''Summer Storm'' is a 1944

period Period may refer to: Common uses * Era, a length or span of time * Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...

romantic

melodrama A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exces ...

directed by

Douglas Sirk Douglas Sirk (born Hans Detlef Sierck; 26 April 1897 – 14 January 1987) was a German film director best known for his work in Hollywood melodramas of the 1950s. Sirk started his career in Germany as a stage and screen director, but he left fo ...

, and starring

Linda Darnell Linda Darnell (born Monetta Eloyse Darnell; October 16, 1923 – April 10, 1965) was an American actress. Darnell progressed from modeling as a child to acting in theater and film. At the encouragement of her mother, she made her first film in ...

George Sanders George Henry Sanders (3 July 1906 – 25 April 1972) was a British actor and singer whose career spanned over 40 years. His heavy, upper-class English accent and smooth, bass voice often led him to be cast as sophisticated but villainous chara ...

Edward Everett Horton Edward Everett Horton Jr. (March 18, 1886 – September 29, 1970) was an American character actor. He had a long career in film, theater, radio, television, and voice work for animated cartoons. Early life Horton was born in Kings County ...

, and

Anna Lee Anna Lee, MBE (born Joan Boniface Winnifrith; 2 January 1913 – 14 May 2004) was a British actress, labelled by studios "The British Bombshell". Early life Anna Lee was born Joan Boniface Winnifrith in Ightham, (pronounced 'Item'), Kent, the ...

. It was based on

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

's 1884 novel ''

The Shooting Party ''The Shooting Party'' is a 1984 British drama film directed by Alan Bridges and based on the book of the same name by Isabel Colegate. The film is set in 1913, less than a year before the beginning of the First World War, and shows the soon-t ...

'', with the screenplay written by

Rowland Leigh Rowland Leigh (1902 – 1963) was an aristocratic Anglo-American lyricist, screenwriter, and librettist, who worked with many famous actors and musicians during his career on Broadway and in Hollywood. Family His mother, Hon Mrs Leigh, wa ...

. Karl Hajos was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture.

Plot summary

1919 –

Kharkov Kharkiv ( uk, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest city and municipality in Ukraine.

Ukrainian People's Republic The Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR), or Ukrainian National Republic (UNR), was a country in Eastern Europe that existed between 1917 and 1920. It was declared following the February Revolution in Russia by the First Universal. In March 1 ...

. Just after the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...

, Count Volsky, an impoverished former aristocrat, visits Nadena Kalenin, head of a publishing company. Volsky offers her a manuscript, written by his friend and Nadena's former fiancé, Judge Fedor “Fedya” Petroff. As Nadena reads, a flashback begins: 1912 – The small (fictional) resort town of Tyrneva, outside Kharkov. Fedya is the

examining magistrate In an inquisitorial system of law, the examining magistrate (also called investigating magistrate, inquisitorial magistrate, or investigating judge) is a judge who carries out pre-trial investigations into allegations of crime and in some cases ma ...

, engaged to Nadena, whose wealthy family summers there. One day, during a summer storm, Fedya and his best friend Volsky take shelter in a gazebo on Volsky’s estate. Asleep inside, they discover Olga, the daughter of Kuzma, Volsky’s woodcutter. Her beauty bewitches Fedya. Olga agrees to marry Urbenin, Volsky’s middle-aged bookkeeper. She does not love him, but wants an escape from poverty. Olga and Fedya’s secret attraction continues to draw them throughout the wedding ceremony, until she runs off. Fedya chases her and Nadena discovers them kissing, dropping the dance card Fedya wrote “I Love You” on, which Fedya finds. Brokenhearted, Nadena quietly calls off their engagement, as Fedya continues his affair with Olga, who dreams of escaping to America. Fedya soon learns Olga is also having an affair with Volsky. When Volsky’s jewels are stolen, Fedya confronts Olga and finds them, but Volsky refuses to believe she stole them, blaming Urbenin instead. Later that night, Olga accuses Urbenin of striking her, winning Volsky’s sympathy. Olga continues to toy with Fedya, who is still in love with her. Olga asks Volsky to marry her. She does not love him either, but she can finally be wealthy. The next day, Volsky throws a shooting party, while Urbenin prepares to leave, under a cloud of suspicion. Mad with jealousy, Fedya confronts Olga, who insists nothing has to change - she can marry Volsky, but continue her affair with Fedya. Soon after, Volsky’s maid Clara sees a man wash a knife in the river while she is swimming. Then Olga is discovered, stabbed and unconscious. Fedya bumps into Nadena in the town church. He nearly confesses what he has done, but can’t bring himself to. As magistrate, Fedya is called to Volsky’s house to question Olga as she lies dying. She doesn’t name her assailant, saying she forgives her killer, because he loves her and taking Fedya’s hand. As she dies, Olga describes seeing "heavenly electricity", or lightning - the same thing that killed her mother. The prosecutor charges Urbenin, based on the theft and abuse accusations against him and his history of jealousy and threats. Clara, the maid, comes forward, saying she can recognize the killer’s hands by his rings and their aristocratic appearance, only to realize, to her horror, that they are Fedya’s. She has unrequitedly loved him for years and promises to protect him and never utter a word. At the trial, Clara’s stumbling testimony further incriminates Urbenin. Fedya nearly stands up and confesses to save Urbenin, but again cannot bring himself to. Urbenin is found guilty and given a life sentence of forced labor in the salt mines of

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

. Back in 1919 – Nadena finishes reading the book, gutted. She puts it in an envelope, addressed to the public prosecutor. Fedya returns to the squalid room he and Volsky share, discovering Volsky sold the book to Nadena, without knowing what it was about. Fedya confronts Nadena, who admits she couldn’t bring herself to mail it. She gives the package to Fedya and asks him to do the right thing and save an innocent man, giving her “one last chance to let me love you again.” Fedya drops the package in a postbox, but immediately regrets the decision and assaults the postman, stealing his postbag. The police pursue Fedya into a bar, where they shoot him. As he dies, he, too, claims to see the "heavenly electricity." As Fedya’s corpse is carried away, the police discover on him only Nadena’s dance card from the wedding banquet, on which he wrote “I Love You.” It ends up discarded on the floor, swept up with the garbage and dumped in a trashcan.

Cast

as Judge Fedor Petroff *

as Olga Kuzminichna Urbenin *

as Count "Piggy" Volsky *

as Nadena Kalenin *

Hugo Haas Hugo Haas (19 February 1901 – 1 December 1968) was a Czech film actor, director and writer. He appeared in more than 60 films between 1926 and 1962, as well as directing 20 films between 1933 and 1962. Life and career Haas was born in B ...

as Anton Urbenin * Laurie Lane as Clara Heller *

John Philliber John Philliber (July 6, 1873 – November 6, 1944), was an American actor. Born in Elkhart, Indiana, Philliber was a stage actor for most of his career, but in his last year of life made several appearances in films, alluding to his old age, bes ...

as Polycarp - Petroff's Butler *

Sig Ruman Siegfried Carl Alban Rumann (October 11, 1884 – February 14, 1967), billed as Sig Ruman and Sig Rumann, was a German-American character actor known for his portrayals of pompous and often stereotypically Teutonic officials or villains in ...

as Kuzma *

John Abbott Sir John Joseph Caldwell Abbott (March 12, 1821 – October 30, 1893) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the third prime minister of Canada from 1891 to 1892. He held office as the leader of the Conservative Party. Abbot ...

as Lunin - Public Prosecutor *

Mary Servoss Mary Servoss (June 2, 1888 – November 20, 1968) was an American stage and screen actress. Her main career was centered on the Broadway stage. She was born to Carlos A. Servoss and Mary (née Baker) in Chicago. She made her stage debut in 1 ...

as Mrs. Kalenin *

André Charlot André Eugène Maurice Charlot (26 July 1882 – 20 May 1956) was a French impresario known primarily for the successful musical revues he staged in London between 1912 and 1937. He also worked as a character actor in numerous films. Early li ...

as Mr. Kalenin *

Robert Greig Robert Greig (December 27, 1879 – June 27, 1958) was an Australian-American actor who appeared in more than 100 films between 1930 and 1949, usually as the dutiful butler. Born Arthur Alfred Bede Greig, he was the nephew of Australian pol ...

as Gregory - Volsky's Butler *

Nina Koshetz Nina Koshetz ( uk, Ніна Павлівна Кошиць; russian: Нина Павловна Кошиц; née Poray-Koshetz ( :uk:Порай-Кошиці); 30 December 1891 – 14 May 1965) was a Russian-Ukrainian, later American opera soprano, ...

as Gypsy Singer *

Paul Hurst Paul Michael Hurst (born 25 September 1974) is an English football manager and former player who is the manager of club Grimsby Town. As a player, he was a defender from 1993 to 2008, notably playing his entire career at Rotherham United, ba ...

as Officer Orloff *

Charles Trowbridge Charles Silas Richard Trowbridge (January 10, 1882 – October 30, 1967) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 230 films between 1915 and 1958. Biography Trowbridge was born in Veracruz, Mexico, where his father served in the ...

as Doctor *

Sarah Padden Sarah Ann Padden (16 October 1881 – 4 December 1967) was an English-born American theatre and film character actress. She performed on stage in the early 20th century. Her best-known single-act performance was in ''The Clod'', a stage pro ...

as Beggar Woman *

Mike Mazurki Mike Mazurki (December 25, 1907 – December 9, 1990) was a Ukrainian-American actor and professional wrestler who appeared in more than 142 films. His 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) presence and face had him typecast as often brainless athletes ...

as Tall Policeman

Production

Director Douglas Sirk began developing this project while working at the UFA Studios in Germany. After fleeing to the United States in 1939, he continued developing the project, working for a time with

James M. Cain James Mallahan Cain (July 1, 1892 – October 27, 1977) was an American novelist, journalist and screenwriter. He is widely regarded as a progenitor of the hardboiled school of American crime fiction. His novels ''The Postman Always Rings Twice ...

, but discarding that draft, saying it was too American. Sirk receives screen credit for his work adapting the story.

Reception

The film was notable in changing Linda Darnell's public image. While she had previously been playing innocent, good-natured roles, her performance as the seductive and manipulative Olga changed the public's opinion of her and transformed her into a

sex symbol A sex symbol or icon is a person or character widely considered sexually attractive.Pam Cook, "The trouble with sex: Diana Dors and the Blonde bombshell phenomenon", In: Bruce Babinigton (ed.), ''British Stars and Stardom: From Alma Taylor to ...

. She would go on to play more

femme fatale A ''femme fatale'' ( or ; ), sometimes called a maneater or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype of ...

s in her career. This is one of a handful of films in which Sanders’ singing voice can be heard (and in his native-born Russian). Like '' The North Star,'' this film was released in the United States during a period of pro-Russian sentiment and interest by the Allies at the height of

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 ...

References

External links