A Summer Place Trivia Quiz

Answer: Pine Island

The owners of the Pine Island Inn were Bart and Sylvia Hunter. At the start of the story they had received a letter from Ken and Helen Jorgenson, who wished to stay at the inn during the summer. Bart was reluctant because he was embarrassed that he had frittered away the family fortune and has had to turn his home into an inn. Sylvia was more pragmatic, realizing they needed the money.

Bart was played by Arthur Kennedy who had a distinguished acting career including earning the Tony Award for his part as "Biff" in the play, "Death of a Salesman" and receiving five Academy Award nominations.

Sylvia was played by Dorothy McGuire who had starred as the mother, Katie Nolan in 1945's "A Tree Grows In Brooklyn" and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1947 for "Gentleman's Agreement".

Answer: Research chemistry

Believe it or not, with all the risque behavior in this movie, something as conservative as research chemistry was Ken Jorgenson's supposed path to fortune. Ken, as a young man, had been a lifeguard on the island. He had been in love with Sylvia but the two were from different social strata and were forbidden to have a relationship. He later marries Helen.

Ken was played by Richard Egan who went on to play King Leonidas in 1962's movie, "The 300 Spartans", and had several TV roles in the 1960s. Egan died in 1987 from prostate cancer.

Helen was played by Constance Ford, who was probably best known for her long-time (1967-1992) role as Ada Hobson on the daytime television soap opera "Another World".

Answer: Sandra Dee

Born Alexandria Zuck, Sandra Dee had a busy year in 1959, with five of her movies being released. The movie "Gidget", released early in the year, had Dee playing a kind of flat-chested tomboy, and somewhat ironically, as Molly in "A Summer Place" her mother wanted her to wear a bra that would hide her chest!

Sandra Dee was quite young when she started her professional career. There is some evidence that her mother may have falsified information regarding Sandra's birth date, portraying her as two years older (born in 1942) than the truth (born in 1944). If, indeed, Dee was born in 1944, she was only 16 when she married 24-year-old Bobby Darin in 1960.

Answer: Helen, about daughter Molly

The frigid and humorless Helen went to some extreme measures to protect her daughter's reputation. Early in the story she wanted her daughter to wear some rather conservative clothing and after Molly spent too much time alone with Johnny, had a doctor examine Molly over the girl's protests.

Answer: In the rose garden

Witnessed by the busy-body handyman, Todd Harper, the two exchanged a brief kiss in the rose garden. The Handyman wasted no time informing Molly's mother of her actions.

Johnny Hunter was played by the teen idol, Troy Donahue. Born Merle Johnson, he was a journalism student at Columbia University when he tried his hand at acting. His role in "A Summer Place" established him as a star. He played a small role as the character Merle Johnson (Donahue's birth name), the gold-digging lover of Connie Corleone (Michael's sister) in "The Godfather, Part II".

Answer: They were fixing a leak on the roof.

One of the guests at the inn had complained about a water leak and Ken volunteered to take a look at it. He used a sort of skylight to access the roof and when he finished the job and returned to the attic, he and Sylvia finally faced the fact they were still in love.

Answer: While sailing, they wrecked their boat and spent the night together on a small island.

Johnny and Molly had been sailing in his small boat and had crashed into some rocks. They spent the night alone on a small nearby island and were brought home the next day, having been found by the authorities. Molly's mother hired a doctor to physically examine Molly to verify she had not been intimate with Johnny.

Answer: He hitchhiked.

Johnny told her that he hitchhiked because he had no money. Molly also had no money because she had "paid cash" for the doctor's examination that determined she was pregnant.

Answer: They sold Molly's fur coat.

Johnny sold Molly's coat and bought a car. They tried to get married, but without birth certificates, no one would perform the ceremony. Eventually they decided they needed to go see Ken and Sylvia and hope for the best. Ken and Sylvia were reluctant at first, but soon realized Molly and Johnny had the same fire in their hearts that they themselves had when they were young and welcomed them.

Answer: They moved to Pine Island and took over the inn.

Ken and Sylvia realized that they themselves lived in a proverbial glass house and so blessed the children. Then, having gotten married, the final scene of the movie showed Molly and Johnny disembarking from the ferry onto Pine Island.