Colibel Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

prguy721 Last Summer is a shockingly bold film for its time period (late 1960s) and very well acted, featuring actors who went on to virtual stardom at a time when they were just starting out: Barbara Hershey, Richard Thomas and Bruce Davison. Portraying restless teenagers at Fire Island for the summer, they meet and begin hanging out together, eventually encountering Rhoda (Catherine Burns), a teenager who doesn't quite fit their mold but wants to make friends. And this is where the story really gets moving. As the plot advances, it seems the behavior of the original three becomes increasingly edgy and even cruel. Meanwhile, Rhoda, with her sincerity and vulnerability, senses she is out of place but desperately hangs in to be part of the group, even though she sets herself up for embarrassment, conflict and possibly even danger. Unfortunately, copies of Last Summer are pretty much impossible to find and it is almost never shown on television. I saw it when it was originally released, but the only time I saw it on cable TV was in 2013; to my great disappointment, the print wasn't in letterbox and had been edited for content, reducing both the film's impact and significance.

Sprite6308 Having been a die-hard fan of Evan Hunter's novels-turned-to-films "Blackboard Jungle" and "A Matter of Conviction" (film entitled "The Young Savages"), I was delighted to receive Hunter's novel "Last Summer" as a Christmas gift at age 14. At that age, I didn't read books straight through, but skipped and skimmed over chapters, and what I skimmed over in this book - the viciously murdered seagull and the heinous rape of outcast Rhoda committed by her three alleged "friends," one of whom was a girl - made me feel twisted and sick enough to throw the book in the trash where I felt it belonged. Ironically, I was determined to see the film based on the novel I'd trashed when it aired on syndicated TV a few years later. So much for bravery! I found the novel devastating, but it was no comparison to seeing those characters come to life on the silver screen! In truth, novelist Evan Hunter is no less than a genius. His ability to create four adolescent characters so hauntingly and painfully realistic is astounding. The casting of the film couldn't have been better. Like many viewers, I found remarkable Cathy Burns' performance as Rhoda, a Mrs Beasley lookalike whose outspoken opinions and "Old Mother Hubbard" ideals (as quoted by Sandy) make her the ideal victim of others cruelty and mockery. And the male characters, Richard Thomas as the sensitive Peter and Bruce Davison as stud-muffin wannabe Dan are equally as impressive. However, the performance I find most impressive was Barbara Hershey's portrayal of Sandy, the dominant group leader who uses her female-ness as a weapon. I couldn't help but wonder what made Sandy what she was, sexually manipulative, cruel enough to mistreat and then viciously murder a seagull she'd started out nursing back to health, and wretchedly sardonic to Rhoda whom she obviously considered inferior to everything Sandy herself excelled in. Was it a genetic chink in her psyche? Was it triggered when her mother's boyfriend made a pass at her behind her mother's back (Sandy tells the boys this while drinking beer on the beach)? Or was Sandy the type who exercised her aggression rather than kept it safely locked in the vault of fantasy? In short, I found Hershey's performance horrifically realistic to the point where I could not watch her on screen for several years to come. It wasn't until I'd learned of Hershey's own anguish and repulsion toward Sandy's treatment of the seagull to the point where she actually changed her last name to Seagull that I able to "forgive" her and enjoy her in other movie roles. Suffice it to say, "Last Summer" is not a film for everyone's tastes. Even today, nearly 50 years after this film was made, viewers will be struck by the film's realism and candidacy.

edwagreen Three obnoxious teenagers on Fire Island during a particular summer form a bond that leads to an unbelievable ending.Nothing like a story about 3 teens, all of whom apparently come from wealthy families who pal around during the summer and meet Rhoda, a depressed teen, far from beautiful, who is basically in a world of her own.Catherine Burns, as Rhoda, tells in detail the tragic drowning of her mother, 5 summers ago and this telling brought her a best supporting actress Oscar bid.The unbelievable, tragic ending and the callous disregard of a human being is haunting. Otherwise, we're subjected to summer-time carefree leisure which to be perfectly honest is quite boring after a while.

ronh1123 I hadn't seen this film in years. I did rent the VHS version. I thought it was really good. And wonder why they don't make films like this anymore. Most films today about teens are very silly or horror films. I don't even remember a recent serious drama about teenagers. The point of the ending (the rape scene)is very simple. All the sexual tension that Dan and Peter have towards Sandy is redirected by Sandy towards Rhoda. Sandy is extremely manipulative throughout the film. When the three kids leave, Peter stands on the dune and waits. Obviously he has second thought and wonders-What did I do! One of the best teen films ever made!! I did see the unedited version of this film, although obviously it was panned and scanned as a TV print.