A Summer Place (1959)
Where passions flared...
Ah, the family room of my childhood home - a veritable sanctuary of literary wonder, with towering bookshelves surrounding a cozy wood-burning fireplace. It was there, perhaps in the throes of 7th or 8th grade, that I first stumbled upon the captivating pages of Sloan Wilson's A Summer Place. I can still recall the moment I plucked that book from the shelf, scurried out to the screened porch, and became utterly enraptured by its soapy, melodramatic tale. From that day on, I must have read it three, four, maybe even more times - a testament to its enduring allure. And of course, the cinematic adaptation, which I devoured with equal fervor. How could one resist the 1950s charm of Sandra Dee and Troy Donahue? Though the film may have lent itself to easy sequels, tracing the lives of its characters over the years, we all know that such follow-ups are rarely as satisfying. Yet, despite its soapy nature, I dare say A Summer Place remains a classic in its own right.
Wealthy research chemist Ken Jorgenson revisits the Pine Island resort in Maine, where he once worked as a lifeguard two decades prior. Accompanied by his wife Helen and daughter Molly, Ken's arrival at the Inn at Pine Island - a grand mansion owned by the struggling alcoholic Bart Hunter and his wife Sylvia - ignites a bitter jealousy within Bart. Haunted by the fortune he squandered that was left to him by his father, Bart remembers Ken from years ago and becomes consumed by the belief that Ken has returned to flaunt his own successes. Though Bart wishes to refuse the Jorgenson’s reservation, Sylvia insists they cannot turn away any paying customers, given their crippling financial troubles.
Consumed by a relentless fixation on appearances and status, the domineering Helen Jorgenson demands that her family charter a yacht to the island. This bitter, resentful woman has long since abandoned intimacy with her husband Ken, while ruthlessly suppressing the blossoming sexuality of their daughter Molly. For the beleaguered family, existence under Helen's tyrannical rule has become a daily trial.
After dinner that evening, the Hunter’s son Johnny took the impressionable Molly on a moonlit tour of the Inn’s gardens, where they encountered their first kiss. Their tryst was witnessed by the nosy groundskeeper, Todd Hasper, who promptly reported it to an outraged Helen who then berated Molly, cruelly declaring that "wanting a man is cheap." Deeply troubled, Molly asked he father why he had married a woman who so clearly did not love either of them. Ken confessed that he had once loved another woman but at the time felt he had nothing to offer her. He told Molly that the sole purpose of existence is to love and be loved - a sentiment his wife Helen, in her emotional distance, had never grasped.
A rainy day, a leak, and a web of secrets: Bart's gossipy godmother, Mrs. Hamilton Hamble, confronts Sylvia about a bathroom issue. Sylvia confesses she delayed calling a plumber, fearing Bart's wrath over a potential roof crisis. When handyman Ken offers to inspect the attic, he and Sylvia - former lovers torn apart by her arranged marriage to wealthy Bart - admit their love has never faded, though they've hidden it for 20 years. But the air vents betray their whispered words, and Mrs. Hamble paints a bleak picture: Sylvia's husband is a drunk, leaving her three scandalous options - a dignified divorce, a discreet affair, or an unrestrained tryst. The choice, the meddling matron implies, is Sylvia's to make.
Under the cloak of night, Sylvia and Ken sneak to their secret hideaway - the old boathouse. Gripped by fear of losing their cherished children, they risk their marriages for stolen moments together. As dawn's golden light creeps over the horizon, they part ways, unaware their tryst has already been exposed by the prying eyes of Todd.
Elated by the damning reports about Ken from Todd, Helen and her mother devise a scheme to catch Ken in the act of infidelity, a ploy that will grant Helen a lucrative divorce settlement and the freedom to finally escape her unfaithful husband.
That day, Johnny and Molly set sail and a sudden storm capsized their boat, stranding them on a deserted island. After their dramatic rescue, a callous Helen accused Molly of losing her virginity, calling a doctor to examine her despite the girl's protests. Devastated, Molly fled, prompting Johnny to threaten Helen, who then reported him to the authorities.
When a mainland cop investigated Molly's disappearance and Helen's complaint, Ken sided with the distraught Johnny. Vindictively, Helen then blurted out that Ken and Sylvia were lovers. Sylvia, outraged at Helen's attempt to destroy the children, confronted her, while the unsympathetic Bart ordered Helen to leave the island immediately. Alone with Sylvia, Bart confessed the truth - for two decades, he had been painfully aware of her all-consuming love for Ken, yet he had remained enthralled by the facade she presented to the world as a devoted wife and mother. The marriage was doomed. Though he yearned to salvage it, she was resolute in her decision to end it.
Molly's whereabouts were soon uncovered, and in the aftermath of the divorces, Helen unleashed a vicious smear campaign against Ken and Sylvia, her venomous accusations echoing through scandalous headlines. The divorce settlements awarded the children to Helen Jorgenson and Bart Hunter, who promptly shipped them off to elite boarding schools, removing them from the wreckage of their family's downfall.
Pouring their hearts into intimate letters, they find solace in their forbidden correspondence. But their secret is cruelly exposed when the meddlesome Helen intercepts Johnny's missives, scornfully branding him the "son of a drunkard and a harlot." Outraged, Molly confronts Helen, accusing her of tarnishing the only light in her bleak existence. Strictly forbidden to meet, the young couple arranges a rendezvous at the local church during Christmas break. As they tenderly embrace, their stolen moment is betrayed by a prying friend, whose report to the ever-watchful Helen sets off a dramatic showdown. In a fit of rage, the furious matriarch slaps Molly, toppling the family's Christmas tree and driving an unforgivable wedge between mother and daughter.
The long-awaited marriage between Ken and Sylvia is a bitter disappointment, as their children refuse to attend the ceremony. Undeterred, Ken makes a desperate plea to Molly, visiting her at school and inviting her to their beachside home insisting they "need each other." Molly arrived for spring break, soon joined by Johnny. The young lovers, eager to escape the watchful eyes of their parents, told Ken and Sylvia they were going to a movie, but instead stole away to an oceanside lookout, where they surrendered to their passionate desires.
When the young couple returned near daybreak, the concerned parents wrestled with how to broach the subject of the dangers of love, without diminishing its beauty. The next morning, as Ken gently tried to caution Molly, she bristled at his meddling, unwilling to heed his words of wisdom.
Weeks later, Molly breaks the news to Johnny over the phone - she is pregnant. Abandoning his studies, Johnny frantically hitchhikes to be by her side, and they scrape together enough money for a hasty trip to Pine Island to ask Bart for permission to marry. Though Johnny naively hopes his hard-drinking, ulcer-ridden father will be "open-minded" enough to grant them permission, the old man's answer is a resounding no – saying they are simply too young to take on such a momentous responsibility.
Molly and Johnny, desperate to wed, plead with the justice of the peace to officiate their ceremony. But their youthful faces betray their tender ages, and the official coldly denies their request. Crushed by the weight of their ill-fated love, the star-crossed lovers desperately implore Ken and Sylvia to come to their aid. In a triumphant and emotional finale, the newly married couple at last return to the serene shores of Pine Island, ready to embark on their life together.
Directed by: Delmer Daves
Main Cast:
Sandra Dee
Troy Donahue
Richard Egan
Dorothy McGuire
Arthur Kennedy
Constance Ford
Release Date: Nov 28, 1959
Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Filming Location: Carmel, California, United States; Monterey, California, United States; Monterrey, California, United States; Pacific Grove, California, United States; Pebble Beach, California, United States
Screenplay Information: From the novel A Summer Place by Sloan Wilson (New York, 1958).
Interesting Facts (courtesy TCM):
In the film, Ken and Sylvia’s beachfront house was designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The house, which is known as the Clinton Walker House, still stands, and has become a tourist landmark outside Carmel, CA.
A February 1959 Hollywood Reporter news item reported that the role of Molly, which was played by Sandra Dee, was meant for Natalie Wood. According to a modern source, Wood later regretted turning down the part.
An April 1959 New York Times article reported that Sloan Wilson, the author of the book on which the film was based, wrote the first screenplay, incorporating the twenty-seven-year span covered in his novel, but Daves was not pleased with it and so wrote his own screenplay for the film.
The New York Times article also reported that a seventeen-mile-drive on the Monterey Peninsula was used to portray the Eastern seaboard.
In the April 1959 New York Times article, Daves was quoted as saying that the "two affairs [in the film] May sound sensational, but...we have received the approval of the Johnston Office because the intent of the picture is a moral one."
The film was a box office hit. An orchestral rendition of the love theme from Max Steiner's score, as recorded by Percy Faith and sung by The Letterman placed number one on popular music charts for many weeks and was awarded a Grammy for the 1960 Record of the Year. Since the film was released, the music has become iconic, often used briefly in films or television programs to signal love at first sight or young love. The music and scenes from the film have appeared in numerous later films, among them, Diner (1982) and Ocean's Eleven (2001).
The sweeping, nostalgic score of the “Theme from A Summer Place” never fails to transport me back to my own cherished summer sanctuary. With each note, I'm flooded by a profound sense of comfort and happiness. This timeless melody has become the very soundtrack to my most treasured summertime memories. Click below to be swept away by its timeless allure.
If you have an opportunity to either read the book or watch the film (or both), I would love to hear your thoughts.
Enjoy,
…Jill
The Forks Part…
Ah, those glorious carefree days of my youth! Summers were the best - I'd head up to the coastal paradise of Cape Elizabeth, Maine to visit my closest childhood buddy. And no trip was truly complete without a must-do pilgrimage to the legendary Lobster Shack at Two Lights. Those were the days! This award-winning landmark has been enchanting diners since the 1920s with its fresh, mouthwatering lobster and other seafood delights.
But the real draw, of course, is the Shack's unparalleled vistas of the lighthouse and endless ocean. I can't recall a single Maine summer that didn't include a visit to this iconic establishment. So as we settle in to watch the classic film A Summer Place, let's indulge in some quintessential New England lobster rolls, shall we?
New England Lobster Rolls
What You Need:
1 lb cooked lobster meat, cut into bits sized chunks (you can purchase lobster meat from the seafood deli in your grocery store)
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons green tops from a scallion, minced fine
Pinch of salt
a few grinds of freshly ground black pepper
4 split-top hot dog rolls
2 tablespoons melted butter
What To Do:
Place the cooked lobster meat in a large bowl
In a separate, smaller bowl combine the mayonnaise, lemon juice, celery, parsley, scallion, and salt and pepper. Mix and taste for seasoning and then add to the cooked lobster meat
Brush both sides of the rolls with butter and toast both sides in a medium fry pan over medium heat until nicely browned.
Divide the lobster salad between each roll. Place a bit of lettuce on the rolls under the lobster salad mix if desired.
Pair these lobster rolls with some crispy potato chips or golden fries, a refreshing creamy coleslaw, and don't forget to pour yourself a glass of your go-to white wine. This combo will have your taste buds doing a happy dance.
Enjoy!
Now I've got the theme song in my head. Oh well. :-)
Great piece, Jill! I love A Summer Place. It comes on TCM fairly regularly. I love Delmer Daves -- he reminds me of Douglas Sirk. Youngblood Hawke is one of my favourite guilty pleasure movies. I try to watch it at least once a year. I really enjoyed reading your take on the film, and this looks like another fabulous recipe!