A Summer Place (1959)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Delmer Daves

Writers:

Sloan Wilson (novel)
Delmer Daves (writer)

Release Date:

18 November 1959 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

A self-made businessman rekindles a romance with a former flame while their two teenage children begin a romance of their own with drastic consequences for both couples.

Plot Keywords:

Summer | Adultery | Marriage | Love | Beach

Awards:

3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Richard Egan	...	Ken Jorgenson
Dorothy McGuire	...	Sylvia Hunter
Sandra Dee	...	Molly Jorgenson
Arthur Kennedy	...	Bart Hunter
Troy Donahue	...	Johnny Hunter
Constance Ford	...	Helen Jorgenson
Beulah Bondi	...	Mrs. Emily Hamilton Hamble
Jack Richardson	...	Claude Andrews
Martin Eric	...	Todd Harper, Handyman at Pine Island Inn

Runtime:

130 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

UK:A (cut) | West Germany:12 (f) (cut version) | West Germany:18 (f) (original version) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (certificate #19324)

Filming Locations:

Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Initial considerations for the role of Helen Jorgenson included Teresa Wright and Olivia de Havilland.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Molly is getting ready to go Christmas shopping with her mother, her mother begins to zip up the back of her dress. Molly breaks away and runs to bed to get letters, argues with her mother, still with her dress unzipped. When she runs to fireplace to burn the letters, her dress is zipped.

Quotes:

Bart Hunter: As soon as Molly is found - and I'm sure she will be - I suggest you vacate these rooms as swiftly as possible.
Helen Jorgenson: [incredulously] Don't tell me that you're on their side!
Bart Hunter: Let's merely say that I'm not on yours.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Inca Mummy Girl (#2.4)" (1997)

Soundtrack:

Liebestraum

One of the first and best teen love stories ever!!!!!

This is one of the first films to deal with young love, and is by all means one of the best! The story centers primarily on Molly and Johnny, two teenagers who are deeply, madly, and wildly in love, but their parents just won't have it. It seems their parents are willing to do just about everything to keep them apart. Sandra Dee and Troy Donahue are both magnificent as the star-crossed lovers. All right, so Troy seems a little stilted at times, but Sandra is perfection as the beautiful young girl who constantly finds herself at odds with her eagerness to do the right thing, and fulfilling her love for Donahue. Dee hits all the right marks as the emotionally troubled girl, delivering what is possibly her all-time best performance. It was certainly a breakthrough for the gifted young star who proved that she could do more than play smiling, giggling, relentlessly perky teens. It's a magnificent achievement, and anyone who has ever doubted Sandra's acting abilities are in for a big surprise when they see her in this film. Other acting honors go to Richard Egan and Constance Ford as Dee's unhappy parents, and the always marvellous Dorothy McGuire as Egan's old flame. That's not to say that the actors don't stumble at times with some supremely silly dialogue, but their star power and great talent rides rather smoothly over the film's bumpy spots, making this film an enjoyable classic of the teenage-angst genre. It's also one of the most stylishly done films in the genre. The great director Delmer Daves gives the film his full attention, and it's a sleek, colorful production that ranks right up there with other films with similarly-related themes like REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE and SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS for example. It all may seem rather dated, but truthfully, this film is just as enjoyable now as it was when it was first released in 1959, and that title theme is still hauntingly beautiful and memorable.