Favorite films that take place in the summer

[Toto]

I'd love to hear your favorite picks for films that take place during summer.  Summer is a time of year when many of us take a break from work or school and try new experiences.  Her are 3 of my favorite films that take place during summer.

1.  Summertime (1955) starring Katherine Hepburn and Rossano Brazzi and directed by David Lean.  Katherine Hepburn plays a middle-aged secretary who has almost given up on love but before she does, she decides to take a vacation over the summer to romantic Venice, Italy.  I love Hepburn's poignant acting performance in this film.

2.  Stand By Me (1986) directed by Rob Reiner based on a story by Stephen King about a group of Oregon boys who decide to go searching for the body of a stranger accidentally killed near where they live.  This story involves the emotions and social dynamics of a group of boys nearing the beginning of adulthood embarking on an adventure together.

3.  Jaws (1975) directed by Stephen Speilberg.  This is a scary story about a menacing great white shark.  Scenes from Jaws that really bring summer to mind are the hoards of people crowding onto the beaches and on ferries during 4th of July weekend and the opening scene of teens having a party on the beach.  After this film was released in 75, it seemed very unlikely that great white sharks (or other rare dangerous species of sharks) would actually come to the shores of the US but strangely enough, there are so many more sharks off our shores now.

[Aritosthenes]

1 hour ago, Toto said:

I'd love to hear your favorite picks for films that take place during summer.  Summer is a time of year when many of us take a break from work or school and try new experiences.  Her are 3 of my favorite films that take place during summer.

1.  Summertime (1955) starring Katherine Hepburn and Rossano Brazzi and directed by David Lean.  Katherine Hepburn plays a middle-aged secretary who has almost given up on love but before she does, she decides to take a vacation over the summer to romantic Venice, Italy.  I love Hepburn's poignant acting performance in this film.

2.  Stand By Me (1986) directed by Rob Reiner based on a story by Stephen King about a group of Oregon boys who decide to go searching for the body of a stranger accidentally killed near where they live.  This story involves the emotions and social dynamics of a group of boys nearing the beginning of adulthood embarking on an adventure together.

3.  Jaws (1975) directed by Stephen Speilberg.  This is a scary story about a menacing great white shark.  Scenes from Jaws that really bring summer to mind are the hoards of people crowding onto the beaches and on ferries during 4th of July weekend and the opening scene of teens having a party on the beach.  After this film was released in 75, it seemed very unlikely that great white sharks (or other rare dangerous species of sharks) would actually come to the shores of the US but strangely enough, there are so many more sharks off our shores now.

American Honey is EXQUISITE imo,.

     Its a Very Summery Film.

 

Take Me Out to the Ballgame and the Music Man,. Are Also Tops imo.

 

 

 

 

Adore is Quite Immpreasive As Well.

_

*You "Should" Go Thru the Seasons with this thread.lol

🥂

[speedracer5]

Gidget.  Gidget is one of my all-time favorite movies.  I've seen this movie dozens of times and it's still fun to watch each and every time.  Sandra Dee and James Darren are adorable.  Darren and Cliff Robertson are smokin' hot.  This film has hot guys, the beach, surfing, what more could I want from a film?

A Summer Place.  This film is amazing and has everything I want from a good melodrama, plus it has memorable theme music.  I knew the music long before I'd seen the film for which it was written.

I love Picnic.  It takes place on Labor Day, which is typically considered the unofficial end of summer (even though summer technically ends later in the month).  Picnic is just so much fun with the love triangle, the drama, the romance, I just love it.

The Parent Trap.  Hayley Mills and Hayley Mills meet at a summer camp run by Miss Inch and Jane Hathaway.  They discover they're actually twins, separated at birth and decide to switch places.  I love this movie.  I've seen it dozens of times and I never tire of it.  Hayley Mills is my favorite of the Disney child stars.

Summer Stock.  Despite having one of the worst musical numbers of all time ("Heavenly Music"), it also features one of the best, most iconic musical numbers of all time ("Get Happy").  Judy Garland and Gene Kelly are a lot of fun together, even if the plot of this film is nothing special.  This film is driven by the sheer star power of Garland and Kelly.  Plus, I like that the action of this film starts on my birthday, as evidenced by the calendar at the beginning of the film!

I also love the aforementioned Summertime.  I love genuine romantic films that play out realistically and don't include the typical contrived plot points that plague many other romantic films (see Hallmark's drivel).  

The summer season provides such a great setting for film.  I don't know if it's the heat and the lazy, sweltering atmosphere that it provides, or what it is about the summer.  The summer is often the setting for one of my favorite subgenres, the 50s-60s teen beach movie.  But despite not having listed any above, I think the summer also provides a great backdrop for film noir.

[Det Jim McLeod]

I agree with Jaws (1975)

Detective Story (1951) set on a sweltering summer day in a NYC police station

Summer Of 42 (1971) one of the greatest coming of age stories on island off the coast of New England, beautiful music score

[Aritosthenes]

Might be Cheating a Bit with thisone, but ,Ice Cold In Alex, is Also Not tobe Missed.. in my opinion.

[Sepiatone]

So far I can only add MR. HOBBS TAKES A VACATION ('62)  

I'll add more maybe if more come to mind.   

Sepiatone

[filmnoirguy]

1951's A Place in the Sun with Angela Vickers (Liz Taylor) and George Eastman (Montgomery Clift) swimming, water skiing, sailing at her parents' summer home at Loon Lake while Eastman's pregnant girlfriend Alice Tripp (Shelley Winters) is baking in the sweltering heat of the city.

1954's Rear Window with photographer  L. B. Jefferies (James Stewart) confined to his wheelchair with a broken leg during the dog days of summer while spying on his neighbors across the courtyard with his telephoto lens and binoculars, becoming convinced that a man may have murdered his wife.

[txfilmfan]

On Golden Pond takes place over a summer.

[hamradio]

"Night of The Iguana" (1964)

 

"Frogs" (1972)

 

"The Long Hot Summer" (1958) duh, global warming is a b_tch isn't it?

 

"Smokey and The Bandit" (1977) was shot during the 1976  Bicentennial, can see the Happy Birthday America banner on the Waynes Coors warehouse..

[Toto]

2 hours ago, filmnoirguy said:

1951's A Place in the Sun with Angela Vickers (Liz Taylor) and George Eastman (Montgomery Clift) swimming, water skiing, sailing at her parents' summer home at Loon Lake while Eastman's pregnant girlfriend Alice Tripp (Shelley Winters) is baking in the sweltering heat of the city.

1954's Rear Window with photographer  L. B. Jefferies (James Stewart) confined to his wheelchair with a broken leg during the dog days of summer while spying on his neighbors across the courtyard with his telephoto lens and binoculars, becoming convinced that a man may have murdered his wife.

A Place in the Sun and Rear Window are two amazing movies that really make you feel the heat of summer.  Think I'll rewatch!  Thanks.  Montgomery Clift does a masterful job playing the "outsider" pursuing wealth and happiness in an unwelcoming environment who ends up making really bad choices.  He plays the part as a victim/warped character.  I'm a great admirer of Clift and look for him in movies.  Not to mention, Liz Taylor is a knockout in this movie.  Rear Window is one of Hitchcock's best and summer heat really influences the actions/mood of the characters.

[pierce]

A Place in the Sun is Elizabeth Taylor's best stake to the title of Most Beautiful Classic Hollywood Actress.  Liz was 17 (!) at the time.  (The movie was shot in the 4th quarter of 1949).

 

Rear Window is one of Grace Kelly's principal stakes to the same title.

 

Excellent choices FilmNoirGuy.

[hamradio]

Here's an old favorite song about summer.

 

[Aritosthenes]

Couple Other Summer Favourites; that Occurred to me earlier..

_

Friendly Persuasion 

Gods Little Acre

Revenge

[JakeHolman]

 

 

 

[Aritosthenes]

Get theGringo.

Blood Father,.

2Guns

[Herman Bricks]

While pondering how about a great song about summer...

 

[Swithin]

An Eric Rohmer masterpiece and one of my favorite films:

A Summer's Tale (1996)

From a review: "An engaging piece of observational cinema, this film is a pleasure to listen to, as the young people talk passionately about what’s important in their lives as they dance around their potential involvement with each other.

It may seem like nothing much is happening on-screen, but by the time “A Summer’s Tale” is all over, it feels like everything important has been said and done. Welcome to the magic of Rohmer..."

 

 

[Moe Howard]

On 6/5/2021 at 9:18 AM, speedracer5 said:

love Picnic.  It takes place on Labor Day, which is typically considered the unofficial end of summer (even though summer technically ends later in the month).  Picnic is just so much fun with the love triangle, the drama, the romance, I just love it.

First thing I thought of. Picnic is one of my earliest memories of a whole movie. The scenes with Novak and Holden and particularly the dance scene. 

[Toto]

22 hours ago, JakeHolman said:

 

 

 

Thanks for bringing my attention to "The Long Hot Summer".  I just watched it on TCM.  Newman is a standout as the crafty Ben Quick and I loved Joanne Woodward as the reluctant love interest of Quick with a quiet strength.  It was mentioned in the commentary after the film that the director Martin Witt (I think?) had difficulties dealing with Orson Welles who was use to running the show and sometimes delivered his lines in a way that made them inaudible.  Despite these problems, Welles is quite a presence in this film.  I read that the sweet ending is not the way Faulkner (author of the story) intended but I liked it.

[Dargo]

Gotta say I'm more than a little surprised that certain regular contributor around here hasn't as yet mentioned a certain movie starring Shirley Booth in this thing?!

(...probably just hasn't spotted it yet, huh)

[ElCid]

For me, The Long Hot Summer is the only summer movie.  The rest just happen to take place in the summer.  Re-watch it frequently and I can identify with Summer in The South before AC.

[filmnoirguy]

13 hours ago, Toto said:

Thanks for bringing my attention to "The Long Hot Summer".  I just watched it on TCM.  Newman is a standout as the crafty Ben Quick and I loved Joanne Woodward as the reluctant love interest of Quick with a quiet strength.  It was mentioned in the commentary after the film that the director Martin Witt (I think?) had difficulties dealing with Orson Welles who was use to running the show and sometimes delivered his lines in a way that made them inaudible.  Despite these problems, Welles is quite a presence in this film.  I read that the sweet ending is not the way Faulkner (author of the story) intended but I liked it.

Martin Ritt directed.  One of my favorites, he also directed Paul Newman in 1963's Hud.

[Hibi]

46 minutes ago, Dargo said:

Gotta say I'm more than a little surprised that certain regular contributor around here hasn't as yet mentioned a certain movie starring Shirley Booth in this thing?!

(...probably just hasn't spotted it yet, huh)

Let sleeping dogs lie..........

[filmnoirguy]

On 6/5/2021 at 11:18 AM, speedracer5 said:

Gidget.  Gidget is one of my all-time favorite movies.  I've seen this movie dozens of times and it's still fun to watch each and every time.  Sandra Dee and James Darren are adorable.  Darren and Cliff Robertson are smokin' hot.  This film has hot guys, the beach, surfing, what more could I want from a film?

A Summer Place.  This film is amazing and has everything I want from a good melodrama, plus it has memorable theme music.  I knew the music long before I'd seen the film for which it was written.

I love Picnic.  It takes place on Labor Day, which is typically considered the unofficial end of summer (even though summer technically ends later in the month).  Picnic is just so much fun with the love triangle, the drama, the romance, I just love it.

The Parent Trap.  Hayley Mills and Hayley Mills meet at a summer camp run by Miss Inch and Jane Hathaway.  They discover they're actually twins, separated at birth and decide to switch places.  I love this movie.  I've seen it dozens of times and I never tire of it.  Hayley Mills is my favorite of the Disney child stars.

Summer Stock.  Despite having one of the worst musical numbers of all time ("Heavenly Music"), it also features one of the best, most iconic musical numbers of all time ("Get Happy").  Judy Garland and Gene Kelly are a lot of fun together, even if the plot of this film is nothing special.  This film is driven by the sheer star power of Garland and Kelly.  Plus, I like that the action of this film starts on my birthday, as evidenced by the calendar at the beginning of the film!

I also love the aforementioned Summertime.  I love genuine romantic films that play out realistically and don't include the typical contrived plot points that plague many other romantic films (see Hallmark's drivel).  

The summer season provides such a great setting for film.  I don't know if it's the heat and the lazy, sweltering atmosphere that it provides, or what it is about the summer.  The summer is often the setting for one of my favorite subgenres, the 50s-60s teen beach movie.  But despite not having listed any above, I think the summer also provides a great backdrop for film noir.

Ever notice how slender and elegant Garland is in the Get Happy number?  As an afterthought when the movie was finished, the producer and director decided Summer Stock needed one more big production number.  So a couple of months later, Garland was called back to film Get Happy.  In the meantime, unhappy with her "chubby" (her word, not mine) appearance in the film, she had gone on a crash diet.   Of all her movies, many film historians consider this to be Garland's best musical number.

Garland was suppose to join Kelly and Phil Silvers for Heavenly Music.  The two guys were in makeup and costume and the crew was prepped to shoot when they got word that Judy had called in sick.  Rather than sitting around and wasting the day, Kelly and director Charles Walters decided to film it without her (much to her chagrin).  There is a scene backstage when all three are in their costumes.  All of the dramatic scenes were filmed first, then the musical numbers were filmed later.  Hence Judy appears backstage in costume for a number she never filmed! 

[EricJ]

Stand By Me (1985) was summer, wasn't it?