Summertime (1955)

Director:

David Lean

Writers:

H.E. Bates (screenplay) &
David Lean (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

14 August 1955 (Japan)

Genre:

Romance | Drama

Tagline:

It Happens to Hepburn - It Happens in Venice!

Plot:

A lonely American woman unexpectedly finds romance in Venice, Italy.

Plot Keywords:

Venice Italy | Secretary | American | Camera | Train

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 2 nominations

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
Jeremy Spenser	...	Vito de Rossi
Gaetano Autiero	...	Mauro
Virginia Simeon	...	Giovanna

Also Known As:

Summer Madness (UK)

Runtime:

UK:99 min | USA:100 min | Argentina:102 min | West Germany:100 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

South Korea:12 | Australia:PG | New Zealand:PG | UK:PG | Finland:S | Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Campo San Barnaba, Venice, Veneto, Italy

Company:

London Film Productions

Trivia:

The story was also later adapted as a Broadway musical called "Do I Hear A Waltz" by Arthur Laurents with songs by Richard Rodgers and Stephen Sondheim. The show opened at the 46th Street Theatre on March 18th, 1965 and ran for 220 performances. Laurents later revised the script and a new production was staged in 2000 at the Pasadena Playhouse in New Jersey. Recordings of both productions are available for purchase on specialist websites.

Goofs:

Continuity: The amount of wine in Di Rossi's glass when he first sees Jane - the glass is empty, then full.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Woman of Substance: Katharine Hepburn Remembered (2003) (V)

A visual feast

I have watched this film tens of times. I have never seen a city filmed so beautifully as Venice in this film. The photography is smooth, and travelling shots just perfect. The sights, the sounds and above all the haunting music of the film are just something else. Apart from the title theme " Summertime in Venice ", I have never managed to find the rest of the music on a cd or LP. The weather was obviously anticyclonic and perfect when they shot the film and the colours are unbeatable. I found it on DVD ( Criterion ) but if the picture quality is perfect, there are no subtitles, other language tracks or bonus features, all of which is a great shame considering the film is so beautiful.

The plot is thin, Hepburn's reactions of a frustrated spinster are annoying at times and the film's end is unsatisfying either way. But these negative points will not stop me from watching again and again this film. It is pure 1950's gold. I wonder whether Venice today has

the same charm as in the film .............