Review of A Summer Place (1959) by Scott S — 03 Jul 2010
A Summer Place (1959) -- [6.0] -- A bold film for its time, "A Summer Place" deals with sexual awakening and reawakening. Sandra Dee and Troy Donahue play the teenaged lovers; Richard Egan and Dorothy McGuire play the adulterous middle-aged ones.
The first forty-five minutes of the story are pretty strong, but once the affairs are out in the open, the script struggles to find its focus. Highlights include a terrific monologue Richard Egan hurls at villainous Constance Ford, who plays a mother so mean she has her daughter "fully inspected" by a doctor when she fails to come home one night.
Arthur Kennedy also turns in a memorable performance as Donahue's boozie pops. Max Steiner's score contributes to the melodrama a little more than necessary, but it contains one of the catchiest and most enduring love themes in all of cinema.
This review of A Summer Place (1959) was written by Scott S on 03 Jul 2010.
A Summer Place has generally received positive reviews.
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