The Long, Hot Summer
GenreDrama
Created byDean Riesner
Opening theme"The Long Hot Summer" performed by Jimmie Rodgers
ComposerLeith Stevens
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes26
Production
ProducerFrank Glicksman
Running time45 mins. (approx)
Production company20th Century Fox Television
Original release
NetworkABC
ReleaseSeptember 16, 1965 (1965-09-16) –
April 13, 1966 (1966-04-13)

The Long Hot Summer is an American drama series from 20th Century Fox Television that was broadcast on ABC-TV for one season from 1965–1966. It was aired in the UK on ITV.

Series synopsis

The series is set in the Deep South community of Frenchman's Bend, Mississippi, which is dominated and owned by the town's wealthy, powerful (and deceitful) bank owner "Boss" Will Varner (Edmond O'Brien). A widower with two grown children, the unscrupulous Varner runs the town and its citizens with an iron fist and nobody dares to question him. He and his family live in the largest mansion in Frenchman's Bend. However, problems arise when Ben Quick (Roy Thinnes), a young man whose father Varner destroyed some years prior, returns to town to reclaim his family's farm and challenge Varner's absolute authority over the town and its people.

Supporting characters include Jody Varner, Will's weak-willed but more honest son, and Clara, Will's sensible older daughter and lady of the house (in lieu of her late mother). To her father's dismay, she and Ben fall in love. Other characters include the town's hotel owner, Minnie Littlejohn, who is also Will's mistress, and Eula Johnson, a 17-year-old girl who becomes a central point in Jody's life after he picks her up during a rain storm. In the 1958 film of the same name, Eula and Jody were married, but in the television series they are merely friends. Also seen in recurring roles were Andrew (Charles Lampkin), the Varner family's butler/chauffeur, Sheriff Harve Anders (Paul Bryar), the local sheriff for the county in which Frenchman's Bend is located, and Dr. Aaron Clark (Jason Wingreen), the Varner family's physician.

Cast

Main

Guest cast

Production

Development

Created by Dean Riesner, The Long Hot Summer was based on the novel The Hamlet by William Faulkner, the short story "Barn Burning", and the 1958 film of the same name. The show retained the movie's theme song, "The Long, Hot Summer," written by Sammy Cahn and Alex North, and Jimmie Rodgers sang it for the series just as he did for the film.

Broadcast

The Long Hot Summer was scheduled on Thursdays at 10 p.m. EST opposite CBS' Thursday Night Movie and NBC's long-running variety series The Dean Martin Show.[1] The series was canceled after twenty-six episodes with the last original episode airing on April 13, 1966.

Casting

In January 1966, series star Edmond O'Brien left the series after a disagreement with the producers (the disagreement was about making Ben Quick the main focus of the show instead of the Varners) and was replaced by Dan O'Herlihy. O'Herlihy played the role of Will Varner for the rest of the series' run.

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date Viewers
(millions)
1"The Homecoming"Ralph SenenskyDean RiesnerSeptember 16, 1965 (1965-09-16)14.5[2]
2"A Time for Living"Robert GistStory by : Donald S. Sanford
Teleplay by : Donald S. Sanford & Dean Reisner		September 23, 1965 (1965-09-23)15.5
3"A Stranger to the House"Vincent ShermanStory by : Alfred Brenner
Teleplay by : Alfred Brenner & Dean Reisner		September 30, 1965 (1965-09-30)14.6
4"The Twisted Image – Part 1"Robert GistAnthony LawrenceOctober 7, 1965 (1965-10-07)14.3
5"The Twisted Image – Part 2"Mark RydellAnthony LawrenceOctober 14, 1965 (1965-10-14)13.0
6"Home is a Nameless Place"Richard SarafianWilliam BastOctober 21, 1965 (1965-10-21)14.5
7"No Hiding Place"Vincent ShermanStory by : Jerome Ross
Teleplay by : John Bloch		October 28, 1965 (1965-10-28)15.0
8"Run, Hero, Run"James B. ClarkMark RodgersNovember 4, 1965 (1965-11-04)13.9
9"The Desperate Innocent"Alex MarchOliver CrawfordNovember 11, 1965 (1965-11-11)14.6
10"Bitter Harvest"Vincent ShermanAl C. WardNovember 18, 1965 (1965-11-18)16.1
11"Hunter to the Wind"Alex MarchFranklin BartonDecember 2, 1965 (1965-12-02)14.5
12"Nor Hell a Fury"Vincent ShermanOscar MillardDecember 9, 1965 (1965-12-09)13.5
13"The Return of the Quicks"Don RichardsonJames GunnDecember 16, 1965 (1965-12-16)13.4
14"Track the Man Down"Vincent ShermanOliver CrawfordDecember 30, 1965 (1965-12-30)13.0
15"Face of Fear"Lewis AllenStory by : Bernard Schoenfeld
Teleplay by : Jack Turley		January 6, 1966 (1966-01-06)14.6
16"Evil Angel"Robert StevensStory by : Alfred Brenner & Robert J. Shaw
Teleplay by : Robert J. Shaw		January 13, 1966 (1966-01-13)14.3
17"Day of Thunder"Don RichardsonJack TurleyJanuary 19, 1966 (1966-01-19)13.1
18"The Warning"Marc DanielsSy SalkowitzJanuary 26, 1966 (1966-01-26)14.2
19"The Intruders"John PeyserJerome RossFebruary 2, 1966 (1966-02-02)14.1
20"From This Day Forward"Vincent ShermanRobert J. ShawFebruary 9, 1966 (1966-02-09)13.9
21"A Time to Die"Alex MarchMichael ZagorFebruary 16, 1966 (1966-02-16)13.0
22"Reunion—Italian Style"Marc DanielsStory by : Mark Rodgers & Robert J. Shaw
Teleplay by : Robert J. Shaw		February 23, 1966 (1966-02-23)15.2
23"Blaze of Glory"Vincent ShermanStory by : William Bast & Robert J. Shaw
Teleplay by : Robert J. Shaw		March 2, 1966 (1966-03-02)14.5
24"Crisis"Mark RydellAnthony LawrenceMarch 9, 1966 (1966-03-09)14.2
25"Carlotta, Come Home"Mark RydellRobert J. ShawMarch 30, 1966 (1966-03-30)14.3
26"Man with Two Faces"Alex MarchJack TurleyApril 13, 1966 (1966-04-13)unknown

References

  1. ↑ Hyatt, Wesley (2003). Short-Lived Television Series, 1948–1978: Thirty Years of Bore Than 1,000 Flops. McFarland & Co. p. 155. ISBN 0-7864-1420-0.
  2. ↑ Bruce B. Morris, Prime Time Network Serials: Episode Guides, Casts and Credits for 37 Continuing Television Dramas, 1964-1993, McFarland and Company, 1997.
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