Katharine Hepburn Was David Lean’s Favorite Actor to Direct — Here’s Why

Katharine Hepburn made an impression on movie lovers in her 60 year career. Hepburn also made an impression on the directors with whom she worked. No less than David Lean called her his favorite actor to work with, and he’d directed the likes of Peter O’Toole, Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, Alec Guinness, Robert Mitchum and many more. Lean directed Hepburn in Summertime.

David Lean and Katharine Hepburn | Bettman/Getty Images

The Criterion Collection released Summertime on Blu-ray this month. The bonus features include a 1963 interview with Lean on CBC’s Close-Up from April 7. Summertime came out in 1955 but Lean named Hepburn his favorite years later. 

Why Katherine Hepburn was ‘Summertime’ director David Lean’s favorite actor

The 1963 interview touched on many of Lean’s epic movies like Lawrence of Arabia and The Bridge on the River Kwai. The love story Summertime that stood out for his experience working with Hepburn.

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“I think the actor that I’ve enjoyed working with more than anybody else is Katharine Hepburn,” Lean said. “I did a film in Venice with her called Summertime here, Summer Madness in England. She’s a joy. She’s a wonderful technician and she has I think a great, great gift. On top of that, I happen to like her very much personally. She’s a great human being.”

The Katharine Hepburn movie was pivotal in David Lean’s career 

A new interview with Lean biographer Melanie Williams puts his film with Hepburn in the context of his career. Williams knows that Summertime is Lean’s personal favorite. Summertime fits Lean’s aesthetic for filming on location, in this case Venice, Italy, as opposed to a soundstage. Hepburn also joins an ensemble of Italian actors, like the international casts of Lean’s later epics.

Williams sees Summertime as a transition from Lean’s early British dramas and his later Hollywood epics. Hepburn’s character bears similarities with the lead in Lean’s Brief Encounter. Williams concluded by saying that Lean identified with Hepburn’s character’s loneliness and sense of unfulfillment. 

‘Summertime’ review

Katherine Hepburn plays Jane Hudson, a woman in her late 40s visiting Venice. In the ‘50s, Jane is considered past the window to marry. Society may not take a much more evolved view today, and they might be even more blunt about it. But, Jane meets Renato (Rossano Brazzi) in Italy and experiences a summer romance. However, Italian views of fidelity bring her back down to reality. 

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Summertime is a lovely movie. The relationship between Jane and Renato feels natural, like a brief encounter as it were that can happen when you’re on vacation. The likes of Before Sunrise probably owe a debt to movies like Summertime. Hepburn, of course, is eminently watchable whether she’s just shopping and learning to bargain, or dealing with the existential crisis of a foreign affair. Always subtle and real, Hepburn keeps Summertime from turning into melodrama. 

Brazzi is a charismatic charmer, too. It’s easy to see how Jane falls for him, and when their relationship gets complicated Renato’s not vilified. It’s a culture clash of American and European values. They’re less hung up on age, but also less hung up on monogamy. 

The Criterion Blu-ray looks gorgeous. Summertime is full of bright, daylight European colors surrounding the Venice water and sky. Lean and cinematography Jack Hildyard captures a lot of beautiful shots around the canals at night, too, now in HD.

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