''Summer of '42'' is a 1971 American
coming-of-age film
Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...
based on the memoirs of screenwriter
Herman "Hermie" Raucher. It tells the story of how Raucher, in his early teens on his 1942 summer vacation on
Nantucket Island
Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachuse ...
(off the coast of
Cape Cod
Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...
), embarks on a one-sided romance with a young woman, Dorothy, whose husband has gone off to fight in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
The film was directed by
Robert Mulligan
Robert Patrick Mulligan (August 23, 1925 – December 20, 2008) was an American director and producer. He is best known for his humanist dramas, including ''To Kill a Mockingbird (film), To Kill a Mockingbird'' (1962), ''Summer of '42'' (1971), ' ...
, and starred
Gary Grimes as Hermie,
Jerry Houser
Jerry Houser (born July 14, 1952) is an American former actor. He is best known for his role as Oscar "Oscy" Seltzer in ''Summer of '42'' and its sequel, '' Class of '44'', as Dave "Killer" Carlson in '' Slap Shot,'' and the role of Wally Logan ...
as his best friend Oscy, Oliver Conant as their nerdy young friend Benjie, and
Jennifer O'Neill
Jennifer O'Neill (born February 20, 1948) is a Brazilian-born American actress, model, author, and activist. She is known for her modeling and spokesperson work for CoverGirl cosmetics starting in 1963, and her starring role in the Oscar-winnin ...
, as the mysterious woman with whom Hermie becomes involved. In supporting roles, Katherine Allentuck and
Christopher Norris are a pair of girls whom Hermie and Oscy attempt to seduce. Mulligan also has an uncredited narrator role, as the voice of the adult Hermie.
Maureen Stapleton
Lois Maureen Stapleton (June 21, 1925 – March 13, 2006) was an American actress. She received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Tony Awards, in addition to ...
(Allentuck's mother) also appears in a small, uncredited voice role.
Raucher's
novelization
A novelization (or novelisation) is a derivative novel that adapts the story of a work created for another medium, such as a film, TV series, stage play, comic book or video game. Film novelizations were particularly popular before the advent of ...
of his screenplay
of the same name was released prior to the film's release and became a runaway bestseller, to the point that audiences lost sight of the fact that the book was based on the film and not vice versa. Though a
pop culture
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Pop music, a musical genre Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade
* Pop!, a UK pop group
* Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band
Albums
* Pop (Gas al ...
phenomenon in the first half of the 1970s, the novelization went out of print and slipped into obscurity throughout the next two decades until a
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
adaptation in 2001 brought it back into the public light and prompted
Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller. It is a Fortune 1000 company and the bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. As of July 7, 2020, the company operates 614 retail stores across all 50 U. ...
to acquire the publishing rights to the book. The film was followed by a sequel, ''
Class of '44'', also written by Raucher, with lead actors Grimes, Houser, and Conant reprising their roles.
Plot
The film opens with a series of still photographs appearing over melancholic music, representing the abstract memories of the unseen Herman Raucher, now a middle-aged man. Raucher recalls the summer he spent on Nantucket island in 1942. The film flashes back to a day that then-15-year-old "Hermie" and his friends –
jock Oscy and introverted
nerd
A nerd is a person seen as overly intellectual, obsessive, introverted or lacking social skills. Such a person may spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, little known, or non-mainstream activities, which are generally either highly tec ...
Benjie – spent playing on the beach. They spot a young soldier carrying his new bride into a house on the beach, and are struck by her beauty, especially Hermie, who is unable to get her out of his mind.
They continue spending afternoons on the beach where, in the midst of scantily-clad teenage girls, their thoughts invariably turn to sex. All of them are virgins: Oscy is obsessed with the act of sex, while Hermie finds himself developing
romantic interest
Romance or romantic love is a feeling of love for, or a strong attraction towards another person, and the courtship behaviors undertaken by an individual to express those overall feelings and resultant emotions.
The ''Wiley Blackwell Encycl ...
in the bride, whose husband he spots leaving the island on a water taxi one morning. Later that day, Hermie sees her outside the local market struggling with grocery bags that she subsequently drops and comes to her aid and offers to carry the bags home for her, which she gladly accepts, and in this way gets to meet her.
Meanwhile, Oscy and Hermie, thanks to an illustrated sex manual discovered by Benjie, become convinced they know everything necessary to lose their virginity. Led by Oscy, they test this by going to the cinema and picking up a trio of high-school girls. Oscy stakes out the most attractive one, Miriam, "giving" Hermie her less attractive friend, Aggie, and leaving Benjie with Gloria, a heavyset girl with
dental braces
Dental braces (also known as braces, orthodontic cases, or cases) are devices used in orthodontics that align and straighten teeth and help position them with regard to a person's bite, while also aiming to improve dental health. They are often ...
. Frightened by the immediacy of sex, Benjie runs off, and is not seen by Hermie or Oscy again that night. Initially the two girls who were with Hermie and Oscy say they will not go in without Benjie's would-be date, but she tells them to go without her, then leaves herself. While they are waiting in the ticket line for the movie, the young war bride appears and greets Hermie and asks him if he can help her move some boxes the next day. The remainder of the evening is devoted to attempting to "put the moves" on Miriam and Aggie while they watch the film. Oscy pursues Miriam, eventually making out with her during the movie, and later learns her ways are well-known on the island. Hermie finds himself succeeding with Aggie, who allows him to grope what he thinks is her breast; Oscy later points out Hermie was fondling her arm.
The next morning, Hermie helps the bride move boxes into her attic, her bare thigh at one point passing by his face on a ladder, and she thanks him by giving him a kiss on the forehead. Later, in preparation for a marshmallow roast on the beach with Aggie and Miriam, Hermie goes to the local drugstore and, in an amusingly embarrassing sequence, builds up the nerve to ask the druggist (Lou Frizzell) for condoms (or "rubbers," as they were known as in the '40s). That night, Hermie roasts marshmallows with Aggie while Oscy succeeds in having sex with Miriam between the dunes. He is so successful he sneaks over to Hermie and Aggie to ask for more condoms. Confused as to what is happening, Aggie follows Oscy back, where she sees him having sex with Miriam and runs home, upset.
The next day, Hermie comes across the bride sitting outside her house, writing to her husband. Hermie offers to keep her company that night and she says she looks forward to seeing him, revealing her name is Dorothy. An elated Hermie goes home and puts on a suit, dress shirt, and dress shoes, and heads back to Dorothy's house, running into Oscy on the way; Oscy relates that Miriam's appendix burst and she has been rushed to the mainland. Hermie, convinced he is at the brink of adulthood because of his relationship with Dorothy, brushes Oscy off.
He heads to her house, which is eerily quiet. Going in, he discovers a bottle of whiskey, a record player spinning at the end of a record, several cigarette butts, and a telegram from the government. Dorothy's husband is dead, his plane shot down over France. Dorothy comes out of her bedroom, crying, and Hermie tells her "I'm sorry." She turns on the record player and invites Hermie to dance with her. They kiss and embrace, tears on both their faces. Without speaking, they move to the bedroom, where she draws him into bed and gently makes love with him. Afterward, withdrawing again, Dorothy retires to the porch, leaving Hermie alone in her bedroom. He approaches her on the porch, where she can only quietly say "Good night, Hermie." He leaves, his last image of Dorothy being of her leaning against the railing, as she smokes a cigarette and stares into the night sky.
At dawn Hermie meets Oscy and the two share a moment of reconciliation, with Oscy informing Hermie that Miriam will recover. Oscy, in an uncharacteristic act of sensitivity, lets Hermie be by himself, departing with the words, "Sometimes life is one big pain in the ass."
Trying to sort out what has happened, Hermie goes back to Dorothy's house. Dorothy has fled the island in the night, and an envelope is in the front door with Hermie's name on it. Inside is a note from Dorothy, saying she hopes he understands she must go back home as there is much to do. She assures Hermie she will never forget him, and he will find his way of remembering what happened that night. Her note closes with the hope that Hermie may be spared the senseless tragedies of life.
In one of the final scenes, Hermie, suddenly approaching adulthood, is seen looking at Dorothy's old house and the ocean from a distance before he runs to catch up with his friends. The adult Raucher sadly recounts that he has never seen Dorothy again, nor has he learned what became of her.
Raucher's narration continues with the notion that kids were different back then, and it took longer for them to figure out how they feel. The audience learns Hermie has rejoined his friends with a rundown of the summer's statistics: they raided the Coast Guard station four times, saw five movies, and had nine days of rain. Raucher concludes with, "Benjie broke his watch, Oscy gave up the harmonica, and in a very special way, I lost Hermie. Forever."
Cast
*
Jennifer O'Neill
Jennifer O'Neill (born February 20, 1948) is a Brazilian-born American actress, model, author, and activist. She is known for her modeling and spokesperson work for CoverGirl cosmetics starting in 1963, and her starring role in the Oscar-winnin ...
as Dorothy
*
Gary Grimes as Hermie
*
Jerry Houser
Jerry Houser (born July 14, 1952) is an American former actor. He is best known for his role as Oscar "Oscy" Seltzer in ''Summer of '42'' and its sequel, '' Class of '44'', as Dave "Killer" Carlson in '' Slap Shot,'' and the role of Wally Logan ...
as Oscy
* Oliver Conant as Benjie
* Katherine Allentuck as Aggie
*
Christopher Norris as Miriam
*
Lou Frizzell
Lou Frizzell (June 10, 1919 – June 17, 1979) was an American actor and music director who worked on Broadway productions, television shows and films. He was perhaps best known for playing Dusty Rhodes in the American western television seri ...
as druggist
Director
Robert Mulligan
Robert Patrick Mulligan (August 23, 1925 – December 20, 2008) was an American director and producer. He is best known for his humanist dramas, including ''To Kill a Mockingbird (film), To Kill a Mockingbird'' (1962), ''Summer of '42'' (1971), ' ...
provides uncredited voiceover narration as the older Hermie.
Maureen Stapleton
Lois Maureen Stapleton (June 21, 1925 – March 13, 2006) was an American actress. She received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Tony Awards, in addition to ...
has an uncredited cameo as Sophie, Hermie's mother, and film stuntman Walter Scott appears uncredited as Dorothy's husband.
Production
Herman Raucher
Herman Raucher (born April 13, 1928) is an American author and screenwriter. He is best known for writing the autobiographical screenplay and novel ''Summer of '42'', which became one of the highest-grossing films and one of the best selling nove ...
wrote the film script in the 1950s during his tenure as a television writer, but "couldn't give it away."
In the 1960s, he met
Robert Mulligan
Robert Patrick Mulligan (August 23, 1925 – December 20, 2008) was an American director and producer. He is best known for his humanist dramas, including ''To Kill a Mockingbird (film), To Kill a Mockingbird'' (1962), ''Summer of '42'' (1971), ' ...
, best known for directing ''
To Kill a Mockingbird
''To Kill a Mockingbird'' is a novel by the American author Harper Lee. It was published in 1960 and was instantly successful. In the United States, it is widely read in high schools and middle schools. ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' has become ...
''. Raucher showed Mulligan the script, and Mulligan took it to
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
, where Mulligan argued the film could be shot for the relatively low price of $1 million, and Warner approved it.
[ They had so little faith in the film becoming a box-office success, though, they shied from paying Raucher outright for the script, instead promising him ten percent of the gross.][
When casting for the role of Dorothy, Warner Bros. declined to audition any actresses younger than the age of 30; ]Jennifer O'Neill
Jennifer O'Neill (born February 20, 1948) is a Brazilian-born American actress, model, author, and activist. She is known for her modeling and spokesperson work for CoverGirl cosmetics starting in 1963, and her starring role in the Oscar-winnin ...
's agent, who had developed a fondness for the script, convinced the studio to audition his client, who was only 22 at the time. O'Neill auditioned for the role, albeit hesitantly, not wanting to perform any nude scenes. O'Neill got the role and Mulligan agreed to find a way to make the film work without blatant nudity.
Nantucket Island was too far modernized in 1970 to be convincingly transformed to resemble an early 1940s resort, so the production location selected was the town of Bar Harbor, Maine.[ Shooting took place over eight weeks, during which O'Neill was sequestered from the three boys cast as "The Terrible Trio," in order to ensure that they did not become close and ruin the sense of awkwardness and distance that their characters felt towards Dorothy. Production ran smoothly, finishing on schedule.][
After production, Warner Bros., still wary about the film only being a minor success, asked Raucher to adapt his script into a book.][ Raucher wrote it in three weeks, and Warner Bros. released it prior to the film to build interest in the story.][ The book quickly became a national bestseller, so that when trailers premiered in theaters, the film was billed as being "based on the national bestseller," despite the film having been completed first.][ Ultimately, the book became one of the best selling novels of the first half of the 1970s, requiring 23 reprints between 1971 and 1974 to keep up with customer demand.][
]
Factual basis
The film (and subsequent novel) were memoir
A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobi ...
s written by Herman Raucher; they detailed the events in his life over the course of the summer he spent on Nantucket Island
Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachuse ...
in 1942 when he was fourteen years old.[ Originally, the film was meant to be a tribute to his friend Oscar "Oscy" Seltzer, an Army medic killed in the ]Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
. Seltzer was shot dead on a battlefield in Korea while tending to a wounded man; this happened on Raucher's birthday, and consequently, Raucher has not celebrated a birthday since. While writing the screenplay, Raucher realized that despite growing up with Oscy and having bonded with him through their formative years, the two had never really had any meaningful conversations or known one another on a more personal level.[
Instead, Raucher decided to focus on the first major adult experience of his life, that of falling in love for the first time. The woman (named Dorothy, like her screen counterpart) was a fellow vacationer on the island whom the 14-year-old Raucher had befriended one day when he helped her carry groceries home; he became a friend of her and her husband and helped her with chores after her husband was called to fight in ]World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. On the night memorialized in the film, Raucher randomly came to visit her, unaware his arrival was just minutes after she received notification of her husband's death. She was confused and upset, had been drinking heavily, and repeatedly called Raucher by her husband's name. Although both ultimately disrobed, contrary to popular perception, sexual intercourse did not occur. Raucher admitted this in a 2002 interview saying it was mostly holding, but in the movie "We let you think what you want."[
The next morning, Raucher discovered that she had left the island, leaving behind a note for him (which is read at the end of the film and reproduced in the book). He never saw her again; his last "encounter" with her, recounted on an episode of '']The Mike Douglas Show
''The Mike Douglas Show'' was an American daytime television talk show that was hosted by Mike Douglas. It began as a local program in Cleveland before being carried on other stations owned by Westinghouse Broadcasting. The show went into nati ...
'', came after the film's release in 1971, when she was one of over a dozen women who wrote letters to Raucher claiming to be "his" Dorothy.[The Mike Douglas Show, Interview with Herman Raucher. Original date of broadcast unknown.] Raucher recognized the "real" Dorothy's handwriting, and she confirmed her identity by making references to certain events only she could have known about.[ She told Raucher that she had lived for years with the guilt that she had potentially traumatized him and ruined his life. She told Raucher that she was glad he turned out all right, and that they had best not re-visit the past.][
In a 2002 Scripps Treasure Coast Publishing interview, Raucher lamented never hearing from her again and expressed his hope that she was still alive.][ Raucher's novelization of the screenplay, with the dedication, "To those I love, past and present," serves more as the tribute to Seltzer that he had intended the film to be, with the focus of the book being more on the two boys' relationship than Raucher's relationship with Dorothy. Consequently, the book also mentions Seltzer's death, which is absent from the film adaptation.]
A glaring error in both the book and movie centers around the movie ''Now, Voyager
''Now, Voyager'' is a 1942 American drama film starring Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, and Claude Rains, and directed by Irving Rapper. The screenplay by Casey Robinson is based on the 1941 novel of the same name by Olive Higgins Prouty.
Prouty ...
''. They go to a movie theater to see the movie in the "summer of '42". Factually, however, the film was released nationally in the U.S. on October 31, 1942, with an October 22 premiere in New York City, so it would have been impossible to see the movie that summer.
Reception and awards
The film became a blockbuster upon its release, grossing over $32 million, making one of the most successful films of 1971, with an expense-to-profit ratio of 1:32;[Allmovie: Summer of '42]
''allmovie.com.'' Retrieved September 3, 2010. beyond that, it is estimated video rentals
A video rental shop/store is a physical retail business that rents home videos such as movies, prerecorded TV shows, video game discs and other media content. Typically, a rental shop conducts business with customers under conditions and terms ...
and purchases in the United States since the 1980s have produced an additional $20.5 million.[Internet Movie Database: Summer of '42 Business Data]
''IMDb.com'' Retrieved July 3, 2006. On this point, Raucher said in May 2002 that his ten percent of the gross, in addition to royalties from book sales, "has paid bills ever since."[
''Summer of '42'' received positive reviews. The ]review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
reported a 79% approval rating based on 24 reviews, with an average rating of 6.73/10. It went on to be nominated for over a dozen awards, including Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
s for "Best Motion Picture – Drama" and "Best Director", and four Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
nominations for Best Original Music Score, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Original Screenplay. Ultimately, the film won two awards: the Academy Award for Best Original Score
The Academy Award for Best Original Score is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by t ...
, and the 1971 BAFTA Award for Best Original Music
This is a list of winners and nominees for the BAFTA Award for Best Original Music, formerly known as the Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music, which is presented to film score, film composers, given out by the British Academy of Film and Televis ...
, both to Michel Legrand.
Sequel
In 1973, the film was followed by '' Class of '44'', a slice-of-life
Slice of life is a depiction of mundane experiences in art and entertainment. In theater, slice of life refers to naturalism, while in literary parlance it is a narrative technique in which a seemingly arbitrary sequence of events in a character ...
film made up of vignettes about Herman Raucher and Oscar Seltzer's experiences in college. ''Class of '44'' involves the boys facing army service in the last year of World War II. The only crew member from ''Summer of '42'' to return to the project was Raucher himself, who wrote the script; a new director and composer were brought in to replace Mulligan and Legrand. Of the principal four cast members of ''Summer of '42'', only Jerry Houser and Gary Grimes returned for prominent roles, with Oliver Conant making two brief appearances totaling less than two minutes of screen time. Jennifer O'Neill did not appear in the film at all, nor was the character of Dorothy mentioned.
The film met with poor critical reviews; the only three reviews available at Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
are resoundingly negative,[Timeout Film Review: Class of '44]
''timeout.com'' Retrieved August 11, 2006, with Channel 4 calling it "a big disappointment,"[Channel 4 Film Reviews: Class of '44]
''channel4.com'' Retrieved August 11, 2006 and ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' stating "The only things worth attention in 'Class of '44' are the period details," and "'Class of '44' seems less like a movie than 95 minutes of animated wallpaper."[New York Times Film Review: Class of '44]
''nytimes.com'' Retrieved August 11, 2006
Soundtrack
The film's soundtrack consists almost entirely of compositions by Michel Legrand
Michel Jean Legrand (; 24 February 1932 – 26 January 2019) was a French musical composer, arranger, conductor, and jazz pianist. Legrand was a prolific composer, having written over 200 film and television scores, in addition to many son ...
, many of which are variants upon "The Summer Knows", the film's theme. Lyrics are by Marilyn and Alan Bergman. Because the complete score runs just under 17 minutes, only the first and eighth tracks on the album are from ''Summer of '42''; the rest of the music is taken from Legrand's score for 1969's ''The Picasso Summer
''The Picasso Summer'' is a 1969 drama starring Albert Finney and Yvette Mimieux. The screenplay was written by Ray Bradbury (using the pseudonym of Douglas Spaulding) based upon his 1957 short story "In a Season of Calm Weather."
The original di ...
''.
Main theme ''"Summer of '42"'' won a Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
at 14th edition held in 1972 for ¨ "Best Instrumental Composition".
In addition to Legrand's scoring, the film also features the song "Hold Tight" by The Andrews Sisters
The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the Swing music, swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews (July 6, 1911 – May 8, 1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn Andre ...
and the theme from ''Now, Voyager
''Now, Voyager'' is a 1942 American drama film starring Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, and Claude Rains, and directed by Irving Rapper. The screenplay by Casey Robinson is based on the 1941 novel of the same name by Olive Higgins Prouty.
Prouty ...
''. On the Billboard 200, it debuted on November 9, 1971 and peaked at #52 on November 20, 1971.
In 2014 Intrada Records
Intrada is an American record company based in Oakland, California, owned and managed by Douglass Fake. The company specializes in movie and television soundtracks, notably those by the late Jerry Goldsmith.
Intrada was founded in 1985 by owner ...
released ''Summer of '42'' and ''The Picasso Summer'' on a limited-edition two-disc set, with the entire score for the former and the original album presentation of the latter (dubbed "The Picasso Suite") on disc 1, and the complete score for ''The Picasso Summer'' on disc 2.
Warner Bros. Publications released a sheet music folio, ''Summer of '42 & Other Hits of the Forties'', which contains the movie theme and 34 other unrelated songs.
Cultural impact
Music
Legrand's theme song for the film, "The Summer Knows", has since become a pop standard
Traditional pop (also known as classic pop and pre-rock and roll pop) is Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known as pop standards ...
, being recorded by such artists as Peter Nero
Peter Nero (born Bernard Nierow, May 22, 1934) is an American pianist and pops conductor. He directed the Philly Pops from 1979 to 2013, and has earned two Grammy Awards.
Early life
Born in Brooklyn, New York, as Bernard Nierow, he started ...
(who had a charting hit with his 1971 version), Biddu
Biddu Appaiah (born 8 February 1944) is a British-Indian singer-songwriter, composer, and music producer who composed and produced many worldwide hit records during a career spanning five decades. Considered one of the pioneers of disco, Euro d ...
(1975 international chart hit), Tony Bennett
Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birth ...
, Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...
, Sarah Vaughan
Sarah Lois Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer.
Nicknamed "Sassy" and "Jazz royalty, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine ...
, Andy Williams
Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...
, Jonny Fair, Scott Walker, Elis Regina
Elis Regina Carvalho Costa (March 17, 1945 – January 19, 2002), known professionally as Elis Regina (), was a Brazilian singer of MPB and jazz music. She is also the mother of the singers Maria Rita and Pedro Mariano.
She became nationally ...
, Jackie Evancho
Jacqueline Marie Evancho ( ; born April 9, 2000) is an American crossover music#Classical crossover, classical crossover singer who gained wide recognition at an early age. Since 2009, she has issued a platinum-selling extended play, EP and nine ...
, Oscar Peterson
Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian virtuoso jazz pianist and composer. Considered one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, ...
, Bill Evans
William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, block ch ...
, Toots Thielemans
Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Isidor, Baron Thielemans (29 April 1922 – 22 August 2016), known professionally as Toots Thielemans, was a Belgian jazz musician. He was mostly known for his chromatic harmonica playing, as well as his guitar and whistl ...
, George Benson
George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist.
A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the 1960s, pla ...
, Roger Williams
Roger Williams (21 September 1603between 27 January and 15 March 1683) was an English-born New England Puritan minister, theologian, and author who founded Providence Plantations, which became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantation ...
, and Barbra Streisand
Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers List ...
.
The 1973 song "Summer (The First Time)
"Summer (The First Time)" is a song by American singer Bobby Goldsboro, recorded for his album of the same name and released as a single in June 1973. It was written by Bobby Goldsboro, Ashley Abram and Timmy Tappan, and produced by Goldsboro and ...
" by Bobby Goldsboro
Robert Charles Goldsboro (born January 18, 1941) is an American pop and country singer and songwriter. He had a string of pop and country hits in the 1960s and 1970s, including his signature No. 1 hit "Honey", which sold over 1 million copies in ...
has almost exactly the same subject and apparent setting, although there is no direct credited link. Bryan Adams
Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...
has, however, credited the film as being a partial inspiration for his 1985 hit "Summer of '69
"Summer of '69" is a song recorded by the Canadian musician Bryan Adams from his fourth album, '' Reckless''. The song is about a dilemma between settling down or trying to become a rock star. The song was written by Adams and his longtime song ...
".[Summer of '69 lyrics explained by co-author]
''jimvallance.com'' Retrieved July 6, 2006.
Garth Brooks
Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the co ...
' 1993 hit " That Summer" features a similar story of a coming-of-age male in a romance with an older female.
Chart history
;Roger Williams
Roger Williams (21 September 1603between 27 January and 15 March 1683) was an English-born New England Puritan minister, theologian, and author who founded Providence Plantations, which became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantation ...
;Peter Nero
;Biddu Orchestra
Film and television
An episode of the 1970s sitcom ''Happy Days
''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marshall, it was one of the most succ ...
'' was loosely based upon ''Summer of '42'', with Richie Cunningham befriending a Korean War widow.
In Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...
's 1980 film '' The Shining'', Wendy (Shelley Duvall
Shelley Alexis Duvall (born July 7, 1949) is an American actress and producer who is known for her portrayals of distinct, often eccentric characters. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Cannes Film Festival Award and a Peab ...
) is shown watching ''Summer of '42'' on a television.
The film's title formed the basis of a Season 7 episode of ''The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
'', " Summer of 4 Ft. 2".
In the ''Family Guy
''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffin family, Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter Griff ...
'' episode "Play It Again, Brian" Brian says he plagiarized part of an essay where he discusses his love for Lois from ''Summer of '42''.
The episode "Summer of '85" in ''Baywatch
''Baywatch'' is an American action drama television series about lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, and Hawaii, starring David Hasselhoff. It was created by Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz, and Gregory J. Bonann, ...
'' shows Eddie (Billy Warlock
Billy Warlock (born William Alan Leming; March 26, 1961) is an American actor known for playing Eddie Kramer, a lifeguard on the first two seasons of ''Baywatch'' and in the reunion movie in 2003, as well as for numerous daytime roles, most not ...
) having a summer romance with an older woman called Lorna when he was a teenager.
Remakes
In the years since the film's release, Warner Bros. has attempted to buy back Raucher's ten percent of the film as well as his rights to the story so it could be remade; Raucher has consistently declined.[ The 1988 film '' Stealing Home'' has numerous similarities to both ''Summer of '42'' and ''Class of '44'', with several incidents (most notably a subplot dealing with the premature death of the protagonist's father and the protagonist's response to it) appearing to have been directly lifted from Raucher's own life; Jennifer O'Neill stated in 2002 she believes "''Home''" was an attempted remake of "''Summer''".][Jennifer O'Neill in 2002]
''tv-now.com'' Retrieved August 11, 2006
Off-Broadway musical
In 2001, Raucher consented to the film being made into an off Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
musical play.[ He was on hand opening night, giving the cast a pep-talk which he concluded, "We've now done it every possible way – except go out and piss it in the snow!"][Theatermania.com]
Starry, Starry Morning: Charles Nelson's Casts and Forecasts. Retrieved September 3, 2007 The play met with positive critical and fan response, and was endorsed by Raucher himself, but the play was forced to close down in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
.[ Nevertheless, the play was enough to spark interest in the film and book with a new generation, prompting Warner to re-issue the book (which had since gone out of print, along with all of Raucher's other works) for sale with ]Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller. It is a Fortune 1000 company and the bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. As of July 7, 2020, the company operates 614 retail stores across all 50 U. ...
's online bookstore, and to restore the film and release it on DVD.[ The musical has since been performed across the country, at venues such as Kalliope Stage in ]Cleveland Heights, Ohio
Cleveland Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, and one of Cleveland's historical streetcar suburbs. The city's population was 45,312 at the 2020 census. As of the 2010 census, Cleveland Heights was ranked the 8th larges ...
in 2004 (directed by Paul Gurgol) and Mill Mountain Theatre in Roanoke, Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, (directed by Jere Hodgin and choreographed by Bernard Monroe), and was subsequently recorded as a concert by the York Theatre Company in 2006.
Alternative sequel
In 2002, O'Neill claimed to have obtained the rights to make a sequel to ''Summer of '42'', based on a short story she wrote, which took place in an alternate reality where Herman Raucher had a son and divorced his wife, went back to Nantucket in 1962 with a still-living Oscar Seltzer, and encountered Dorothy again and married her. As of 2017, this project – which O'Neill had hoped to produce with Lifetime television – has not been realized, and it is unknown whether O'Neill is still attempting to get it produced, or if Raucher consented to its production.
See also
* List of American films of 1971
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
References
External links
*
*
*
*
''Summer of '42''
at ''TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...
'' (heavily edited and shorted version of the lengthy 1987 write-up originally published in ''The Motion Picture Guide'')
''Summer of '42''
by Andy Williamson – The Wordslinger dated April 14, 2008
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Summer Of '42
1970s coming-of-age comedy-drama films
1971 films
American biographical films
American coming-of-age comedy-drama films
1970s English-language films
Films about vacationing
Films about virginity
Films about puberty
Films directed by Robert Mulligan
Films scored by Michel Legrand
Films set in 1942
Films set in Nantucket
Films set on beaches
Films set on the home front during World War II
Films that won the Best Original Score Academy Award
Films with screenplays by Herman Raucher
Warner Bros. films
1971 comedy films
1971 drama films
1970s American films