Name: Passionate Summer
Genre: Romance
Released: 1959-07-13
Duration: 1 h 43 min
Rating: 5.8
Cast: Virginia McKenna, Bill Travers, Yvonne Mitchell

Husband and wife Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna were popular English actors in the fifties. They made several films together, the best-known probably being `Born Free'. I think that `Passionate Summer' is one of their lesser efforts. Summer is evident in the sunny West Indian settings but passion is notably lacking, in fact this is typical of the anally retentive English films of the period.

Lantern-jawed Brylcreem boy Bill is an uninteresting actor while English Rose-type Virginia, despite having simultaneous affairs with Bill and a married Argentinean, totally fails to be sexy. They certainly `meet-cute' as Travers watches McKenna survive a light plane crash which kills the pilot. She turns out to be a flight attendant for doomed Pan-American Airlines (the product placement didn't help them at all!) Amid clouds of smoke we see Senior Service cigarettes and I don't think they're still around either. But the predictable boy/meets/loses/finds/girl plotting gives us little to chew on; there's not much in the way of depth or subtext here.

Alexander Knox as the cuckolded headmaster of the school where Travers teaches is stolid in support while Ellen Barrie seems a rather mature-looking troubled pupil.

The Kingston, Jamaica location is attractive, one local is patronized but later a West Indian Coroner proves to be a very wise man.

Overall a pretty tepid affair.

The romance genre features the theme of romantic relationships and emotional connections between characters. These stories focus on the development of love, desire, and intimacy between protagonists, often exploring the challenges, conflicts, and triumphs that arise in their relationships.

Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca (1942)

The erotic goings-on among the staff at Mr. Pawley's school in Jamaica are of great interest to young Sylvia, but her curiosity results in tragedy.

Virginia McKenna, Yvonne Mitchell, and Bill Travers in Storm Over Jamaica (1958)

The Biggest Movies and TV Coming in September

"The Gentlemen" and "Slow Horses" return this fall, while the "Reacher" spin-off series "Neagley" makes its debut. See our guide of the biggest Fall TV and streaming releases.

2026 Fall TV and Streaming Watch Guide

&quot;The Gentlemen&quot; and &quot;Slow Horses&quot; return this fall, while the &quot;Reacher&quot; spin-off series &quot;Neagley&quot; makes its debut. See our guide of the biggest Fall TV and streaming releases.

Get a closer look at these actors from their many TV and streaming series roles.

Streaming Stars, Then and Now

Virginia McKenna and Alain Saury in Carve Her Name with Pride (1958)

Peter Sellers, Virginia McKenna, Bernard Miles, Margaret Rutherford, and Bill Travers in Big Time Operators (1957)

Virginia McKenna in Storm Over Jamaica (1958)

Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers in Storm Over Jamaica (1958)

Storm Over Jamaica

Photos5

Top Cast37

User reviews3

More like this

Related interests

Storyline

Did you know

Top picks

Details

Tech specs

Contribute to this page

More to explore

Recently viewed