Summertime (1955 film)

Summertime
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDavid Lean
Screenplay byDavid Lean
H. E. Bates
Based onThe Time of the Cuckoo
by Arthur Laurents
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyJack Hildyard
Edited byPeter Taylor
Music byAlessandro Cicognini
Production
company
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release dates
  • May 29, 1955 (1955-05-29) (Venice)
  • June 21, 1955 (1955-06-21) (New York City)
  • November 7, 1955 (1955-11-07) (United Kingdom)
Running time
100 minutes
Countries
  • United States
  • United Kingdom
  • Italy
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.1 million[1]
Box office$4-5 million (global gross) (estimate)[1]

Summertime is a 1955 romantic comedy drama film directed by David Lean, and starring Katharine Hepburn, Rossano Brazzi, Darren McGavin, and Isa Miranda. It follows a lonely middle-aged American secretary and her experiences touring Venice alone for the first time, during which she falls in love with an Italian antiques dealer. Lean co-wrote the screenplay with H. E. Bates, based on the play The Time of the Cuckoo by Arthur Laurents.

The film was shot on location in Venice in 1954 on Eastmancolor negative film with processing and prints by Technicolor.[2][3] A co-production between the United States, United Kingdom, and Italy, Summertime was released theatrically by United Artists in the U.S. on June 21, 1955, and premiered in the United Kingdom later that Autumn under the alternative title Summer Madness.

  1. ^ a b "Inside Stuff - Pictures". Variety. 11 January 1956. p. 15.
  2. ^ Limbacher, James L (1978). Four Aspects of the Film. New York: Arno Press. p. 295. ISBN 0405111258. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  3. ^ "What's in a Name? Eastmancolor, Eastman Colour and Colour Brand Identity". The Eastmancolor Revolution and British Cinema, 1955-85. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2024.