10:30 PM Summer (1966)

10:30pm Summer may not rank among Jules Dassin's finest European films (like Rififi and Topkapi), but it's a curiously engrossing study of passions run amuck. After he was blacklisted in America (following a career that included such film noir classics as Brute Force and The Naked City), Dassin moved to Europe and scored a surprise hit with Rififi, but it was his subsequent marriage to Greek actress Melina Mercouri that proved to be the strongest influence on Dassin's later career. Mercouri was Dassin's muse, and he was her lover/mentor, so it's no surprise that overwrought passions were a recurring theme in the films they made together. This is especially the case with 10:30pm Summer, a somewhat overcooked and fever-pitched melodrama (based on the novel 10:30 on a Summer Night by Dassin's co-screenwriter Marguerite Duras) in which the still-beautiful yet insecurely middle-aged Maria (Mercouri) travels to Spain with her husband Paul (Peter Finch), their young daughter, and a charming young companion named Claire (Romy Schneider). The film begins with a seemingly unrelated incident--a jealous husband kills his wife and her lover--but it's an obvious parallel to the strained relationship between Maria, Paul, and Claire. The film reaches peak intensity when Maria spies on Paul and Claire in the grip of adulterous passion, and in a bid to reclaim her own sexuality, she provides refuge for the attractive young murderer who's been hiding on the rooftops of their Spanish hotel.

Self-consciously "artsy" and intended as a sexually charged follow-up to Dassin's scandalous 1960 hit Never on Sunday (also starring Mercouri), 10:30pm Summer runs only 85 minutes, so it never wears out its welcome. Dassin's approach to this emotionally over-the-top material is occasionally quite effective, especially in the night-time scenes that serve as a suspenseful reminder of Dassin's American thrillers. But this film is also a nearly-forgotten relic of the art-house '60s (when "grown-up" themes of jealousy and marital insecurity were common in European films), and crucial character details--such as the cause and origin of Maria's alcoholic binges--remain totally unexplained. It's clear that Dassin was striving to create a powerful love triangle with thematic connections to a lethal crime of passion, but whether he fully succeeded is open for debate. --Jeff Shannon Amazon.com

 FLAMING FLAMENCO!
AT LAST - and well worth the wait. Based on the Marguerite Duras novel - this odd journey deals with lust, murder, adultery, and yet more lust. Peter Finch as the straight-laced husband, Romy Schneider - the 'companion' and Mercouri - 'the wife' find themselves somewhere in a small village. A cheating wife has just been killed by her husband; now he is missing and the hunt is on. After the trio check into their hotel, Mercouri steps out on the balcony and .......

...the young Spanish actor is BRILLIANT in his scenes with Mercouri - she's also great as the 'sime-conscious drunk' during their confrontations..

Let's say it becomes rather intersting, until Finch and Schneider find themselves facing an odd dilemma ........ where to find Mercouri?

The close-ups are abundant, pity that all 3 have left us too soon.
Luminous personalities - great screen beauties -

Dassin/Duras at their best! July 24, 2007

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