Summer Storm (1944)

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(28 ratings)

Summer Storm is a remarkably effective Hollywood filmization of Anton Chekhov's The Shooting Party. Linda Darnell stars as the young and beautiful wife of a middle-aged Russian civil servant (Hugo Haas). Darnell becomes the object of the affections of her husband's employer, a lecherous count… More Summer Storm is a remarkably effective Hollywood filmization of Anton Chekhov's The Shooting Party. Linda Darnell stars as the young and beautiful wife of a middle-aged Russian civil servant (Hugo Haas). Darnell becomes the object of the affections of her husband's employer, a lecherous count (Edward Everett Horton). The girl in turn is enamored of a provincial judge (George Sanders). At first, all flirtations are playful and harmless, but the judge takes Darnell so seriously that he ends up killing her in a jealous rage. Her husband is blamed for the crime, but the Count gets his comeuppance during the 1917 Bolshevik revolution (which didn't figure into the original Chekhov story, inasmuch as the author died in 1904). The big surprise in this is not that it works as well as it does, but that it features comic actor Edward Everett Horton in a straight, almost unsympathetic role, which he underplays beautifully. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 45 min.
Directed By: Douglas Sirk
Genres: Drama, Classics

In Theaters: Jul 14, 1944 Wide
On DVD: Oct 20, 2009

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Featured Audience Ratings

jay n

Early american Sirk film is a little slow but still interesting version of Chekov's The Shooting Party. His signature stylistic elements are not wholly in evidence yet although he uses shadows effectively and he gets excellent work from his cast particularly Edward Everett Horton… More
Early american Sirk film is a little slow but still interesting version of Chekov's The Shooting Party. His signature stylistic elements are not wholly in evidence yet although he uses shadows effectively and he gets excellent work from his cast particularly Edward Everett Horton playing a more complex part then usual. Linda Darnell is also most impressive in the first of the bad girl roles in which she excelled, she is almost supernaturally beautiful.

Cast

            George Sanders as Fedor Michailovitch Petroff

            Linda Darnell as Olga Urbenin

            Anna Lee as Nadina

            Edward Everett Horton as Count Volsky

            Hugo Haas as Urbenin

            Lon Lahner as Clara

            John Philliber as Polycarp

            Sig Rumann as Kuzma

            André Charlot as Mr. Kalenin

            Mary Servoss as Mrs. Katenin

            John Abbott as Lunin

            Robert Greig as Gregory

            Paul Hurst as Gendarrne

            Charles Trowbridge as Doctor

            Byron Foulger as Clerk in Newspaper Office

            Charles Wagenheim as Postman

            Frank Orth as Mailman

            Elizabeth Russell as Naughty Lady at Dinner

            Ann Staunton as Dinner Guest

            Jimmy Conlin as Passerby at Mailbox

            Fred Nurney as Judge in Kharkov

            Sarah Padden as Beggar Woman

            Sharon McManus as Beggar Child

            Mike Mazurki as Policeman

            Rex Evans
            
            Nina Koshetz as Gypsy Singer

            Kate MacKenna as Woman with Umbrella

            Frances Morris
            
            John Kelly
            
            Ken Jones
            
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