After watching Summer Of 42 and noted it's Oscar recognition came in the form of an award for Michel Legrand for Best Musical Scoring for1971 it occured to me that
this film is one of the best examples of how the proper music can make a film. It's
a beautiful film score, but more than that without it and lesser music this movie
could have been a version of Porky's 42.
Three horny teen boys Gary Grimes, Jerry Houser, and Oliver Conant are ;
vacarioning on Nantucket Island hich has fewer tourists than normal in that first summer of America in World War 2. The usual teen girls like Christopher
Norris and friends get the engines racing. But who really intrigues them is
Jennifer O'Neill a war bride whom they catch sight of sending her husband off
to war.
Her aloneness sets the hormones racing. But Grimes who meets her accidentally and helps her with groceries becomes a friend. You take it from there.
The score is also helped by the photography of some beautiful scenes of
Nantucket or whatever passed for it. Both Grimes and O'Neill got career roles
out of the film. They both give sensitive and nuanced performances.
The film holds up well after almost 50 years. No remake will ever be necessary.
