''The Long Hot Summer'' is an American

drama series In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-gen ...

from

20th Century Fox Television 20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television, 20th Century-Fox Television, and TCF Television Productions, Inc.) is an American television production company that is a division of Disney Television Studios, part of The Walt Disney Compa ...

that was broadcast on ABC-TV for one season from 1965–1966. It was aired in the UK on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

Synopsis

The series was set in the

Deep South The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion in the Southern United States. The term was first used to describe the states most dependent on plantations and slavery prior to the American Civil War. Following the war ...

community of Frenchman's Bend, Mississippi. The community was dominated and owned by the town's wealthy, powerful (and deceitful) bank owner "Boss" Will Varner (

Edmond O'Brien Eamon Joseph O'Brien (September 10, 1915 – May 9, 1985) was an American actor and film director. His career spanned almost 40 years, and he won one Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. O'Brien w ...

). A widower with two grown children who also owned other businesses besides the town's bank, the unscrupulous Varner ran the town and its citizens with an iron fist and nobody dared to question him. He and his family lived in the largest mansion in Frenchman's Bend. However, problems arose in Varner's orderly world when Ben Quick (

Roy Thinnes Roy Thinnes (born April 6, 1938) is an American television and film actor best known for his portrayal of lonely hero David Vincent in the ABC 1967–68 television series ''The Invaders''. He starred in the 1969 British science fiction film ''J ...

), a young man whose father Varner destroyed some years prior, returns to town after thirteen years away to reclaim his family's farm and to challenge Varner's absolute authority over the town and its people. Ben's aim was to settle the score against the wicked Varner in the fight his father ran from. Supporting characters include Clara and Jody Varner. Jody was Will's weak-willed and immature but more honest son, and Clara was Will's sensitive and sensible but deeply troubled older daughter who was considered to be the lady of the house (in lieu of her late mother). To her father's dismay, she liked Ben. Other characters include the town's hotel owner Minnie Littlejohn who is a good friend to many in town and was also the mistress of Will Varner, and Eula Johnson, a 17-year-old girl who becomes a central point in wealthy Jody Varner's life after he picks her up during a rain storm and defends her from her brother and fiance. In the movie Eula was married to Jody Varner, but in the TV series she was merely a friend of Jody's. Also seen occasionally was: Andrew, the Varner family's butler/chauffeur; Sheriff Harve Anders, the local sheriff for the county in which Frenchman's Bend is located; Judge Armistid, the community's judge; and Dr. Aaron Clark, the Varner family's physician.

Cast

Main

(1965 – January 1966) and

Dan O'Herlihy Daniel Peter O'Herlihy (May 1, 1919 – February 17, 2005) was an Irish actor of film, television, and radio. With a distinguished appearance and rich, resonant speaking voice, O'Herlihy's best known-roles included his Oscar-nominated portraya ...

(January 1966 – April 1966) as "Boss" Will Varner *

as Ben Quick *

Nancy Malone __NOTOC__ Nancy Malone (born Anne Josefa Maloney March 19, 1935 – May 8, 2014) was an American television actress from the 1950s to 1970s, who later moved into producing and directing in the 1980s and 1990s. Television Malone appeared in a nu ...

as Clara Varner * Paul Geary as Jody Varner *

Ruth Roman Ruth Roman (born Norma Roman; December 22, 1922 – September 9, 1999) was an American actress of film, stage, and television. After playing stage roles on the east coast, Roman relocated to Hollywood to pursue a career in films. She appeare ...

as Minnie Littlejohn *

Lana Wood Lana Wood (born Svetlana Lisa Gurdin; March 1, 1946) is an American actress and producer. She made her film debut in ''The Searchers'' as a child actress and later achieved notability for playing Sandy Webber on the TV series '' Peyton Place'' a ...

as Eula Johnson

Guest cast

Paul Bryar Paul Bryar (born Gabriel Paul Barrere; February 21, 1910 – August 30, 1985) was an American actor. In a career spanning nearly half a century, he appeared in numerous films and television series. Career Bryar appeared in nearly 220 fil ...

as Sheriff Harve Anders *

Harold Gould Harold Vernon Goldstein (December 10, 1923 – September 11, 2010), better known as Harold Gould, was an American character actor. He appeared as Martin Morgenstern on the sitcom ''Rhoda'' (1974–78) and Miles Webber on the sitcom ''The Golden ...

as Bowman Chamberlain * Warren J. Kemmerling as Lucas Taney *

Charles Lampkin Charles Lampkin (1913–1989) was an American actor, musician and lecturer. Early life Charles Lampkin was born on March 17, 1913 in Ward 4 of Montgomery, Alabama. He was the third son of Edgar Lampkin and Sarah Bidell. His paternal lineage is ...

as Andrew * William Mims as Sam Ruddabaw *

Tisha Sterling Patricia Ann "Tisha" Sterling (born December 10, 1944) is a retired American actress. She is the only daughter of actor Robert Sterling and actress Ann Sothern. Life and career Sterling was born in Los Angeles, California. Her parents divorced ...

as Susan Beauchamp *

Jason Wingreen Jason Wingreen (October 9, 1920 – December 25, 2015) was an American actor. He portrayed bartender Harry Snowden on the CBS sitcom ''All in the Family'' (1977–1979), a role he reprised on the continuation series ''Archie Bunker's Place'' (1 ...

as Dr. Aaron Clark

Production

Development

Created by

Dean Riesner Dean Riesner (November 3, 1918 – August 18, 2002) was an American film and television writer. Biography Riesner was born in New Rochelle, New York. His father, Charles Reisner Charles Francis Reisner (March 14, 1887 – September 24 ...

, ''The Long Hot Summer'' was based on the novel ''

The Hamlet ''The Hamlet'' is a novel by the American author William Faulkner, published in 1940, about the fictional Snopes family of Mississippi. Originally a standalone novel, it was later followed by '' The Town'' (1957), and '' The Mansion'' (1959), ...

'' by

William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on Lafayette County, Mississippi, where Faulkner spent most of ...

, the short story "Barn Burning", and the 1958 film of the same name. The show retained the movie's theme song, "The Long, Hot Summer," written by Sammy Cahn and Alex North, and Jimmie Rodgers sang it for the series just as he did for the film.

Broadcast

''The Long Hot Summer'' was scheduled on Thursdays at 10 p.m. EST opposite

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

' '' Thursday Night Movie'' and

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

's long-running variety series ''

The Dean Martin Show ''The Dean Martin Show'', not to be confused with the ''Dean Martin Variety Show'' (1959–1960), is a TV variety-comedy series that ran from 1965 to 1974 for 264 episodes. It was broadcast by NBC and hosted by Dean Martin. The theme song to the s ...

''. The series was canceled after twenty-six episodes with the last original episode airing on April 13, 1966.

Casting

In January 1966, series star Edmond O'Brien left the series after a disagreement with the producers (the disagreement was about making Ben Quick the main focus of the show instead of the Varners) and was replaced by

. O'Herlihy played the role of Will Varner for the rest of the series' run.

Episodes

References

External links

* * Long Hot Summer on TV I

* Long Hot Summer complete episodes on YouTub

{{DEFAULTSORT:Long Hot Summer 1965 American television series debuts 1966 American television series endings American Broadcasting Company original programming Black-and-white American television shows Serial drama television series Television series by 20th Century Fox Television Live action television shows based on films Television shows based on American novels Television shows set in Mississippi English-language television shows