Summer and Smoke

1961 "In the heat of summer... the smoke of desire..."
Summer and Smoke
6.9| 1h58m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 16 November 1961 Released
Producted By: Paramount
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

In a small Mississippi town in 1916, an eccentric spinster battles her romantic yearnings for the randy boy next door.

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poetcomic1 When an actor like Geraldine Page or even an old timer like Una Merkel gets to sink their teeth into those inimitable, poetic, deliriously 'over the top' Tennessee Williams lines of dialogue one cannot help but share in their thrill. Gerry Page never 'moons' over her Buchanan boy - that is why she is so powerful here where so many other revivals of the play have failed. Rather than having Alma acting like a 'love-struck teenager', Page plays Alma as fiercely engagé with Buchanan in an adult and complex way. Few people mention the cruelly ironic aspect of the ending in that the now 'respectable' bourgeois Dr. Buchanan is Alma's 'drug dealer'. "You'll be surprised how infinitely merciful these pills are. The prescription number is 96814. I think of it as the telephone number of God!"
bkoganbing As compared to other Tennessee Williams works like The Glass Menagerie and Streetcar Named Desire, Summer And Smoke is distinctly second rate. But second rate Tennessee Williams is better than a lot of first rate work from most and a really good cast puts this one over.A cast dominated by Geraldine Page who plays a woman who is carrying a Statue of Liberty torch since childhood for the kid next door who grew up to be Lawrence Harvey. At first glance these two seemed ideally suited for each other, her the daughter of minister Malcolm Atterbury, him the son of town doctor John McIntire. But both have some issues, her's the kind that Tennessee Williams is known for being frank about in his work, him an inability to settle down. As the film opens Harvey has returned to their southern town after medical school a newly minted doctor. But he's got enough seeds for a field of wild oats and he just wants to have a good old time. Page won't give him that.But when you've got a raging libido like Harvey has, the only kind of girl you want to quench it is Rita Moreno. 1961 was Rita's year to be naughty, she won her Oscar playing gang girl Anita in West Side Story. Had that film not been out, more attention might have been paid to what she did in Summer And Smoke.As Page is frigid and won't give up a little to land Harvey she resorts to a bit of trickery to break up Harvey and Moreno which ends in tragedy for one of the cast. Ironically both Harvey and Page modify their behaviors, but there's too much that now makes them incompatible. In fact Page at the end is showing hints of becoming a lot like Tennessee Williams's other great character Blanche Dubois.Four Oscar nominations went out to Paramount for Summer And Smoke, Best Actress for Geraldine Page, Best Supporting Actress for Una Merkel, Best Art&Set Decoration and Best Musical Score. Sadly it did not bring home a statue and poor Una Merkel her portrayal of Page's kleptomaniac mother lost to Rita Moreno for West Side Story.Summer And Smoke is a base hit for Tennessee Williams, but not a home run. Still devotees of the man and others should enjoy this film.
wes-connors Tennessee Williams' tale of sexual repression in a small Mississippi town makes it to the big screen, with enough, but not all, of its integrity intact; most notably, it glistens when it should sweat. Geraldine Page (as Alma Winemiller) is excellent as the minister's daughter who guiltily longs for rakish playboy Laurence Harvey (as John Buchanan Jr.).Ms. Page's characterization is one that unravels; its full impact realized is in a devastating last act. Mr. Harvey does well, successfully conveying the near-equal importance of his character. Page gives Harvey spiritual love, and he wants her physically; their reversal of desire is very convincingly, and thoughtfully, portrayed. Excellent supporting performances are highlighted by crazed Una Merkel (as Mother Winemiller) and lonely Earl Holliman (as Archie Kramer).If the film seems a little too staged, remember, it is Tennessee Williams; a staged atmosphere is pardonable when your fluttering heroine speaks lines like, "The wind is penetrating this afternoon." (A decade earlier, Page played the role on stage.) Elmer Bernstein's soundtrack is lovely. Music, performance, and dialogue give "Summer and Smoke" an appropriately sexually-charged atmosphere.Toss thoughts of blasphemy to the wind, and turn OFF the color (if you can), to watch "Summer and Smoke" in mood-altering grayish tones. ******** Summer and Smoke (11/16/61) Peter Glenville ~ Geraldine Page, Laurence Harvey, Una Merkel
blanche-2 "Summer and Smoke" is another Tennessee Williams southern drama that, after debuting as a play, was made into a film and later an opera. Set earlier in the 20th Century, it's the story of repressed passion, unrequited love and desperation. Geraldine Page stars as Alma Winemiller, the uptight daughter of a minister. She teaches voice, sings a little, and lives with her father and an insane mother (Una Merkel). Alma, since childhood, has been in love with the young doctor next door, John Buchanan (Laurence Harvey), the son of a doctor and a playboy. Buchanan has recently returned to town and is still a reckless playboy. Now he's involved with Rosa Zacharias (Rita Moreno), a girl from the wrong class and the wrong side of town. On the evening that something could have happened between Alma and John, she runs from him. One night, while a wild party is going on at the Buchanan house, Alma goes next door and learns that Rosa and John are going to be married. Upset, she calls John's father (John MacIntyre) at the hospital and urges him to return home. The result is tragedy.This is a very powerful and poignant story of two people, one interested in earthly pleasures and one focused on the soul and spirit. Neither one is entirely right or wrong, but it creates a chasm between them. When each realizes what the other has been saying, it's too late for them.Geraldine Page, who played this role to great acclaim on stage, brings her magnificent portrayal to the screen. The role was based on Williams' sister, who eventually went insane. If physically Page is a little less delicate looking than one imagines Tennessee Williams' female characters, her portrayal contains all of the fragility of the role. The final scene between Alma and a salesman, played by Earl Holliman shows the shocking contrast between Alma in the beginning and at the end of the film. Geraldine Page gave us all too few gems on films, as she concentrated on the stage. We have to savor what we have.Laurence Harvey is very handsome and desirable, but probably a little too refined for the role of John. The role needs someone whose sexuality is less ethereal and more earthbound. Una Merkel is excellent as Alma's mother, a truly disturbed and frightening woman.Very good film based on a Williams play, worth seeing for the wonderful Geraldine Page and its thought-provoking story.