Last Summer

Plot synopsis:
While spending the summer on Fire Island, Peter (Richard Thomas) and Dan (Bruce Davison), two adolescent boys from upper-middle-class families, meet Sandy (Barbara Hershey), a young girl who has found a wounded seagull on the beach. After the boys remove a fishhook from the bird's throat, the three youngsters become fast friends and spend all their time together, swimming, boating, smoking marijuana and cautiously experimenting with their awakening sexual impulses during visits to a movie house on the mainland.
One afternoon they are joined by Rhoda (Catherine Burns), a plump 15-year-old who is anxious to make friends. When the boys discover that Sandy has brutally killed the gull for biting her, Peter begins to shift his attention to Rhoda. Finding it fun to taunt Rhoda about her inexperience with boys, Sandy gets Peter and Dan to persuade the reluctant Rhoda to take her place, and all four go to a restaurant to meet the shy Puerto Rican Anibal.
To Rhoda's embarrassment, Sandy, Dan, and Peter get the man drunk and abandon him to three local bullies. Although Rhoda rebukes Peter for his behavior, she succeeds only in alienating him, and he goes off with Sandy and Dan for a picnic in the woods. Dan's plan of proving his manhood to Sandy is ruined when Rhoda tags along.
Irritated by Rhoda's intrusion into their clique, Sandy removes her bikini top and dares Rhoda to do the same. Disgusted, Rhoda tries to leave, but Sandy goads the boys into holding her back. The frightened girl appeals to Peter for help, but he joins Sandy in pinning Rhoda to the ground while she is savagely raped by Dan. Following the assault, the three leave; Sandy and Dan return to the beach while Peter hesitates on a sand dune near Rhoda.

Tags: violence, cruelty, romantic

Review:
Stellar performances from the four young main characters, especially Richard Thomas and Catherine Burns (Supporting Actress nominee for this film).
The anti-climactic ending of being confused teens, struggling to understand the life going on around them and what could possibly lie ahead is one of the best.
It is a beautifully crafted story and intriguing to watch Barbara Hershey, Richard Thomas, and Bruce Davidson give such strong performances at the start of their careers.
Catherine Burns, however, steals the film as Rhoda.
Very intriguing late 60's film by Frank Perry with a great performance by Catherine Burns (nominated and SHOULD have won Supporting Actress).
If you write screenplays, don't miss Catherine Burns's "speech" about her mother in Last Summer - a more powerful, evocative use of single-character dialogue in a film probably doesn't exist.
Catherine Burns was Oscar nominated, but Richard Thomas who arguably comes off as the best of the strong cast playing a character who is very uncertain of his feelings.
Set in one of the most beautiful beach settings on the East Coast, Fire Island, New York, Last Summer centers around the struggles of Rhoda, played brilliantly by Catherine Burns.
After meeting the other three main characters on the beach, Burns goes along with them on several adventures in which Rhoda's past tragedies and present hangups come to the forefront.
As the story progresses, Burns is drawn closer to the character played by Richard Thomas setting the stage for the stunning conclusion of the film.These are four young people sharing experiences and feelings together, with happy moments and sad moments.
Truly funny but poignant at the right time; great performances by the leads and the unheard of Catherine Burns.
One of my favorite movies is "Strangers When We Meet" (Kim Novak, Kirk Douglas, Barbara Rush, Walter Matthau); the book was written by Evan Hunter and, what do you know, it was only 30 yr.
Sandy could see she was losing her grip on Peter as he began falling for Rhoda so she upped the ante and triggered the attack.Peter was the more sensitive of the two boys, and did care for Rhoda but ultimately just didn't have the guts to go against the other two.The two lads were also probably horny as hell, and a little drunk - not a good mix.The novel Last Summer and the sequel Come Winter add a lot more to what happened on the screen.Check them out, they appear on ebay often..
For one, the filmmakers begin with that interesting seagull sequence that provides insight into Sandy's (Hershey) manipulative character and the boys' general submissiveness.
Last Summer, the film I first saw late night on '70s TV is a great classic experiment interested in creating moods.
Richard Thomas (pre-John Boy) stands out as a confused teen and Barbara Hershey as the sex interest.
There is however a provocative image here and if you adjust your vision you might just possibly see...yourself..at an age of no regrets and all intoxications.The " three " set up the world for themselves and no one else can be allowed in to spoil It That is until Catherine Burns comes along and throws a wrench in their postulates on life..There is a scene where the "three" are running along the beach...look closely now ..closer ..did you find someone you know well or someone you used to know.Provocative and wonderful and melancholy all at the same time.CP.
A great story with hardly any music (except for the noise of the sea) that makes film making look easy.
Having been a die-hard fan of Evan Hunter's novels-turned-to-films "Blackboard Jungle" and "A Matter of Conviction" (film entitled "The Young Savages"), I was delighted to receive Hunter's novel "Last Summer" as a Christmas gift at age 14.
At that age, I didn't read books straight through, but skipped and skimmed over chapters, and what I skimmed over in this book - the viciously murdered seagull and the heinous rape of outcast Rhoda committed by her three alleged "friends," one of whom was a girl - made me feel twisted and sick enough to throw the book in the trash where I felt it belonged.
Like many viewers, I found remarkable Cathy Burns' performance as Rhoda, a Mrs Beasley lookalike whose outspoken opinions and "Old Mother Hubbard" ideals (as quoted by Sandy) make her the ideal victim of others cruelty and mockery.
However, the performance I find most impressive was Barbara Hershey's portrayal of Sandy, the dominant group leader who uses her female-ness as a weapon.
I couldn't help but wonder what made Sandy what she was, sexually manipulative, cruel enough to mistreat and then viciously murder a seagull she'd started out nursing back to health, and wretchedly sardonic to Rhoda whom she obviously considered inferior to everything Sandy herself excelled in.
In short, I found Hershey's performance horrifically realistic to the point where I could not watch her on screen for several years to come.
It wasn't until I'd learned of Hershey's own anguish and repulsion toward Sandy's treatment of the seagull to the point where she actually changed her last name to Seagull that I able to "forgive" her and enjoy her in other movie roles.
A good looking teen girl (Hershey) comes to it's rescue.
Three attractive affluent kids--Sandy (Barbara Hershey), Peter (Richard Thomas) and Dan (Bruce Davison) meet on Fire Island one summer.
Feelings erupt, complication escalate and it all leads to a VERY disturbing ending.It's a coming of age film but a realistic one showing just how vicious teenagers can be.
It's well made with superb acting by all four (Burns was nominated for an Academy Award) but I can't say it was a good film.
Another reviewer said that it was the whole movie, but I just didn't see how that rape scene fitted into the rest of the movie, then just ending it like that.
Last Summer is a compelling movie that just ends when it is at its most interesting.
Last Summer is a shockingly bold film for its time period (late 1960s) and very well acted, featuring actors who went on to virtual stardom at a time when they were just starting out: Barbara Hershey, Richard Thomas and Bruce Davison.
Portraying restless teenagers at Fire Island for the summer, they meet and begin hanging out together, eventually encountering Rhoda (Catherine Burns), a teenager who doesn't quite fit their mold but wants to make friends.
In any case, the message is potent enough to come across loud and clear just going through it once.For the more inquisitive viewers who might wonder whether the worst had happened to Rhoda, I suggest a reading of the excellent book by Evan Hunter.
I saw this movie on a late night channel with my kids (Nathan & Ryann) about 7 years ago and kind of sort of liked it.
The homophobic aspect is quite bizarre in that there is a definite homosexual undertone to a relationship of two young men latching on to one girl.As the politically committed sixties gave way to the seventies "Me" generation it was inevitable that Frank and Eleanor Perry's left-wing films would go quickly and permanently out of fashion.
Three carefree, unsupervised teenagers -- conniving, domineering, flirtatious strumpet Sandy (a deliciously wicked Barbara Hershey, wearing a skimpy bikini outfit that shows off a lot of her toothsome, voluptuous figure), aggressively libidinous Dan (Bruce Davison in his solid film debut), and the slightly more thoughtful Peter (a strong turn by Richard Thomas) -- become involved in a playfully steamy menage a trois on Long Island's tranquil Fire Island resort.
Their delicate, uninhibited fantasy world gets upset when pallid, pudgy, deeply uptight and morally responsible plain jane Rhoda (superbly played by the endearingly ungainly Cathy Burns, who deservedly got an Oscar nomination for her first-rate performance) enters their precious circle and steals Peter's attention away from Sandy.
*****SPOILERS***** I thought Last Summer would be like a bad TV movie and was watching it for the camp factor alone, but somewhere it turns into a real, offbeat story about teenage characters experimenting with their boundaries during their summer vacation.Sometimes the movie was like a morality play.
Sandy (Barbara Hershey), Peter (Richard Thomas), Dan (Bruce Davison), and Rhonda (Catherine Burns) are the main characters who play around the beach while their parents ignore them and act as irresponsible as their children.
Dan and Peter--watch for homo-erotic undertones between the two that I thought was quite brave for the times--lust after Sandy, but she only flirts and teases with them.
Sandy is sadistic, killing their rescued seagull--and moving on to her next victim, the geeky, naive Rhonda.Barbara Hershey, the dark beauty, plays her part well as the manipulative, evil Sandy--who leads Thomas and Davison to rape Rhonda (and possibly kill her?
Two teens (Bruce Davison & Richard Thomas) come across the enigmatic Barbara Hershey caring for a sick seagull on a beach.
As Rhoda, Catherine Burns is awkward, precocious and very sensitive (something Hershey is repulsed by).
Frank Perry directed this totally engaging coming-of-age film and it's one of the best of his spotty career.
Ironically, Burns, who received the film's only Oscar nomination, did NOT go on to have a career nearly as substanitive as Hershey, Davison and Thomas.
I enjoyed this film, even with the disturbing ending.
I knew people like each of these characters growing up, and I felt they were quite realistic.The locations in this film are as follows: The beach scenes and the house are in Seaview, NY, on Fire Island.
The performances from Hershey and Burns are good.
The killing of the pet seagull, and the gang rape at the end of the film, only make any sense in the plot if they are presented as the early manifestations of three burgeoning sociopathic co-serial killer/rapists practicing on their first victims.
But instead of the creepy scene, as in Hannibal Lecter at the pay phone foreshadowing the worst yet to come, this creepy little film just ends with all the rapists walking into a beautiful sunset, role credits...
Barbara Hershey tops as a beautiful but cruel teen, rescuing an injured seagull and killing it later.
Like the other readers, I wonder what happened to Catherine Burns, who played the nerdy intruder.
One good funny scene takes place when they're at the movies and Sandy is sitting between Peter and Dan. Another good scene (I'm trying not to add another spoiler) has Sandy talking with one of the guys and the guy says "I'm just thinking of them now.".
Released in 1969, "Last Summer" relays the random escapades of three teenagers - two guys and a gal - who form a close-knit trio while vacationing on Fire Island, NY, where the film was shot.
The girl, Sandy (Barbara Hershey), obviously enjoys the attentions of the two boys (Richard Thomas & Bruce Davison), who essentially deem her a goddess.
Then an average-looking, pudgy girl named Rhoda enters the picture and tries to join the trio (Catherine Burns).
One of the guys, Peter (Thomas), starts to develop a genuine relationship with this new girl which naturally stirs up jealous malevolence in Sandy.At one point, When Rhoda and Peter are enjoying some time together, she remarks (paraphrasing): "You seem like a totally different person when you're with me than when you're with them." This leads to an unexpected ending which is reminiscent of "Lord of the Flies." "Last Summer" is a unique coming-of-age film featuring a fascinating study of the herd mentality: Alone, the three are normal teenagers, but together their inhibitions and sense of morality diminish.
Set at one of the most beautiful beach settings on the East Coast, the film hints at the possibility that Fire Island itself is an accessory in unleashing the youths' disturbing deviance.But, mostly, this is a commentary on the dark side of hedonistic adolescence and the power of a sociopath, meaning Sandy.
At first this movie looks to be one of those now-unwatchable "youth culture" films of the late 1960s and early 1970s, with the pop music, mop haircuts on the boys, and other fads.
Goodbye innocence, hello cruelty.There is another, more profound death mentioned, though not shown,in the film, that of the mother of the girl Rhoda (Catherine Burns), as recounted by her daughter.
If the death of the seagull is the result of cruelty, the death of Rhoda's mother is the result of her selfish, reckless pursuit of fun, without regard for its effect on others.Reckless pleasure-seeking is in fact the order of the day for the parents of all four young people in the film.
As Rhoda previously pointed out, around Sandy and Dan he becomes a different person.The movie is an indictment of a society obsessed with pleasure, fun, and entertainment, with little sense of responsibility.
Three teens are spending the summer on Fire Island -- Thomas, Davison, and Hershey.
But then there's no reason for jealousy because she lets both of them feel her up at the same time in the movie theater while watching a sexy Swedish movie.There enters the picture Catherine Burns, not from New York but from Ohio.
She doesn't smoke or drink; she doesn't swim; she doesn't do dope; she looks and sounds like an adult and she has adult sensibilities.So, one hot day, at Hershey's urging, the four of them go into the bushes and Burns is raped by the boys and left behind, with the sun a blistering crimson as it settles into the haze.What is this movie about?
Richard Thomas is the sensitive kid who kisses Burns and chats seriously with her, but only when they're alone, and at the end he turns as savage as the slightly beef-brained Davison.The three of them had been reckless, selfish and cruel before, getting a nice Puerto Rican man drunk and leaving him to be beaten by a couple of thugs.
WARNING: Before you watch "Last Summer", you really need to be warned that the movie is quite adult and has a very traumatic rape scene.
Three young people (Barbara Hershey, Richard Thomas and Bruce Davison) meet and soon become friends.
Later, when they meet a nerdy and less attractive fourth member of their little group (Catherine Burns), this becomes all the more apparent and the three original members exploit this very vulnerable new member.The acting is competent and the story is decent because it is unique and explores very dark aspects of supposedly 'typical' teens.
Remember when Peter says "I will kiss you at the bottom of the ocean"...I thought that was a hint just like Rhodas mother who drowned.I also wondered if Anibel wasn't supposed to be an "alibi".Need to read the book to get more clues I guess..
Three obnoxious teenagers on Fire Island during a particular summer form a bond that leads to an unbelievable ending.Nothing like a story about 3 teens, all of whom apparently come from wealthy families who pal around during the summer and meet Rhoda, a depressed teen, far from beautiful, who is basically in a world of her own.Catherine Burns, as Rhoda, tells in detail the tragic drowning of her mother, 5 summers ago and this telling brought her a best supporting actress Oscar bid.The unbelievable, tragic ending and the callous disregard of a human being is haunting.
"Last Summer" actually has a lot in common with such films as "The Lord of the Flies" or "The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea" in which a young boy ends up murdering and dissecting his mother's lover.It also reminds me a little bit Mendal W.Johnson shocking novel "Let's Go Play at the Adams".These are stories about children untamed.The film is unsettling not because of what these three teenagers do to their friend,but because of how little it bothers them and how easily they begin to see her as outside of humanity."Last Summer" follows the random activities of four teens during a summer on Fire Island.Rhoda is shy and overweight and targeted for teasing by the others.As sexual tensions increase,the more experienced and dominant Sandy encourages Dan and Peter to rape Rhoda.The climax of "Last Summer" is truly powerful and disturbing as it clearly shows the banality of evil.9 out of 10..
Here we have the story of three teenagers, Peter, Dan and Sandy that are spending summer vacation together in the very treacherous heat of New York at Fire Island.
What starts off as cute, sexy becomes a little more biting (for example, the scene in which Peter and Dan feel up Sandy in a movie theater).
The final scene we know...To better understand films, I read reviews to gain more objectivity and insight.
And I have come to read, and agree, that the film is very much about sexual power, and how desires and curiosities can become hellish and cruel.
Previously in the film, Sandy and the boys nurse a seagull back to health and when it attacks Sandy she becomes angry and kills the bird.
the movie itself wasn't bad...but what is up with that messed up ending?They rape the girl for no reason,and then that's it?
This review may contain spoilers.Three handsome teenagers, two boys and a girl, create a bond while spending the summer in Fire Island, NY.
They are joined by a homely-looking, inhibited and sensitive teen-age girl, which eventually will bring disastrous consequences.Part of brilliance of the movie is how natural it portraits these four characters.
(Viet Nam, The Draft, Student protests, Music)It seems today that even bad movies in recent years cover teen issues, sexuality, and peer pressure much better than this film did.
Her maniacal laugh, what she ultimately does to the seagull, her treatment of Rhoda, and her behavior toward her computer date are all examples of this.Sandy uses the possibility of sex to manipulate the naïve Peter and Dan. The entry to her clique is the admission of some past act of cruelty.Other reviews paint this movie as an nostalgic examination of a summer at the beach.