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Summer of '42 (1971)

 -  Comedy | Drama | Romance  -  9 April 1971 (USA)
7.2
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Ratings: 7.2/10 from 3,682 users  
Reviews: 71 user | 14 critic

During his summer vacation on Nantucket Island in 1942, a youth eagerly awaiting his first sexual encounter finds himself developing an innocent love for a young woman awaiting news on her soldier husband's fate in WWII.

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Title: Summer of '42 (1971)

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Won 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 10 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

Complete credited cast:
...
Gary Grimes ...
...
Oliver Conant ...
Katherine Allentuck ...
Christopher Norris ...
Lou Frizzell ...
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Storyline

Silent as a painting, the movie shows us day-dreamer Hermie and his friends Oscy and Benjie spending the summer of '42 on an US island with their parents - rather unaffected by WWII. While Oscy's main worries are the when and how of getting laid, Hermie honestly falls in love with the older Dorothy, who's married to an army pilot. When her husband returns to the front, Hermie shyly approaches her. Written by Bob Dawson <dawsonb@lfs.loral.com>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

In everyone's life there's a... See more »

Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Certificate:

R | See all certifications »
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Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

9 April 1971 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Verano del 42  »

Filming Locations:

 »

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)
 »

Company Credits

Production Co:

 »
Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Color:

(Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Though author Herman Raucher admits to moving the order of certain events around and interchanging some dialogue, the movie is (according to those involved) an accurate depiction of events in Raucher's life in the summer of 1942 on Nantucket Island; he didn't even change anyone's name. He began writing the screenplay as a tribute to his friend Oscy, who'd been killed in the Korean War, but midway through writing it Raucher realized that he wanted to make it a story about Dorothy, who he had in fact neither seen nor heard from since their last night together as depicted in the movie. Raucher admits that in all the time he knew her, he never bothered to ask her what her last name was. See more »

Goofs

The movie playing in the local theatre was Now, Voyager which was released on 22 October 1942. See more »

Quotes

[the three boys are gawking at a medical journal about sex]
Oscy: Now listen! Before I saw these pictures, I didn't think it was possible, either. But these are pictures, Benjie, pictures! These aren't drawings! I've seen those drawings! These are pictures!
See more »

Connections

References Sergeant York (1941) See more »

Soundtracks

"Hold Tight, Hold Tight (Want Some Seafood, Mama)"
(1938) (uncredited)
Written by Jerry Brandow, Buddy G. DeSylva, Edward Robinson, Willie Spottswood and Leonard Ware
Sung by The Andrews Sisters(uncredited)
Played on radio at the beach
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User Reviews

One of my all-time favorites.
25 August 2004 | by (New York City) – See all my reviews

This is truly a wonderful film and a classic. It has everything: romance, comedy, sadness and the reminiscence of puberty and coming of age. The dialog between Hermie and his two teenage buddies wile exploring their emerging sexuality is a wonderful and hilarious, i.e., "Do you think I'm in love with Vera Michaels. I hope I'm not in love with her. I hate her." Who couldn't relate to those things in our youth.

Jennifer O'Neill, as Hermie's crush Dorothy, is gorgeous and well suited for her role. The scenes between her and Hermie go from funny and clever to sad and wondrous. One can only guess the emotions going on inside Dorothy's head when she finds out her husband has been killed in the war. I always felt she just wanted to experience closeness with someone during that time and Hermie just happened to be nearby. She also knew he cared about her and it was important for her to be needed . . . by someone.

A glorious film and one I can watch tons of times and discover something different each time. Highly recommended.

P.S. Michele LeGrand's musical score is beautiful. Just another plus for the movie.


34 of 35 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

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