An American spinster's dream of romance finally becomes a bittersweet reality when she meets a handsome--but married--Italian man while vacationing in Venice.An American spinster's dream of romance finally becomes a bittersweet reality when she meets a handsome--but married--Italian man while vacationing in Venice.An American spinster's dream of romance finally becomes a bittersweet reality when she meets a handsome--but married--Italian man while vacationing in Venice.
- Nominated for 2 Oscars
- 2 wins & 5 nominations total
David Lean
- Man at Café
- (unconfirmed)
- (uncredited)
Tanya Lopert
- Teenage Girl
- (uncredited)
André Morell
- Englishman
- (uncredited)
Angelo Puppin
- Man that falls into canal
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaKatharine Hepburn was more than impressed with her experience working with director Sir David Lean. She even asked to sit in on the editing sessions with him to watch him at work. In her autobiography, she wrote, "(Summertime) was told with great simplicity in the streets, in the Piazza San Marco. We would shoot in tiny streets only a few feet wide. The sun would come and go in a matter of minutes. It was a very emotional part, and I tell you I had to be on my toes to give David enough of what he wanted practically on call. But it was thrilling... He seemed to me to simply absorb Venice. It was his. He had a real photographic gift. He thought in a descriptive way. His shots tell the story. He was capable of a sort of super concentration. It made a very deep and definite impression on me, and he was one of the most interesting directors I ever worked with. Wasn't I lucky to work with him?"
- GoofsWhen Jane first enters her hotel room; there is a scenic shot of the lagoon including a ship and a motor boat passing a Cathedral. However in the close-up shot of Jane along with the lagoon; there are now no boats or ships on the water.
- Quotes
Renato de Rossi: You are like a hungry child who is given ravioli to eat. 'No' you say, 'I want beefsteak!' My dear girl, you are hungry. Eat the ravioli.
- Crazy creditsOpening credits are shown over various paintings, where the subjects are European scenes.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Hollywood: The Great Stars (1963)
- SoundtracksSummertime In Venice
(uncredited)
English lyric by Carl Sigman
Italian Lyric by Pinchi
Music by Icini
Published by MCA Music, New York, NY
Featured review
Hepburn and Venice battle it out for star billing
Katharine Hepburn was 48 when she made this but she never looked more radiant than here, photographed in colour by Jack Hildyard, as Jane Hudson, an American spinster let loose in Venice and falling for a suave, middle-aged and inevitably married man played by Hollywood's idea of the only suave, middle-aged Italian male on the planet at the time, Rossano Brazzi.
Hepburn is, of course, magnificent in the part; every gesture betrays a life-time of disappointment in love, a young girl trapped in a middle-aged woman's body anxious to break free but scared to do so. Her co-star, of course, isn't really Brazzi but Venice and you're never sure what it is that brings out the best in her, the city or the man. Hildyard's cinematography does Venice proud; few films have ever used a location as sensuously as this one does and a lesser actress would have let it get the better of her. The plot, of course, has been done to death and as romances go, this is formulaic stuff, (and the comedy is too broad; comedy was never Lean's forte), but Hepburn, Venice and, to a lesser extent, the handsome Brazzi weave their own spell and you're hooked.
Hepburn is, of course, magnificent in the part; every gesture betrays a life-time of disappointment in love, a young girl trapped in a middle-aged woman's body anxious to break free but scared to do so. Her co-star, of course, isn't really Brazzi but Venice and you're never sure what it is that brings out the best in her, the city or the man. Hildyard's cinematography does Venice proud; few films have ever used a location as sensuously as this one does and a lesser actress would have let it get the better of her. The plot, of course, has been done to death and as romances go, this is formulaic stuff, (and the comedy is too broad; comedy was never Lean's forte), but Hepburn, Venice and, to a lesser extent, the handsome Brazzi weave their own spell and you're hooked.
helpful•82
- MOscarbradley
- Aug 6, 2007
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- David Lean's Production of Summertime
- Filming locations
- Campo San Barnaba, Venice, Veneto, Italy(Renato's shop; Jane falls in water)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 40 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1(original ratio)
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