The Long, Hot Summer (TV series)
| The Long, Hot Summer | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Drama |
| Created by | Dean Riesner |
| Written by |
William Bast Alfred Brenner Oliver Crawford William Faulkner James Gunn Anthony Lawrence Dean Riesner Mark Rodgers Jerome Ross Donald S. Sanford Robert J. Shaw Jack Turley |
| Directed by |
Marc Daniels Robert Gist Alex March Don Richardson Mark Rydell Vincent Sherman |
| Starring |
Edmond O'Brien (1965-January 1966) Dan O'Herlihy (January 1966-1966) Roy Thinnes Nancy Malone Paul Geary Ruth Roman Lana Wood |
| Theme music composer |
Sammy Cahn Alex North |
| Opening theme | "The Long Hot Summer" performed by Jimmie Rodgers |
| Country of origin | USA |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 26 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Frank Glicksman |
| Running time | 45 mins. (approx) |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Picture format | Black-and-white |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | September 16, 1965 – April 13, 1966 |
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. 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.
The series was set in the Deep South community of Frenchman's Bend, Mississippi. The community was 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 who also owned other businesses besides the town's bank, the unscrupulous Varner ran the town and its citizens with an iron fist and nobody dared to question him. He and his family lived in the largest mansion in Frenchman's Bend.
However, problems arose in Varner's orderly world when Ben Quick (Roy Thinnes), a young man whose father Varner destroyed some years prior, returns to town after thirteen years away to reclaim his family's farm and to challenge Varner's absolute authority over the town and its people. Ben's aim was to settle the score against the wicked Varner in the fight his father ran from.
Supporting characters include Clara and Jody Varner; Jody was Will's weak-willed and immature, but more honest son and Clara was Will's sensitive and sensible but deeply troubled older daughter who was considered to be the lady of the house (in lieu of her late mother). To her father's dismay, she liked Ben; Minnie Littlejohn, the town's hotel owner who is a good friend to many in town and was also the mistress of Will Varner; and Eula Johnson, a 17-year-old girl who becomes a central point in wealthy Jody Varner's life after he picks her up during a rain storm and defends her from her brother and fiance. (In the movie, Eula was married to Jody Varner; but in the TV series, she was merely a friend of Jody's.)
Also seen occasionally was Andrew, the Varner family's butler/chauffeur; Sheriff Harve Anders, the local sheriff for the county in which Frenchman's Bend is located; Judge Armistid, the community's judge; and Dr. Aaron Clark, the Varner family's physician.
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