For filmmakers, summer has always been a favorite time.
It has the right backdrops – sun and surf and such; it also has people in shorts and swimwear.
But there’s more to it than that. It’s the time when characters “get out of their comfort zone,” said John Malahy, author of the new “Summer Movies.”
His book outlines 30 films, from the serious to the silly, from the highly regarded “Jaws” to … well, “Beach Blanket Bingo” (shown here). Some trends arise.
Often, these movies show idealized summers — the soft beauty of “On Golden Pond,” the crashing waves of “Endless Summer,” the “Moon Over Miami.”
The people are idealized, too. The families of Andy Hardy or Gidget or Baby are warm and pleasant. That’s understandable, Malahy said, when filmmakers are “looking back on their own childhoods.”
At home, these characters might have pleasantly bland lives; in the summer, they find new worlds.
Andy meets girls, Gidget surfs with boys, Baby discovers dirty dancing. An Iowa family finds adventures at the “State Fair”; the mid-American Griswolds have a bizarre road trip in “Vacation.”
Some of this involves the nature of vacations themselves. In 1936, France mandated 12 days of annual vacation for all workers; in ‘53, “Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday” showed an ordinary chap’s misadventures.
And it involves the type of vacation. A modern one – lots rides and shows and such – might not spur much drama; movies prefer the old-style vacation, where a character can simply wander.
Malahy points to “Summertime” (1955), in which Katharine Hepburn is adrift in Venice, where she meets retired Americans. “They talk about how regimented their schedule is, with everything in two-hour blocks.” Hepburn, with no schedule, “has this incredible, life-changing experience.”
The characters don’t have to be on vacation; summer seems to provide more wandering time in general … especially for kids living near the beach, like the ones in “Gidget” and “Beach Blanket Bingo.”
The latter film brings up a common assumption: Aren’t summer movies kind of dim-witted?
Well, sometimes. “’Beach Blanket Bingo’ is ridiculous,” Malahy said. “Or there’s ‘Picnic,’ which I found to be very melodramatic.”
But he gives high marks to many of the summer films. “Jaws” has stunning visuals; “‘Rear Window’ is one of the most re-watchable films I’ve ever seen.”
The summer movies tend to be weakest in diversity, he said. Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing” – with the summer heat fueling racial tension – is one of the few with major Black characters.
But the films do surprisingly well in portraying strong women. “Even as far back as the Betty Grable movie, that’s what you see,”
“Moon Over Miami” (1941) was the first film with Grable in a swimsuit. She soon became a favorite wartime pin-up, but her “Moon” character (a sly gold-digger) was in control. That was early in an era when “women had agency; there was a kind of golden age.”
We see Judy Garland’s determined farmgirl in “Summer Stock” (1950), Hepburn’s adventurous secretary in “Summertime” (1955), Hayley Mills’ scheming twins in “The Parent Trap” (1961), Shirley Jones’ shrewd librarian in “The Music Man” (1962) and more.
Even Gidget fit that mode. Her movie (1959) was “still very much a ‘50s story,” Malahy said. A sweet kid did well in school and listened to her dad; but while others flirted with boys, she wanted to surf with them. She might admire Baby in “Dirty Dancing” (1982), the runaway Suzy in “Moonrise Kingdom” (2012) and the entire team in Penny Marshall’s “A League of Their Own” (1992).
Clearly, Malahy has – as Leonard Maltin says in the introduction – “an admirably broad view of his subject.” He’s open to any film in which summer makes an impact, from silly fun to the art of Ingmar Bergman (“Smiles of a Summer Night,” 1955), Mike Nichols (“The Graduate, 1967), Spike Lee (“Do the Right Thing,” 1989) and Luca Guadagnino (“Call Me By Your Name, 2017).
There’s room here for artistry and for beach blankets. Summer sprawls through lots of movies.
– “Summer Movies” (2021), by John Malahy; Running Press, $24
– Malahy works for Turner Classic Movies, which published the book and is showing some of the films
– On Monday (June 21), the first full day of summer, TCM has a marathon, suitable for recording: “Moon Over Miami” (1941), 8 p.m.; “Gidget” (1959), 9:45; “Mr. Hulot’s Holiday” (1953), 11:30; “Key Largo” (1948), 1:15 a.m.; “You’re Only Young Once” (1937), an Andy Hardy film, 3:15 a.m.; “Summer Stock” (1950), 4:45 a.m.
– They’re among the 30 films Malahy features. Later, TCM will show “Rear Window” (1954), 10:15 p.m., June 26; “Picnic” (1955), 10:45 p.m., July 7; “The Music Man” (1962), 10 p.m., July 21.
(Fun story about movies set in the summertime. This is partly keyed to a cable marathon Monday, July 21; however, it’s more about a book and the overall trend, so it works any time, print or web.)
By Mike Hughes
For filmmakers, summer has always been a favorite time.
It has the right backdrops – sun and surf and such; it also has people in shorts and swimwear.
But there’s more to it than that. It’s the time when characters “get out of their comfort zone,” said John Malahy, author of the new “Summer Movies.”
His book outlines 30 films, from the serious to the silly, from the highly regarded “Jaws” to … well, “Beach Blanket Bingo.” Some trends arise.
Often, these movies show idealized summers — the soft beauty of “On Golden Pond,” the crashing waves of “Endless Summer,” the “Moon Over Miami.”
The people are idealized, too. The families of Andy Hardy or Gidget or Baby are warm and pleasant. That’s understandable, Malahy said, when filmmakers are “looking back on their own childhoods.”
At home, these characters might have pleasantly bland lives; in the summer, they find new worlds.
Andy meets girls, Gidget surfs with boys, Baby discovers dirty dancing. An Iowa family finds adventures at the “State Fair”; the mid-American Griswolds have a bizarre road trip in “Vacation.”
Some of this involves the nature of vacations themselves. In 1936, France mandated 12 days of annual vacation for all workers; in ‘53, “Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday” showed an ordinary chap’s misadventures.
And it involves the type of vacation. A modern one – lots rides and shows and such – might not spur much drama; movies prefer the old-style vacation, where a character can simply wander.
Malahy points to “Summertime” (1955), in which Katharine Hepburn is adrift in Venice, where she meets retired Americans. “They talk about how regimented their schedule is, with everything in two-hour blocks.” Hepburn, with no schedule, “has this incredible, life-changing experience.”
The characters don’t have to be on vacation; summer seems to provide more wandering time in general … especially for kids living near the beach, like the ones in “Gidget” and “Beach Blanket Bingo.”
The latter film brings up a common assumption: Aren’t summer movies kind of dim-witted?
Well, sometimes. “’Beach Blanket Bingo’ is ridiculous,” Malahy said. “Or there’s ‘Picnic,’ which I found to be very melodramatic.”
But he gives high marks to many of the summer films. “Jaws” has stunning visuals; “‘Rear Window’ is one of the most re-watchable films I’ve ever seen.”
The summer movies tend to be weakest in diversity, he said. Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing” – with the summer heat fueling racial tension – is one of the few with major Black characters.
But the films do surprisingly well in portraying strong women. “Even as far back as the Betty Grable movie, that’s what you see,”
“Moon Over Miami” (1941) was the first film with Grable in a swimsuit. She soon became a favorite wartime pin-up, but her “Moon” character (a sly gold-digger) was in control. That was early in an era when “women had agency; there was a kind of golden age.”
We see Judy Garland’s determined farmgirl in “Summer Stock” (1950), Hepburn’s adventurous secretary in “Summertime” (1955), Hayley Mills’ scheming twins in “The Parent Trap” (1961), Shirley Jones’ shrewd librarian in “The Music Man” (1962) and more.
Even Gidget fit that mode. Her movie (1959) was “still very much a ‘50s story,” Malahy said. A sweet kid did well in school and listened to her dad; but while others flirted with boys, she wanted to surf with them. She might admire Baby in “Dirty Dancing” (1982), the runaway Suzy in “Moonrise Kingdom” (2012) and the entire team in Penny Marshall’s “A League of Their Own” (1992).
Clearly, Malahy has – as Leonard Maltin says in the introduction – “an admirably broad view of his subject.” He’s open to any film in which summer makes an impact, from silly fun to the art of Ingmar Bergman (“Smiles of a Summer Night,” 1955), Mike Nichols (“The Graduate, 1967), Spike Lee (“Do the Right Thing,” 1989) and Luca Guadagnino (“Call Me By Your Name, 2017).
There’s room here for artistry and for beach blankets. Summer sprawls through lots of movies.
– “Summer Movies” (2021), by John Malahy; Running Press, $24
– Malahy works for Turner Classic Movies, which published the book and is showing some of the films
– On Monday (June 21), the first full day of summer, TCM has a marathon, suitable for recording: “Moon Over Miami” (1941), 8 p.m.; “Gidget” (1959), 9:45; “Mr. Hulot’s Holiday” (1953), 11:30; “Key Largo” (1948), 1:15 a.m.; “You’re Only Young Once” (1937), an Andy Hardy film, 3:15 a.m.; “Summer Stock” (1950), 4:45 a.m.
– They’re among the 30 films Malahy features. Later, TCM will show “Rear Window” (1954), 10:15 p.m., June 26; “Picnic” (1955), 10:45 p.m., July 7; “The Music Man” (1962), 10 p.m., July 21.