Summer Storm is an adaption of Anton Chekhov's play The Shooting Party updated so as to include
the Russian Revolution and the upheavals in the social order it brought. But
certain things are both international and eternal. As this one where a beautiful
peasant girl uses her looks and charm to get ahead in a society that didn't have
any feminist notions.
Linda Darnell is our beautiful and alluring female protagonist. She's a peasant
girl who is on the estate of Count Edward Everett Horton and before the film
is over she gets the hormones going for Horton, for his estate manager Hugo
Haas and for Judge George Sanders.
This was a bit of interesting casting for Sanders as he was in fact born in old
Russia and according to his biographer and colleague Brian Aherne had a bit
more of that temperament in his nature than you would realize. But for all
of his position and sophistication he's addicted to love when it comes to Darnell.
This was also unusual casting for Edward Everett Horton who usually was playing silly fuss budgets in so many comedy films Some of that is here,
but director Douglas Sirk got so much more from the character. As Sanders
observes about the decadent Horton, he's everything that's wrong with the
society that he is a part of.
Anna Lee is in Summer Storm also. She's the girl Sanders throws over for
Darnell. But comes the Revolution and the worm really does turn.
It's not exactly what Chekhov had in mind, but Summer Storm is definitely worth a look for fans of the various cast members.
