The name of actress Katharine Hepburn is always associated with striking and decisive women as well as courageous and fearless. She was always a woman far ahead of her time who with her unique talent developed and created memorable characters in the history of cinema. It was not for nothing that she won 4 Academy Awards as best actress, a feat that remains unparalleled.
Potentially influenced by this, English director David Lean and an incredible group of artists met in 1955 for the theater play’s adaptation "The Time of the Cuckoo" by author Arthur Laurent’s starring Ms. Hepburn. The result of this collaboration of talents is the film; “Summertime” and in United Kingdom: “Summer Madness” in which the charm and charisma of the main star shines like always she does.
The Time of the Cuckoo is a play by Arthur Laurents. It focuses on the bittersweet romance between Leona Samish (Jane Hudson, for the movie version), a single American executive secretary vacationing in Europe and Renato Di Rossi, a shopkeeper she meets in Venice. Di Rossi, trapped in a loveless marriage, relentlessly pursues Jane, who initially is shocked by the thought of an illicit affair but eventually succumbs to the Italian's charms.
In the film, Kate is Jane Hudson an independent single woman over 40’s who lives alone but is not lonely because she has many friends back home in Ohio/US. She proclaims herself "fancy secretary" and finally saving up, it was time to travel around Europe and thus fulfill one of her old dreams.
In the interesting opening credit sequence of Summertime, we learn that she has visited London and Paris and finally by train is arriving in Venice with all the enthusiasm of a first-time tourist. This is also captivating because as such, it further accentuates the character's ingenuity and allure.
Her interactions with the first characters of the film are very lively, as well as the arrival at the train station, plus the boarding of the boat/bus in which she meets another American couple also on vacation in Europe and who, like Jane, are getting together staying at Penzione Fiorini, where much of the film takes place. 70% of the movie takes place on the streets of Venice and even the studio scenes were also filmed in the city. This film would be the last one with a running time of 1h40m for David Lean who would go on to make his subsequent films with no less than 3h3m on average.
Director David Lean seems absolutely comfortable with the actress who dominates this character with her technique and classic style that have always been her trademark. Kate has almost always played strong, determined and striking women, in this film she plays a woman who, despite being sure of herself, has a fragility in the field of love with typical American values - which is not necessarily a bad thing but which certainly brings a lot of limits to her life and even to her career. In other words she has a very romantic and perfect vision of life and as we all know things are not quite like that in everyday life full of everyday taboos.
One of the characters who seems to understand and connect with Jane and Mrs. Fiorini (Isa Miranda) who owns the pension. She is a very attractive Italian widow who alone maintains the small hotel or penzione as it called. At one point she tells Jane: "Luck always happens in Venice, but we always have to give it a little push."
It is with this thought in mind that Jane decides to venture through the streets of Venice and ends up meeting the little street boy Mauro (Gauteno Autiero) who has plenty of charisma. David Lean has always been perfect in casting children for his films.
Several comical moments are interspersed throughout the film, especially when Jane and Mauro venture through the streets of Venice, until the moment in the film comes in which Jane by herself, is in Piazza San Marco (one of the most picturesque places in the world) observing various couples around, until by chance, she also discovers that she is being watched by Renato (Rossano Brazzi) who was at a nearby table to Jane's discomfort, who doesn't know how to deal with that situation in which she finds herself and in panic she runs back to the pension completely desolate.
The next morning, accompanied by little Mauro, she decides to go shopping around town. It is there that she finds in an antique shop that has a red goblet in the window that she is interested in purchasing. To her surprise, the shop owner is the same man from Piazza San Marco as the day before. Renato, also surprised and delighted, then presents himself once again leaving Jane disoriented but discreetly falls for him.
Incidents will happen during the film between the two central characters who then supports the plot. As the story unfolds, it is possible to say that as spectators we are immersed with Jane and desperate in the hope that she will finally find the long-awaited romance on this trip of her dreams. But obstacles will impose themselves for Jane, who will have to overcome them somehow.
The film is absolutely magical in large part also because of Jack Hildyard's cinematography that captures the magic of the city of Venice as well as Alessandro Cicognini's triumphal music that seems to sing and touch our already enamored hearts. This, of course, has everything to do with the assured direction of one of the greatest English directors of all time: Sir David Lean, who after this film would present us with his anthological epics rarely equaled in movie history.
With the perfect crew this film transcends the commonplace that most romantic films of that era have generally established. This film has something more and I like to think that it refers to the talents involved in this project. David Lean said in one of his many interviews it all starts with a good story which in this case is an adaptation of a great play. Venice to this day is a city associated with romance and this film is all about that. Prepare your hearts.
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