English Channel latter part of the 19th century when Captain Matthew Webb made the first observed and unassisted swim across the Strait of Dover, swimming from England to France on 24–25 August 1875 in 21 hours 45 minutes. In 1927, at a time when fewer than ten swimmers (including the first woman, Gertrude Ederle in 1926) had managed to emulate the feat and many dubious claims were being made, the Channel Swimming Association (CSA) was founded to authenticate and ratify swimmers' claims to have swum the Channel and to verify crossing times. The CSA was dissolved in 1999 and was succeeded by
Tunnelling the English Channel the action, to be read aloud while the film was shown; according to the recollections of Méliès's son André Méliès, the "boniment" for "Tunneling the English Channel" included dialogues between the French president and English king, with the latter speaking French in a thick English accent. The composer Bétove (real name Michel Maurice Lévy, 1883–1965) recorded a piano score for the film in 1946. American film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum named it as one of his 100 favorite films. The academician Elizabeth Ezra called it "one of Méliès's wittiest and most engaging films." Tunnelling the English Channel Tunneling the English Channel