Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams (1973)

Joanne Woodward and writer Stewart Stern had worked together on the poignant Rachel, Rachel, and the rapport she had with his dialogue was again evident in this film.

As Rita Walden, the wife of an American eye specialist, Joanne played a woman who had reached a moment of crisis in her life. Plagued by fantasies about the sexual problems of her son Bobby (Ron Rickards) and by her own personal regrets, she is jolted back to reality by witnessing her mother’s swift and unexpected death.

A graveside family quarrel makes her retreat into the comfort of childhood memories rather than face the problems of communicating with her relatives. Harry, her gentle and understanding husband (sensitively portrayed by Martin Balsam), takes her on a trip to Europe to help restore a balance to her life and their relationship.

In London, she suffers an attack of claustrophobia on the Underground, and again her fantasies and regrets return.

It is not until they visit Bastogne – where Harry fought during the war – that she sees in his memories of that time a reflection of her own situation. Only then does she begin to come to terms with the realities of her life.

Photographed in muted colours and soft focus, Joanne gives a  painfully accurate performance as the woman struggling to free herself of regrets.

The film is short on plot but long on characterisation, with a telling performance from 62-year-old Sylvia Sidney as the mother who can only relate to her daughter in banalities.

Rita Walden
Joanne Woodward
Harry Walden
Martin Basam
Rita’s mother (Mrs Pritchet)
Sylvia Sidney
Anna
Dori Brenner
Fred Goody
Win Forman
Betty Goody
Tresa Hughes
Bobby Walden
Ron Rickards
Joel
Peter Marklin
Mrs Hungerford (voice)
Nancy Andrews
Grandmother
Helen Ludlam
Grandfather
Grant Code
Carl
Lee Jackson

Director
Gilbert Cates