Summer of '42 (1971)

★ 6.7 1h 43m IMDb

Comedy Drama Romance

Over the summer of 1942 on Nantucket Island, three friends -- Hermie, Oscy and Benjie -- are more concerned with getting laid than anything else. Hermie falls in love with the married Dorothy, whose husband is an army pilot recently sent to the battlefront of World War II.

Where to Watch

Netflix

Amazon Prime Video

Disney Plus

HBO Max

Max

Hulu

Paramount Plus

Apple TV Plus

Peacock

Showtime

Starz

Paramount+ with Showtime

Rent / Buy

Rent

Apple TV

Google Play Movies

Amazon Video

YouTube

Vudu

Fandango at Home

Buy

Apple TV

Google Play Movies

Amazon Video

YouTube

Vudu

Fandango at Home

Cast

Jennifer O'Neill as Dorothy Age 78 · Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Jennifer O'Neill is a Brazilian-born American author, model, and former actress. She was born on February 20, 1948, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and moved to the United States as an infant. O'Neill firs...

Gary Grimes as Hermie Age 70 · San Francisco, California, USA From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Gary Grimes (born June 2, 1955, in San Francisco) is an American actor. Gary Grimes' first major role was in the 1971 motion picture Summer of '42, playing a t...

Jerry Houser as Oscy Age 73 · Los Angeles, California, USA From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jerry Houser (born July 14, 1952) is an American character actor and voice actor in film and television. Description above from the Wikipedia article Jerry Hou...

Oliver Conant as Benjie Age 70 · New York City, New York, USA Oliver Conant was born on 15 November 1955 in New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor, known for Summer of '42 (1971), Class of '44 (1973) and NET Playhouse (1964)..

Katherine Allentuck as Aggie Age 71 · New York City, New York, USA Katherine Allentuck was born on October 16, 1954 in New York City, New York, USA. She is an actress, known for Summer of '42 (1971) and Waking the Wild Colonial (2018)..

Christopher Norris as Miriam Age 72 · New York City, New York, USA

Director Robert Mulligan

Cast Jennifer O'Neill, Gary Grimes, Jerry Houser, Oliver Conant, Katherine Allentuck, Christopher Norris, Lou Frizzell, Walter Scott, Maureen Stapleton, Robert Mulligan

Wuchak 8/10 May 21, 2018

**_Sex-obsessed boys on Nantucket in 1942_**

RELEASED IN 1971 and directed by Robert Mulligan, "Summer of '42” is the biographical drama of Herman “Hermie” Raucher (Gary Grimes) coming of age at 15 during the titular season & year on Nantucket Island. He and his two pals, Oscy and Benji, hang out on the island learning about sex and chasing girls. Meanwhile, Hermie is an awe of a 21 year-old woman (Jennifer O'Neill) whose soldier husband is off fighting WWII.

This is such a well-done classic film from the early 70s. The island locales are breathtaking while the story is low-key realistic, which is fitting since it was based on a real-life. It’s basically about a teenage boy in awe of a beautiful adult whoa-man of whom O’Neill fills the bill. Hermie has a mature, spiritual attitude toward love & sex, which is contrasted by Oscy’s juvenile, animalistic approach.

The movie’s not meant to provoke “controversy” but rather to just show the way it was and what happened. The same type of story happened and happens to mid-teens in every community all over North America and the world to this day. I’m not saying it’s right or wise on the adult’s part (it’s not), but simply that it happens; and the teen WANTED it, boy or girl. That said, there’s some ambiguity to the ending and it’s not 100% certain that such-and-such occurred.

The outstanding “Last Summer” (1969) is a comparable movie, but with an unpleasant edge. Both films take place on island beaches during the summer and involve teens coming of age. Both films involve a disturbing element. But “Last Summer” is ugly in a significant way whereas “Summer of ’42” maintains a sense of awe and beauty. “The Outsiders” (1983) is also a little comparable, particularly the theater sequence.

WATCH OUT for notable Christopher Norris as Oscy’s wannabe date, Miriam. If you’re not familiar with her, be sure to check her out in Ron Howard’s “Eat My Dust” (1976).

THE FILM RUNS 1 hour, 44 minutes and was shot in Mendocino in Northern California and a couple other places in California. They had intended to shoot it on Nantucket, where the true story occurred, but the island had changed so much since 1942 that it proved more feasible to simply find another, underdeveloped locale as a substitute.

GRADE: A-/B+