When I first saw this film back in the day, I thought it was a proper movie - it seemed bigger, bolder and more beautiful than real life; and it had tidier outcomes.Set in on island off the coast of Maine, Molly Jorgenson (Sandra Dee), the daughter of Ken Jorgenson (Richard Egan), falls for Johnny Hunter (Troy Donahue), the son of Sylvia Hunter (Dorothy Maguire), reflecting the teenage love affair their parents had before marrying different people.As feelings between Molly and Johnny grow, Ken and Sylvia rekindle their romance. But the path to true love is rockier than the rugged coast of the island. Social position, the disillusionment of the children over their parent's affair and pressure from all directions leads to confrontation and rash decisions.Director Delmer Daves was never considered in the same league as Huston, Ford or Wyler, but he made some movies I like - "Demetrius and The Gladiators" is still high on my list of guilty pleasures. Here, he entered Douglas Sirk territory and came up with a movie that gives "Imitation of Life" a run for its money.Seeing it recently, I was surprised at the grittiness of the script. When Bart Hunter (Arthur Kennedy) asks Helen Jorgenson (Constance Ford) if she likes to swim in the nude, you know this film must have tested the old Hollywood Production Code. Sex is high on the agenda, much of it centred on whether Molly and Johnny are doing it.The cast is full of beautiful people in a beautiful landscape. Everyone seems right. Sandra Dee and Troy Donahue are a blonde Romeo and Juliet, and experience a range of emotions that may have even blunted the Bard's quill.Dorothy McGuire and Richard Egan are the embodiment of grown-ups.Dorothy McGuire often played mothers where she had to deal with teenage angst, and the angst is off the Richter scale in this movie. Richard Egan was a powerful screen presence. One of his best scenes is in "A Summer Place" when his character tries to reconcile with his daughter.Max Steiner gave the film a memorable score. The theme he came up with was played to death over the years, but it was a fresh surprise when it first appeared - it still sounds great.All the principals are long gone now. The film represented personal and social attitudes that were changing fast in the late 50's. It's a movie of its time and place, but its heartfelt performances and sheer quality still reach out and grab you.

I just watched an old Perry Mason ans was pleasantly surprised to see Constance Ford. So, I looked her up and thought I'd see the reviews for A Summer Place.I was in the 8th grade when it first played. Looking back, those teen angst movies with sex as the conflict were laughable back then. Even as an 8th grader, they seemed conservative compared to what us kids talked about at the time which was much racier.There were movies like Susan Slade, Parrish, etc. that are cringe inducing but so entertaining for their dated takes on young love and young sex.Now, Constance Ford is irresistible; a poor man's Joan Crawford during her Queen Bee and Harriet Craig years. She could be so scary just by giving a look of disdain. I wish I could have met her to see what she was really like because she had that tough, intolerant schtick down and half the time seemed like she was having hot flashes to boot. Even in black and white, it looked like her face would get flushed when she was losing her temper. But, she could steal a scene so effortlessly even if she didn't say a word.I don't know what movie or TV show I saw Ford in where she was in a vicious argument with another woman or young girl where she took a fireplace poker and swung it and stuck it in the mantel. She was good. Scarier than Dirty Harry.Poor Troy Donahue couldn't act to save his life. He was a male bimbo. I had a crush on Sandra Dee even though she could be really annoying at times but she had her good moments.Dorothy McGuire was quite a beauty and a good actress but low key and not showy.All in all, a fun and entertaining movie with a window to a different time is some of our lives. I know it was a drama but, really, it still has me grinning throughout. And, that's good.I checked spoiler just in case Ford swinging a fireplace poker was from this movie. I can't recall for sure. She probably could have done that in many of her films with the characters she played.

The things I've heard about this movie made me expect so much more than I got. I was expect a soap obviously, but a good one. Something along the lines of Written On The Wind or Peyton Place. Now that was pure drama as well as fabulous acting. I didn't get it with A Summer Place. The story somewhat plodded on and I fast-forwarded a couple times. The performances were OK. No one was a standout. Neither of the "teens" was believable as that age group. Sandra Dee looked more like a teen in Imitation of Life. I didn't find that any of the characters had any particular chemistry with each other. When there's a forbidden romance in a story, it usually helps if the audience feels like the characters would die w/o each other. With the two adults, they kept saying it, but I never believed it. As a personal thing, I always have a problem rooting for adulterers. The parents (the scandalous pair) seemed to come out of this rather unscathed. Meanwhile, the other set likely drank himself to death and the other ended up alone. Based on the description I read, I was expecting their actions to have consequences, but I guess that wasn't the point of the story.Another thing that had me curious was that they never really dealt with the fact that the "teens" were now step-siblings. I don't know if it was b/c of time constraints or the time period, but it seems like that was worth a mention?I wish I could recommend this film, but I can't unless you have time to kill. I had been waiting to see it for a long time. Utterly disappointing.

I have always stopped and listened to the music theme of this movie whether it be in an elevator, grocery store or radio.....I see a beautiful woman walking on a beach when I hear it....Just saw the movie last night for the first time. SWEET HAY-soos....what a morality tale!.....there was never an answer given as to what the right thing was to do for the 2 sets of lovers in this story....and that is as it should be.....no answers....no comfort.....when pheromones strike...when the groin takes the heart with it.....Strangely discomforting and sad movie....way ahead of it's time. Richard Egan and Arthur Kennedy did good work as the men, Richard Egan was surprisingly convincing as a real man with a romantic heart....a man well aware that humans must have been an evolutionary mistake...the loins of animals, and the high moral brains of whatever space aliens came down and decided to play pool with the DNA of Earth.Sandra Dee should have been Natalie Wood....nuff said......Dorothy McGuire is the 50s equivalent of heartbreaking beauty.....hell, I was in love with her by the end of the movie.....Troy Donahue did well...I'll always wonder if he was gay...but his acting chops were good in this film.The saddest thing about this movie is how serious unwed sex, adultery and illegitimate babies were taken in the 50s, and how accepted and laughably commonplace they are today. I mark the beginning of the end of the USA as the Woodstock music festival.