake Ontario. She won the Toronto Canadian National Exhibition prize after Florence Chadwick, a then-famous American swimmer who was widely expected to win, dropped out in the middle of the race. Half of this heart-warming movie is devoted to the 21 hour swim in which the 16-year old Bell is exhorted by her pushy coach Gus Ryder not to give up.

Released Feb. 4, 2001 90 min 11+

Genres: Adventure, Biography, Drama, TV Movie

Keywords: tmdb.woman-director, mdblist.imdb-tv-movie, imdb.f-rated, imdb.toronto-ontario-canada, imdb.female-swimmer, imdb.parents-daughter-relationship, imdb.canadian + 39 more, imdb.swimmer-as-protagonist, imdb.swimming-coach, imdb.swim-lesson, imdb.training-for-a-marathon, imdb.swimming-in-a-river, imdb.exhibition, imdb.reference-to-florence-chadwick, imdb.atlantic-city, imdb.newsreel-footage, imdb.long-distance-swimmer, imdb.female-athlete, imdb.youngstown-ohio, imdb.competitive-swimmer, imdb.sabotage, imdb.boat, imdb.cabin-cruiser, imdb.female-coach, imdb.female-in-bra-and-panties, imdb.newspaper-headlines, imdb.lamprey-eel, imdb.media-coverage, imdb.press-conference, imdb.cash-prize, imdb.long-distance, imdb.fatigue, imdb.motivation, imdb.falling-asleep, imdb.epilogue, imdb.setting-a-world-record, imdb.lake-ontario, imdb.newspaper, imdb.1950s, imdb.swimming, imdb.16-year-old-girl, imdb.character-name-in-title, imdb.teenage-girl, imdb.year-1954, imdb.swimmer, imdb.16-year-old