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Summertime

161 votes

Middle-aged Ohio secretary Jane Hudson has never found love and has nearly resigned herself to spending the rest of her life alone. But before she does, she uses her savings to finance a summer in romantic Venice, where she finally meets the man of her dreams, the elegant Renato Di Rossi.

Status: Released

Released Date: 1955-06-21

Runtime: 100 mins

Director: David Lean

Spoken language: English, Italiano

Genres: Drama, Romance

Original title: Summertime

Production Companies: London Films Productions, Lopert Pictures Corporation

Production Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Cast

Katharine Hepburn

Rossano Brazzi

Isa Miranda

Darren McGavin

Mari Aldon

Jane Rose

MacDonald Parke

Jeremy Spenser

Gaetano Autiero

Virginia Simeon

Englishman in Train Compartment (uncredited)

André Morell

Teenage Girl

Tanya Lopert

Reviews

Geronimo1967

This is a fine double header featuring an on form Katharine Hepburn and the charming and addictive Rossano Brazzi. The former is "Jane", a middle-aged American lady who is holidaying in Venice when she encounters the latter - "Renato" - a slightly roguish but intriguing antiques dealer who gradually sets his sights on her. "Jane" is a bit of the archetypal spinster. She has always lived her life alone and feels she has few skills to deal with the attentions of her new beau. That said, she is also appreciative that Venice, and all it's beauty, needs to be shared - and "Renato" might just be the man to help her evolve as a woman. Quickly, we learn, though, that "Renato" has quite a big secret that will undoubtedly affect their relationship! Hepburn is perfect for the role - she manages to demonstrate a curiosity and a willingness to develop as a person whilst also appearing vulnerable and almost as fragile as the Murano glass she frequently admires. Brazzi has the charm and sophistication ok, but he also has an humanity and charisma to him that makes this an easy to watch love story that is enjoyably devoid of sentiment, and that - though complicated - never comes across as manipulative or sleazy. Jack Hildyard and David Lean make great use of their stars and of their venue to create a stylish and classy feature that, coupled with an original and well complementing score from Alessandro Cicognini create a story that works really quite well. I'm not so sure the title helps it much, it's a little on the flat side, but the film is a stunning to watch outing for two people who just click from the start.

2023-04-02

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