Last Summer
Theatrical Poster
Directed by	Frank Perry
Written by	Eleanor Perry
Starring	Catherine Burns Barbara Hershey Bruce Davison Richard Thomas
Music by	John Simon Collin Walcott
Production company	Alsid Productions
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date	June 19, 1969 (1969-06-19)
Running time	94 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$3 million (US/ Canada rentals)[1]

Last Summer is a 1969 coming-of-age movie about adolescent sexuality. Director Frank Perry filmed at Fire Island locations. The stars of the film are Catherine Burns, Barbara Hershey, Bruce Davison and Richard Thomas. The memorable performance by Burns brought her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, and she won a Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award.

While spending the summer on Fire Island, Peter (Richard Thomas) and Dan (Bruce Davison), two adolescent boys from upper middle-class families, meet Sandy (Barbara Hershey), a young girl who has found a wounded seagull on the beach. After the boys remove a fishhook from the bird's throat, the three youngsters become fast friends and spend all their time together, swimming, boating, smoking marijuana and cautiously experimenting with their awakening sexual impulses during visits to a movie house on the mainland.

One afternoon they are joined by Rhoda (Catherine Burns), a plump 15-year-old who is anxious to make friends. When the boys discover that Sandy has brutally killed the gull for biting her, Peter begins to shift his attention to Rhoda. Meanwhile, Sandy receives a response from a computer dating service. Finding it fun to taunt Rhoda about her inexperience with boys, Sandy gets Peter and Dan to persuade the reluctant Rhoda to take her place, and all four go to a restaurant to meet the shy Puerto Rican Anibal.

To Rhoda's embarrassment, Sandy, Dan, and Peter get the man drunk and abandon him to three local bullies. Although Rhoda rebukes Peter for his behavior, she succeeds only in alienating him, and he goes off with Sandy and Dan for a picnic in the woods. Dan's plan of proving his manhood to Sandy is ruined when Rhoda tags along.

Irritated by Rhoda's intrusion into their clique, Sandy removes her bikini top and dares Rhoda to do the same. Disgusted, Rhoda tries to leave, but Sandy goads the boys into holding her back. The frightened girl appeals to Peter for help, but he joins Sandy in pinning Rhoda to the ground while she is savagely raped by Dan. Following the assault, the three leave; Sandy and Dan return to the beach while Peter hesitates on a sand dune near Rhoda.

• Eleanor Perry's screenplay was based on the novel by Evan Hunter, published in hardcover by Doubleday (1968) and paperback by Signet (1969).
• The character of Dan was originally called David in the book but was changed for the movie, probably because director Frank Perry - then best known for his film David and Lisa, also about troubled teens - wanted to avoid suggestion he was making a sequel/prequel about same character.
• A subplot involving a wounded seagull affected Barbara Hershey sufficiently for her to change her surname to Seagull for a couple of years.
• Sondra Locke was offered the role of Sandy, but turned it down.
• Ralph Waite played father to _Richard Thomas in this movie, then went on to play his father again in "The Waltons"
• Given an X rating when first released, Last Summer was given an R rating after edits to a scene depicting rape. The cut version is the one seen in the videotape release. The film is not available on DVD.

The film had a soundtrack LP (Warner Bros.-Seven Arts WS 1791) of the score composed by John Simon and Collin Walcott. Heard on the soundtrack: John Simon (piano), Collin Walcott (sitar, tamboura), Aunt Mary's Transcendental Slip and Lurch Band (rock band), Cyrus Faryar (voice), Buddy Bruno (voice), Ray Draper (tuba, voice), Electric Meatball (rock band), Henry Diltz (banjo, voice), Bad Kharma Dan and the Bicycle Brothers (motorcycle gang). Rick Danko, Levon Helm and Richard Manuel of The Band played on the soundtrack as well, but were uncredited due to having had a contract on another record label.

• Last Summer at IMDb
• Roger Ebert review
• Vincent Canby review