By Dennis Hartley

(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on July 18, 2026)

Last Summer (Warner Archive Collection)

This underrated 1969 gem is from the husband-and-wife film making team of director Frank Perry and writer Eleanor Perry (who adapted from Evan Hunter’s novel).

On the surface, it’s a character study about three friends on the cusp of adulthood (Bruce Davison, Barbara Hershey and Richard Thomas) who develop a Jules and Jim-style relationship during a summer idyll on Fire Island. When a socially awkward stranger (Catherine Burns, in a Best Supporting Actress-nominated performance) bumbles into this simmering cauldron of raging hormones and burgeoning sexuality, it blows the lid off the pressure cooker, leading to shocking twists (don’t expect Beach Blanket Bingo). Think Summer of ’42 meets Lord of the Flies; this isn’t so much about the exuberance of youth as it is about the cruelty of youth (a precursor to films like River’s Edge).

Out of circulation for decades (save for an occasional TCM airing), this has been an eagerly awaited reissue for the film’s cultish devotees (count me as one). Warner’s transfer of the new 4K restoration is gorgeous. Extras include a feature-length commentary track by screenwriter Larry Karaszewski (a long-time champion of the film) and film historian Justin Bozung, two 2026 post-screening Q & A sessions with cast members Barbara Hershey, Bruce Davison, and Richard Thomas, and a brief scene with Richard Thomas and his future “TV dad” Ralph Waite (The Waltons) that didn’t make final cut.