Summer and Smoke (film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Meade Roberts
by Tennessee Williams
Hal B. Wallis
| Summer and Smoke | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Peter Glenville |
| Screenplay by | James Poe Meade Roberts |
| Based on | Summer and Smoke by Tennessee Williams |
| Produced by | Paul Nathan Hal B. Wallis |
| Starring | Laurence Harvey Geraldine Page Pamela Tiffin Rita Moreno Una Merkel John McIntire Thomas Gomez Earl Holliman |
| Cinematography | Charles Lang |
| Edited by | Warren Low |
| Music by | Elmer Bernstein |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 118 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Summer and Smoke is a 1961 American drama film directed by Peter Glenville, and starring Laurence Harvey and Geraldine Page, with Rita Moreno, Una Merkel, John McIntire, Thomas Gomez, Pamela Tiffin, Malcolm Atterbury, Lee Patrick, and Earl Holliman. Based on the Tennessee Williams play of the same name, it was adapted by James Poe and Meade Roberts.
- Laurence Harvey as John Buchanan Jr.
- Geraldine Page as Alma Winemiller
- Rita Moreno as Rosa Zacharias
- Una Merkel as Mrs. Winemiller
- John McIntire as Dr. Buchanan
- Thomas Gomez as Papa Zacharias
- Pamela Tiffin as Nellie Ewell
- Malcolm Atterbury as Rev. Winemiller
- Lee Patrick as Mrs. Ewell
- Max Showalter as Roger Doremus (as Casey Adams)
- Earl Holliman as Archie Kramer
- Pepe Hern as Nico
Production
The play had debuted in 1948 but not been a success. Nonetheless, Hal Wallis bought the film rights in 1952 for $100,000 (equivalent to $1.21 million in 2025)[1] following the success of the movie of A Streetcar Named Desire (1951). Later in 1952, the play was successfully revived off Broadway starring Geraldine Page.
Hal Wallis originally offered the film lead to Audrey Hepburn but she turned the role down, not wanting to play a dowdy spinster. Walllis' wife Martha Hyer claimed Wallis offered the lead part to Katharine Hepburn who demanded too much money.[2] The role was given to Geraldine Page, who made her big screen comeback eight years after her Academy Award-nominated performance in Hondo.[3] Wallis wrote "Gerry was a dream. She had just the detached, virginal quality the part called for."[4] Page also appeared in another Williams adaptation filmed around this time, Sweet Bird of Youth. The cost of this and Summer and Smoke was estimated to be $4 million (equivalent to $43.1 million in 2025)[1] in total.[5]
The male lead was Laurence Harvey who was cast on the strength of his work in the film Room at the Top (1958). Wallis wrote "although he lacked the power and virility of Gerry's husband, Rip Torn, who probably would have been better in the role, he was a bigger name at the time."[4]
The film marked the debut of model Pamela Tiffin. Her role had originally been intended for Dolores Hart. Hart recalled that she coveted the role, writing "Wallis thought I was too young for the role—which I took to mean not sexy enough—but agreed to let me do a test for the director, Peter Glenville... I wanted to prove I could do something for Mr. Wallis besides Presley girls. Mr. Wallis liked the test. But Mr. Glenville thought I was too old—which I took to mean not sexy enough. Pamela Tiffin was very good in the part."[6]
Before filming began, there was a week of rehearsals. The film was shot in the afternoons and at night, entirely on soundstages at the Paramount lot. To allow the cast to concentrate on their roles and avoid distractions, the producers closed the set to all visitors. [3]
Reception
The film premiered at the 22nd Venice Film Festival. Variety called it "beautifully acted and distinguished."[7] Page was expected to win Best Actress at the Festival but the award went to Suzanne Flon for Thou Shalt Not Kill which resulted in the crowd booing.[8]
While Geraldine Page received nearly universal acclaim for her performance, Laurence Harvey was thought by some contemporary reviewers as having been miscast as John Buchanan Jr.[9]
The film did not make the Variety list of top-grossing films for 1961 or 1962.[10] Filmink argued this was in part because "director Peter Grenville produced an utterly sexless version... Sex needs to be at the heart of Summer and Smoke and Peter Grenville doesn’t put any in there."[11]