Last Summer **** (1969, Barbara Hershey, Richard Thomas, Bruce Davison, Catherine Burns) – Classic Movie Review 9544

Director Frank Perry’s strong, dark, X-rated 1969 drama of troubled teens Last Summer is based on Evan Hunter’s novel of youthful passions, teen angst and young cruelty.

Last Summer is an intelligent, believable version of the beach party movie, with rich youngsters Sandy and Peter (Barbara Hershey and Richard Thomas) get mixed up with Dan and Rhoda (Bruce Davison and Cathy Burns) on holiday on Long Island, New York. The three young beautiful people become close and hatch an elaborate violent plot against the sad, uncool outsider Rhoda.

Director Perry brings out the best in his then wife Eleanor Perry’s well-written screenplay. The acting is special, particularly from Burns, in her film debut as the lonely and plain girl. She was Oscar nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in 1970.

Also in the cast are Ralph Waite, Conrad Bain, Ernesto Gonzalez, Peter Turgeon and Lydia Wilen. Waite plays Thomas’s father here and went on to play his father again in The Waltons (1971). Burns and Davison both made guest appearances on The Waltons.

It was shot in September 1968 at Bay Shore, Long Island, New York; and Fire Island, Long Island, New York.

The storyline involving a wounded seagull affected Barbara Hershey so much she changed her surname to Seagull for some years until 1975.

Hershey recalled: ‘I think Frank [Perry] was encouraging us more to be into our characters than to bond. He was sort of isolating us from our lives. We had interaction with each other, but it wasn’t like we were a close-knit group.’

Sondra Locke turned down the role of Sandy.

Thomas and Burns starred together again in Red Sky at Morning (1971).

After three films, Last Summer (1969), Me, Natalie (1969), Red Sky at Morning (1971), Burns left for TV, packed it in after 1984, and died on 2 February 2019, aged 73, after a fall in her home.

Last Summer is directed by Frank Perry, runs 97 minutes, is made by Alsid Productions and Francis Productions, is released by Allied Artists, is written by Eleanor Perry, is shot by Gerald Hirschfeld and Enrique Bravo (Eastmancolor), is produced by Alfred W Crown, Emanuel L Wolf and Sidney Beckerman, scored by John Simon and designed by Peter Dohanos.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 9544

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