A Summer Place

Released Oct 22, 1959

2h 10m

Drama

List

83%

Tomatometer

6 Reviews

70%

Audience Score

1,000+ Ratings

The big-screen adaptation of Sloan Wilson's popular novel follows wealthy Ken Jorgenson (Richard Egan) as he brings his wife (Constance Ford) and teenage daughter, Molly (Sandra Dee), to the Maine vacation spot where he worked as a middle-class youth. When Ken reunites with his former flame, the now-married Sylvia (Dorothy McGuire), it sparks a passionate tryst. Meanwhile, Sylvia's son, Johnny (Troy Donahue), and Molly begin a romance of their own, unaware of their parents' affair.

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Steve Crum

Video-Reviewmaster.com

The movie is so-so, BUT that great theme music!

Rated: 3/5

Jun 7, 2007

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

Overlong and overwrought...

Rated: 1.5/4

Mar 19, 2007

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Reflecting the sexual angsts and domestic anxieties of the 1950s, Delmer Daves' schmaltzy melodrama is known today for catapulting Troy Donahue and Sandra Dee to stardom and for Max Steiner's melodic tune, which became that year's most popular song.

Rated: B-

Jul 4, 2005

Full Review

James Sanford

Kalamazoo Gazette

Soap opera supreme, 1950s-style. "We've got to be good..."

Rated: 4/5

Jan 23, 2004

Full Review

Carol Cling

Las Vegas Review-Journal

Rated: 3/5

Jan 12, 2004

Full Review

Philip Martin

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Rated: 3/5

Jul 26, 2002

Full Review

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Lanfranco C

A great soundtrack, but the movie comes from an other time.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/07/24

Full Review

David S

For a movie made in 1959 it was very candid on subjects not spoken of at by this generation. Quite entertaining.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

09/03/23

Full Review

David K

This is one from the sly wit category. It comes across as a soap opera but the lines are actually funny. Take for instance Sandra Dee looking deeply into Troy Donahue's eyes and saying something like "Have you been bad with any girls since I last saw you?" Let's give Delmer Daves some credit here.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

05/04/23

Full Review

Douglas G

You don't need to watch the movie; just play the theme version on YOUTUBE with the scenes of Sandra Dee looking doe eyed at Jonny. Not the greatest actress who ever lived, but the visuals of her eyes and smiles are enough.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/25/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Peyton Place on an island! Maine on the California coast! Sandra Dee looks about 14 years old through the whole movie; she's so obviously Jail Bait that the movie almost qualifies as Kiddie Porn, especially a super-creepy scene where she lies next to Daddy. Gotta love the way her 'do looks the morning after she almost drowned in a boat capsizing, though! Troy Donahue's portrayal of Johnny, the teen hunk with a case of the blue balls, is riddled with "I'm tired of waiting" cliches. The kids profess love for each other but all they have going for them are good skin [no acne!] and well-off parents. Trite "Love Will Conquer All" ending; we all know it didn't go this easily for the average teen couple "in trouble" in 1959. The movie tries to be "daring" but it wimps out as there's no resolution.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I think of A Summer Place as a precursor of The Graduate. A Summer Place (1959) came out in the last years of the Production Code Administration and The Graduate (1967) was released in 1968, the first year of the Rating System. Even so Summer Place dealt with infidelity and teen pregnancy. Todd's mother (Silvia) and Molly's father (Ken) rekindle their love affair from decades ago when he was a life guard on Pine Island "the Summer Place". Back then Silvia's grandfather operated a hotel as a swank resort in contrast to the dilapidated place it has become. Ken and Silvia divorce their current partners. Todd gets Molly pregnant and they run and try unsuccessfully to get married. They are rejected for not being able to prove they are of age. They eventually go to Ken and Silvias' new home - designed by none other than Frank Lloyd Wright (who's home wasn't in 1950s America), where they are welcomed with open arms. In the last scene they land on Pine Island where they declare they have redeemed themselves in the eyes of society, their parents and God; Paradise is restored...I suspect a condition demanded by the Breen office for certification. Not until the Graduate could Ben have sex with Mrs. Robinson and her daughter Elaine. The ending is inglorious, Ben plucks Elaine from the altar and they flee to a bus where they sit in silence to "The Sounds of Silence", as the bus speeds away. A Summer place ended with closure while The Graduate posed a question; one for which Ben and Elaine had to find an answer. Nevertheless taken as a product of its time A Summer Place is in nice viewing

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

Full Review

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Delmer Daves

Director

Richard Egan

Ken Jorgenson

Dorothy McGuire

Sylvia Hunter

Sandra Dee

Molly Jorgenson

Arthur Kennedy

Bart Hunter

Troy Donahue

Johnny Hunter

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Synopsis

The big-screen adaptation of Sloan Wilson's popular novel follows wealthy Ken Jorgenson (Richard Egan) as he brings his wife (Constance Ford) and teenage daughter, Molly (Sandra Dee), to the Maine vacation spot where he worked as a middle-class youth. When Ken reunites with his former flame, the now-married Sylvia (Dorothy McGuire), it sparks a passionate tryst. Meanwhile, Sylvia's son, Johnny (Troy Donahue), and Molly begin a romance of their own, unaware of their parents' affair.

Director: Delmer Daves
Screenwriter: Delmer Daves
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Warner Brothers/Seven Arts
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 22, 1959, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2009
Runtime: 2h 10m

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