Directed by Gilbert Cates
“Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams” (1973) is a poignant midlife-crisis drama about a New York housewife confronting regret, family estrangement, and the sudden death of her mother.
In 1973, four years before Woody Allen began presenting various interpretations of Manhattan in his films, from “Annie Hall” (1977) to “Melinda and Melinda” (2004), Gilbert Cates delivered a film that was notably Allenesque in its own right: “Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams.” This is a Manhattan where the leading lady shops at Saks, dines at excellent restaurants, and enjoys pleasant afternoons viewing screenings of Ingmar Bergman’s “Wild Strawberries” at a revival house with her mother.
The character Rita Walden, portrayed beautifully by Joanne Woodward in what might be her finest performance, faces a midlife crisis triggered by her mother’s death—a role magnificently played by Sylvia Sidney, who also received an Oscar nomination. Rita must handle her mother’s estate while questioning her choice to marry her ophthalmologist husband, played by Martin Balsam, who delivers a beautifully understated performance—quite different from his role as “The Fag” in the previous year’s “The Anderson Tapes,” a performance that dominates the latter half of the film.
Rita’s son Bobby (Ron Rickards), who has moved to Amsterdam and is essentially out of touch, is gay. He appears only in one scene, which is portrayed in a rather creepy and homophobic manner. Woodward’s character inadvertently intrudes on a potentially intimate moment between him and his “friend” in Bobby’s bedroom. Bobby behaves disgustingly, reminiscent of the negative portrayals often seen in Hollywood films featuring gay male characters. Meanwhile, his friend, a ballet dancer, continues to perform pirouettes and demi-plies while maintaining a vaguely confrontational eye contact with Joanne. This flashback occurs as part of Rita’s dream after she dozes off during the aforementioned screening of “Wild Strawberries.”
The original screenplay was written by Stewart Stern, who treated the subject of homosexuality more sympathetically in films such as “Rebel Without a Cause” (original) and “Rachel, Rachel” (adapted).
Seventy Queer Films Made Under the Hays Code (1934-1967)
https://thebrownees.net/seventy-queer-films-of-the-new-hollywood-1967-1981
