Summertime (released in the UK as Summer Madness) is a 1955 American/British drama film directed by David Lean. The screenplay by Lean and H. E. Bates is based on the play The Time of the Cuckoo by Arthur Laurents.
Plot
The story focuses on Jane Hudson, a single, middle-aged woman from Ohio, whose lifelong dream of a vacation in Venice finally comes true. During the water bus ride to the Pensione Fiorini, she meets two fellow Americans, Lloyd and Edith McIlhenny. At the hotel, they are greeted by Signora Fiorini, a widow who transformed her home into a pensione after World War II. Also staying at the property are Eddie Yaeger, a young American painter studying art, and his wife Phyl.
That evening, Jane walks to the Piazza San Marco, where the sight of so many couples leaves her slightly depressed. While seated in a café, she becomes aware of a single Italian man watching her and quickly leaves.
The following day, Jane goes shopping and sees a red glass goblet in the window of an antiques store. Upon entering she discovers the owner, Renato de Rossi, is the man she fled the night before. He assures her the goblet is an authentic 18th century artifact, and she purchases it after he teaches her the art of bargaining. Hoping to see her again, Renato offers to search for a matching goblet.
The next morning, Jane returns to the shop, and is disappointed to find Renato is not there. That evening, he comes to the pensione and confesses he is attracted to her. When Jane resists his advances, he warns her not to waste an opportunity for happiness, and she is about to agree to have dinner with him when the McIlhennys return from a shopping expedition, during which they purchased a set of new red goblets similar to the one Jane bought. She accuses Renato of swindling her, but he insists her goblet is an antique.
The two attend a concert at the piazza, and when a flower seller approaches them, Renato is surprised when Jane chooses a simple gardenia instead of an orchid. They return to the pensione, where he kisses her, and she responds passionately and murmers "I love you" before rushing off to her room. The next day, she treats herself to salon treatments and new clothes in anticipation of their date that evening. While she waits for him at the piazza, Renato's assistant Vito arrives and inadvertently reveals he is Renato's son. Stunned to discover Renato is married and has several children, Jane takes refuge in a bar where she encounters Phyl, who confides her marriage is in trouble.
Upon returning to the pensione, Jane discovers Eddie is having an affair with Signora Fiorini. Renato arrives and tells her their relationship is none of her business. He admits he is married but claims he is separated, a fact he concealed because he did not want to scare her away. He accuses her of being immature and unwilling to accept what she can have instead of longing for more. After dinner, the couple return to Renato's apartment and their affair is consummated.
After spending time with Renato on the island of Burano, Jane, unwilling to remain in a relationship she knows is destined to end unhappily, decides to return home. Renato begs her to stay, but Jane insists it is better to leave the party before it ends. Although she asks him not to come to the train station, she hopes he will ignore her request. As the train begins to leave the station, Jane is thrilled to see Renato running toward it. He tries to hand her a package but the train is moving too quickly, so he opens it to reveal he had bought her another gardenia.
Production
Arthur Laurents had written The Time of the Cuckoo specifically for Shirley Booth, who starred in the 1952 Broadway production and won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play for her performance. Producer Hal Wallis expressed interest in purchasing the film rights, but felt Booth was too old for the role, and envisioned Katharine Hepburn and Ezio Pinza in the leads. Ilya Lopert ultimately acquired the rights with the intention of casting Booth and hiring Anatole Litvak to direct. It later was reported she was negotiating with Daniel Mann instead, and Laurents would be adapting his play for the screen. Laurents' screenplay allegedly was unsatisfactory, and newly hired director David Lean tried to improve it with associate producer Norman Spencer and writers Donald Ogden Stewart and S.N. Behrman, without success. He finally brought in novelist H.E. Bates to collaborate with him. [1]
Numerous names were mentioned in conjunction with the project before filming finally began. At one point producer Lopert considered casting director-actor Vittorio De Sica as Renato. Roberto Rossellini expressed interested in directing the film with Ingrid Bergman as Jane, and Olivia de Havilland supposedly considered starring in the project. [1]
Government officials initially resisted director David Lean's request to allow his crew to film on location during the summer months, the height of the tourist season, especially when local gondolieri, fearful they would lose income, threatened to strike if he was given permission to do so. The problem was resolved when United Artists made a generous donation to the fund established to finance the restoration of St Mark's Basilica. Lean also was required to promise the cardinal no short dresses or bare arms would be seen in and around the city's holy sites. [2]
In one scene, the character of Jane Hudson falls into a canal when she steps backward while photographing the church in San Barnaba di Venezia. Leading lady Katharine Hepburn, concerned about her health, was disinclined to do the stunt herself, but Lean felt it would be obvious if he replaced her with a double. He filled the water with a disinfectant that caused it to foam, which added to Hepburn's reluctance, then required her to film the scene four times until he was satisfied with the results. That night, Hepburn's eyes began to itch and tear. She eventually was diagnosed with a rare form of conjunctivitis that plagued her for the remainder of her life. [3]
Upon seeing the completed film, Production Code Administration head Geoffrey Shurlock notified United Artists executives the film would not be approved because of its depiction of adultery. Of particular concern was the scene in which Jane and Renato consummate their relationship. Eighteen feet of footage was deleted, and the PCA granted its approval. The National Catholic Legion of Decency, however, objected to a line of dialogue that finally was trimmed, and the organization bestowed the film with a B rating, designating the film "morally objectionable in part." [1]
In later years, Lean described the film as his favourite. He became so enamoured with Venice during filming he made it his second home. [1]
Cast
- Katharine Hepburn: Jane Hudson
- Rossano Brazzi: Renato de Rossi
- Isa Miranda: Signora Fiorini
- Darren McGavin: Eddie Yaeger
- Mari Aldon: Phyl Yaeger
- Jane Rose: Mrs. McIlhenny
- MacDonald Parke: Mr. McIlhenny
Critical reception
Bosley Crowther of the New York Times observed, "In adapting for the screen Arthur Laurent's stage play The Time of the Cuckoo, Mr. Lean and H. E. Bates discarded most of the individual shadings and psychological subtleties of that romance. They reduced the complicated pondering of an American woman's first go at love with a middle-aged merchant of Venice to pleasingly elemental terms. And they let the evident inspiration for their heroine's emotional release be little more than the spell cast by the city upon her fitful and lonely state of mind. The challenge thus set of making Venice the moving force in propelling the play has been met by Mr. Lean as the director with magnificent feeling and skill. Through the lens of his color camera, the wondrous city of spectacles and moods becomes a rich and exciting organism that fairly takes command of the screen. And the curious hypnotic fascination of that labyrinthine place beside the sea is brilliantly conveyed to the viewer as the impulse for the character's passing moods . . . It is Venice itself that gives the flavor and the emotional stimulation to this film. For it can't be denied that the credibility of the brief love affair . . . is considerably strained in substance. Nor can it be honestly gainsaid that the break-up after a blissful go-round is abrupt and illogical." [4]
Variety said the film "stacks up as promising entertainment - with some reservations. There is a lack of cohesion and some abruptness in plot transition without a too-clear buildup. Lesser characterizations, too, are on the sketchy side . . . Rossano Brazzi . . . scores a triumph of charm and reserve. Hepburn turns in a feverish acting chore of proud loneliness." [5]
Laura Bushell of Channel 4 rated the film four out of five stars and commented, "Hepburn made a career out of playing vibrant heroines with a vulnerable side and it's her portrayal of Jane's insecurity and loneliness that give the film its substance . . . Summertime's notions of dating etiquette and holiday romance have dated greatly . . . but as a coming-of-age story it remains touching. As a showcase for Katharine Hepburn, it is superb." [6]
Awards and nominations
The film was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Film from any Source but lost to Richard III.
David Lean won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director but lost to Delbert Mann for Marty. Katharine Hepburn was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress but lost to Anna Magnani in The Rose Tattoo. She also was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actress but lost to Betsy Blair in Marty.
References
External links
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