Summertime

"All the pent-up yearning of her life was finally fulfilled ... amid the splendor of the world's most fabulous city!"

1955 1h 40m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

★6.7TMDB · 175

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“All the pent-up yearning of her life was finally fulfilled ... amid the splendor of the world's most fabulous city!”

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Cast

Katharine Hepburn
Jane Hudson
Rossano Brazzi
Renato de Rossi
Isa Miranda
Signora Fiorini
Darren McGavin
Eddie Yaeger
Mari Aldon
Phyl Yaeger
Jane Rose
Edith McIlhenny
MacDonald Parke
Lloyd McIlhenny
Jeremy Spenser
Vito de Rossi

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: David Lean
Writers: David Lean, H. E. Bates
Languages: English, Italian
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.1M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 5.9× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

71 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Italian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by David Lean, shot by Jack Hildyard. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Alessandro Cicognini. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Peter Taylor shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

David Lean directs. Jack Hildyard behind the camera. Alessandro Cicognini scores. Peter Taylor cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English, Italian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.1M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Made its money back 5.9× over at the box office.
371 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Italian.
5International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
6Directed by David Lean, shot by Jack Hildyard. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Alessandro Cicognini. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Peter Taylor shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Katharine Hepburn and Rossano Brazzi and Isa Miranda carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "All the pent-up yearning of her life was finally fulfilled ... amid the splendor of the world's most fabulous city!".
11IMDB entry: tt0048673 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 17 themes, including "venice, italy", "gondola", "longing", "sightseeing".

The technical file

Cinematography: Jack Hildyard
Original score: Alessandro Cicognini
Editing: Peter Taylor
Production design: Vincent Korda
Costume design: Rosi Gori
Makeup / hair: Grazia De Rossi
Runtime: 100 min · 1h 40m
Status: Released
Budget: $1,100,000
Box office: $6,500,000
Return: 591% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Summertime (1955)

Awards

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

David Lean

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-04-02
★ 7/10
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.

Production companies