Other Titles • Summer of '42 • Frühling einen Sommer lang (1971)
Synopses for Summer of '42 (1971)
1.
Herman Raucher's autobiographical (or first person, anyway) coming-of-age tale is set, as the title suggests, among sand dunes and departing GIs. Hermie (Gary Grimes) and his two buddies Oscar (Jerry Hauser) and the nerdy Benjie (Oliver Conant) are spending the summer doing the things preadolescents do: hanging out, eating ice cream, stealing "dirty" books from their parents, and trying unsuccessfully to act manly around the gawky girls they take to the movies. Then Hermie spoils everything by really falling in love, this time with the adorable older woman Dorothy, played by Jennifer O'Neill. Dorothy's husband conveniently leaves for duty overseas, and then, even more conveniently, becomes one of those "we regret" telegrams. Dorothy, desperate for comfort and sweetness, turns to Hermie--and surely makes his summer. The setting and the date give this movie a double helping of nostalgia for anyone who was once an adolescent boy desperately trying to get rid of both his callowness and his virginity. But the slow pace and dreamy atmosphere, courtesy of Robert Mulligan's direction and Michael Legrand's famous score, may give it less appeal to anyone who is still in that situation. --Richard Farr
(1 vote)
2.
Gently nostalgic, Robert Mulligan's tender and insightful look at three teenage boys' approach to the mysteries of love and sex takes place on the coast of New England during World War II. While his two friends devote their time to investigating the process of getting laid, Hermie finds himself falling in love with the young wife of a U.S. serviceman away at the war. Stumbling over their misconceptions, fears, and ignorance, the boys fumble their way toward adulthood during their last summer of youth and innocence. Noted for his skill with young actors, Robert Mulligan (TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD) draws out the insecurities of growing up from his cast and will touch viewers reminiscing about their own coming of age.
3.
This enduring classic of teenager Gary Grimes falling under the spell of older woman Jennifer O'Neill, whose husband is away at war, features a pitch-perfect mood of nostalgia and a haunting score.
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