Aunt Mary's Transcendental Slip and Lurch Band and The Electric Meatball rock bands played for that summer. Soundtrack was great , at last a good rock album produced by John Simon.
So this was the one the WALTONS fans were shock to see years later when the film was on TV, seeing what JOHN BOY does to BARBARA HERSHEY at the end of the film.
Catherine Burns was brilliant in her role as Rhoda. This led Hal Wallis to cast her and Richard Thomas in "Red Sky At Morning", along with Desi Arnaz Jr. One of my favorite films of its year, but one that has a small fan base.
One of the most dynamic contrasts in the film was the glorious photography of Thomas, Hershey and Davison with sun-burnished skin and white teeth, always smiling...and the base evil that existed in all of them.
Burns gave the standout performance, but curiously it was the other three who went on to long film careers. The film was a sobering look at the dark side of the "youth culture" of the sixties -- a gutsy project for 1969.
Actually, Thomas "does it" to Cathy Burns (although the version that played on TCM last year seems to have truncated that scene considerably.)
LAST SUMMER, an Allied Artists film, opened in New York on 10 June 1969 with an X-rating. Later that year, several minutes were cut, and the film was re-rated R. In 1972, the film was edited again, and re-rated GP. Finally, in 1974, the film was re-edited once again, and the R-rating was restored.
Like the same year's MIDNIGHT COWBOY, LAST SUMMER was an Oscar nominee (for Catherine Burns's memorable performance). This was during the brief period when "X" could identify a mature treatment and not a sexploitation flick.
Actually, Thomas "does it" to Cathy Burns (although the version that played on TCM last year seems to have truncated that scene considerably.)
LAST SUMMER, an Allied Artists film, opened in New York on 10 June 1969 with an X-rating. Later that year, several minutes were cut, and the film was re-rated R. In 1972, the film was edited again, and re-rated GP. Finally, in 1974, the film was re-edited once again, and the R-rating was restored.
Like the same year's MIDNIGHT COWBOY, LAST SUMMER was an Oscar nominee (for Catherine Burns's memorable performance). This was during the brief period when "X" could identify a mature treatment and not a sexploitation flick.
Ive read Warner Archives is working on releasing this but the original cut has not been located - may not even exist any more.
What a shame if the original is never found - it is a compelling, powerful film experience.
The soundtrack LP for LAST SUMMER has never been issued on CD. The instrumental score was by John Simon, a rock music producer who was an occasional composer. Only two instrumental tracks appear on the 34-minute LP, the other 10 tracks being various rock songs. This clip consists of the main title, a perfect musical evocation of a hot, hazy summer day, and the song "Drivin' Daisy," sung by Cyrus Faryar.
I stand corrected MS burns not Barbara got it from Richard.It was a pretty strong ending as I remember seeing it decades ago. I remember my mother saying years ago, Oh no John Boy not you. It is fascinating how viewers can make actors become the roles they were famous for. That line between reality and fantasy while watching a film can sometimes be so thin.
.jpg)
