A Reel Retro Review: SUMMERTIME (1955)

Reel Speak’s Retro Reviews will randomly review a classic film from the TCM library every week, with the intention of introducing some overlooked and perhaps forgotten screen gems from the past to those of us who may be unfamiliar or unawares of their existence. 

No director in cinema history had a three-movie stretch like David Lean; starting with THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI (1957), followed up by LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962), and then DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (1965)…three epic films that gobbled up awards and are now considered to be some of the best of all time. With such an impressive hat-trick, it can be a treat to look back on Lean’s smaller, more intimate works…with one fine example his 1955 romance, SUMMERTIME. 

 

Jane (Katharine Hepburn), is an un-married, middle-aged woman taking a holiday alone in Venice. Content with being by herself, she runs into Renato (Rossano Brazzi) a local shopowner…and they start a romance. 

 

Based on the play The Time of Cuckoo by Arthur Laurents, and the last film by Lean before his trifecta of epics, SUMMERTIME begins with a lonely, yet resolute main character in Jane, who has resigned herself to a lifetime of solitude. Her encounter with Renato and his effect on her catches her off guard, and it takes her a while to come around to the summertime romance. 

 

Things eventually get complicated when Renato is revealed to be married, yet separated from his wife. There is an element of male infidelity going on here, as Jane also makes brief acquaintances with an American couple where the husband (Darren McGavin), starts his own love affair while on vacation. Despite this theme, SUMMERTIME is very much Jane’s story, as she slowly transitions from being closed off and alone to open and ready to take on new relationships. 

 

Filmed on location in Venice, Lean photographs the city beautifully. The fine details of the architecture are stunning, even though the camera never seems to go much further than the well-known tourist destinations. Still, there is a fair amount of time spent on capturing the sprit, character, and culture of the city. The banter between Jane and Renato is playful at first but eventually confrontational and the scenes between the two are full of fireworks.  Although a few of them drag on way too long, they are done in single, impressive takes which puts the pressure on the performers. 

 

And those performers rise up to the pressure. Katharine Hepburn is magnificent, and her chemistry with Rossano Brazzi lights up the screen. Darren McGavin, years before he would take on the role of the Old Man in A CHRISTMAS STORY (1983), has a very small role but it is still fun to see him before he started sending profanities into space over Lake Michigan. 

 

The ending of SUMMERTIME doesn’t give us the standard Hollywood sunset-ending, and is instead rooted in reality. Lean offers Jane not a happy ending, but with the tools necessary to take on a new season of her life. SUMMERTIME may not be mentioned amongst the greatest of the David Lean filmography, but it is still a worthwhile trip. 

 

BOTTOM LINE: See it 

 

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Reel Facts: SUMMERTIME was nominated for two Oscars; Best Actress for Hepburn and Best Director for Lean. Lean loved Venice so much he made it his second home. Rossano Brazzi would later appear in THE ITALIAN JOB (1969), and had a stint in the horror genre; appearing in FRANKENSTEIN’S CASTLE OF FREAKS (1974), DRACULA IN THE PROVINCESS (1975), and OMEN III: THE FINAL CONFLICT (1981).