Summer Storm

Early American Sirk film is a little slow but still interesting version of Chekov's The Shooting Party. His signature stylistic elements are not wholly in evidence yet although he uses shadows effectively and he gets excellent work from his cast particularly Edward Everett Horton playing a more complex part then usual. Linda Darnell is most impressive in the first of the bad girl roles in which she excelled. Sirk selected her personally for the film sensing more to her than the feather weight beauties she had been assigned up to that point, although she is almost supernaturally beautiful. She digs deep into Olga's conflicted nature and offers up a passionate portrait of an impulsive girl who causes damage to all that surround her including herself. Unfortunately 20th Century Fox didn't take advantage of the talent she showed and returned her for the most part to films not worthy of her.