Summer of the Seventeenth Doll (film)
Encyclopedia
Summer of the Seventeenth Doll is a 1959 Australia
n-British
film directed by Les Norman
and is based on the Ray Lawler
play Summer of the Seventeenth Doll
. In the USA the film was released under the title Season of Passion.
cutters Roo (Ernest Borgnine
) and Barney (John Mills
) take Kewpie doll
collector Olive (Anne Baxter
) and manicurist Pearl (Angela Lansbury
) to Sydney to rest up and look for holiday work.
n play written by Ray Lawler and first performed at the Union Theatre in Melbourne
, Australia
on November 28, 1955. The play is almost unanimously considered by scholars of literature
to be the most historically significant in Australian theatre
history, openly and authentically portraying distinctly Australian life and characters. It was one of the first truly naturalistic "Australian" theatre productions.
and directed The Shiralee in Australia) for Hill-Hill-Lancaster Productions – whose first film had been Marty
with Ernest Borgnine – for United Artists
in 1959
. The film was retitled Season of Passion for the American market. This decision was severely lamented by some fans of the play, whose complaints were rooted in three essential criticisms:
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n-British
Cinema of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has had a major influence on modern cinema. The first moving pictures developed on celluloid film were made in Hyde Park, London in 1889 by William Friese Greene, a British inventor, who patented the process in 1890. It is generally regarded that the British film industry...
film directed by Les Norman
Les Norman
Leslie A. Norman was a British director and producer. His career spanned nearly fifty years, from 1930 until 1978, and in that time he tried his hand at many different jobs, including editor, producer, and writer...
and is based on the Ray Lawler
Ray Lawler
Raymond Evenor Lawler is an influential Australian actor, dramatist and producer. His most notable play was his tenth, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll , which had its premiere in Melbourne in 1955. The play changed the direction of Australian drama...
play Summer of the Seventeenth Doll
Summer of the Seventeenth Doll
Summer of the Seventeenth Doll is a pioneering Australian play written by Ray Lawler and first performed at the Union Theatre in Melbourne, Australia, on 28 November 1955...
. In the USA the film was released under the title Season of Passion.
Plot
SugarcaneSugarcane
Sugarcane refers to any of six to 37 species of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum . Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six metres tall...
cutters Roo (Ernest Borgnine
Ernest Borgnine
Ernest Borgnine is an American actor of television and film. His career has spanned more than six decades. He was an unconventional lead in many films of the 1950s, including his Academy Award-winning turn in the 1955 film Marty...
) and Barney (John Mills
John Mills
Sir John Mills CBE , born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills, was an English actor who made more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades.-Life and career:...
) take Kewpie doll
Kewpie doll (toy)
Kewpie dolls and figurines are based on comical strip-like illustrations by Rose O'Neill that appeared in Ladies' Home Journal in 1909. The small dolls were extremely popular in the early 1900s. They were first produced in Ohrdruf, a small town in Germany, then famous for its toy-manufacturers....
collector Olive (Anne Baxter
Anne Baxter
Anne Baxter was an American actress known for her performances in films such as The Magnificent Ambersons , The Razor's Edge , All About Eve and The Ten Commandments .-Early life:...
) and manicurist Pearl (Angela Lansbury
Angela Lansbury
Angela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...
) to Sydney to rest up and look for holiday work.
Play
Summer of the Seventeenth Doll is a pioneering AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n play written by Ray Lawler and first performed at the Union Theatre in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
on November 28, 1955. The play is almost unanimously considered by scholars of literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
to be the most historically significant in Australian theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
history, openly and authentically portraying distinctly Australian life and characters. It was one of the first truly naturalistic "Australian" theatre productions.
Film adaption
After continuing to tour Australia through 1958, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll was adapted by Les Norman (who had previously produced Eureka StockadeEureka Stockade (film)
Eureka Stockade is a 1949 British film of the story surrounding Peter Lalor and the gold miners' rebellion of 1854 at the Eureka Stockade in Ballarat, Victoria...
and directed The Shiralee in Australia) for Hill-Hill-Lancaster Productions – whose first film had been Marty
Marty (film)
Marty is a 1955 American film directed by Delbert Mann. The screenplay was written by Paddy Chayefsky, expanding upon his 1953 teleplay of the same name. The film stars Ernest Borgnine and Betsy Blair. The film enjoyed international success, winning the 1955 Academy Award for Best Picture and...
with Ernest Borgnine – for United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
in 1959
1959 in film
The year 1959 in film involved some significant events, with Ben-Hur winning a record 11 Academy Awards.-Events:* The Three Stooges make their 190th and last short film, Sappy Bull Fighters....
. The film was retitled Season of Passion for the American market. This decision was severely lamented by some fans of the play, whose complaints were rooted in three essential criticisms:
- The "Americanization" of the text, namely the casting of American actor Borgnine, who played his character (Roo) with an American accent. Others have thought the film was a recruiting film for migrants with the Englishman John MillsJohn MillsSir John Mills CBE , born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills, was an English actor who made more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades.-Life and career:...
as Barney and Alan Garcia as Dino, an Italian friend and fellow cane cutter who does not feature in the play. The female leads are played by Anne BaxterAnne BaxterAnne Baxter was an American actress known for her performances in films such as The Magnificent Ambersons , The Razor's Edge , All About Eve and The Ten Commandments .-Early life:...
and Angela LansburyAngela LansburyAngela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...
, though the film features many Australian actors. - It was filmed in Sydney rather than Melbourne and displayed the characters enjoying themselves overlooking Bondi BeachBondi Beach, New South WalesBondi Beach is a popular beach and the name of the surrounding suburb in Sydney, Australia. Bondi Beach is located 7 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Waverley Council, in the Eastern Suburbs...
and Luna Park SydneyLuna Park SydneyLuna Park Sydney is an amusement park, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
rather than moping around dreary Melbourne. - The drastic changes to key plot points, namely the alternate, "happy" ending that the 1959 film adaptation entailed. This alternate ending was considered by some to be representative of a dire misunderstanding of the play and its message, and by others an attempt to make the film an international success at the box office and critical acclaim similar to the kitchen sink realismKitchen sink realismKitchen sink realism is a term coined to describe a British cultural movement which developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in theatre, art, novels, film and television plays, whose 'heroes' usually could be described as angry young men...
of Marty. The producers also added a comedy sequence where a young girl attempted to trick Roo in a tent at Luna Park.
Cast
- Ernest Borgnine as Roo
- Anne Baxter as Olive
- John Mills as Barney
- Angela Lansbury as Pearl
- Vincent BallVincent BallVincent Ball is an Australian actor who has worked both in Australia and in the United Kingdom....
as Dowd - Ethel Gabriel as Emma
- Janette Craig as Bubba
- Deryck Barnes as Bluey
- Alan Garcia as Dino