The Joys of Summer
The days seem to last forever, the air is hot and humid, and school is out! Ah the joys of summer!
However, one of the real pleasures of the season to me is the inevitable summer movie season – if for no other reason than it provides an entertainment outlet away from the oppressive weather. Now I’m not just talking about the latest Marvel releases or other big budget CGI laden eye candy, (looking at YOU, Jurassic World II) I’m also talking about those movies that decades ago filled theaters when they were one of the few reliably air-conditioned public venues you could escape to. Both the chill of deep winter and the heat of summer drive me indoors, so a good many of my fondest movie memories took place at those particular times of year. In fact, since many of the films themselves were set in those seasonal extremes, it made the connection between the films and the season particularly linked.
Think of Jaws for example. Released at the very edge of the summer season in 1975, it rocketed to become one of the very first summer blockbusters – its success indeed may have even precipitated the entire concept of summer big releases. 1975 truly became the “summer of the shark” with audiences both enthralled and terrified for the entire season. In this case, timing the film’s release to coincide with the fictional Amity’s summer beach season drove the point home in ways a Christmas release would not have done. Other than perhaps the shower scene in Psycho, probably no other movie made more people fearful of partaking in what would otherwise have been a normal summer activity.
Having grown up on the Jersey Shore, most of my summer recollections were of hazy hot days punctuated by occasional thunderstorms that usually cleared the atmosphere for a few days before the cycle of humidity would begin again. Not having the advantage of central air conditioning in my house, I spent many a restless evening fitfully sleeping with only a window fan providing any relief from the stifling heat. As a result, I become a big watcher of what was then called the “late, late show.” While I spent many a sleepless night watching late night reruns of old TV shows, it was the science fiction/horror movies of summer that became ingrained in my memory. The interesting trend I noticed was an odd coincidence; a good many of these films struck a similar theme – that when (or if) humanity came under onslaught, whether through giant monsters, alien invasion, natural disasters, or man-made folly through nuclear or biological warfare, it took place in summer, or at least in the warm months. I often wonder if this was deliberate, especially in the post World War II era, as the climatic end of the war took place in the heat of August 1945.
So for the next few months, I’m going to discuss those films which seemed to embody the very essence of the oppressive atmosphere, but gave viewers like myself a chance to mentally escape, not to an a happy alternative, but to the darker recesses of imagination, where death, destruction, or the threat of a grim apocalyptic future seemed linked to the season of backyard grills, fireworks, outdoor parties, and family vacations…
So sit back, pick up a cold drink and revel in the madness of summer!
Ken
First Up…the sci-fi classic that set the trend for summer alien invasions, The War of the Worlds.