The Long, Hot Summer: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

Returning after a long absence to Frenchman's Bend, Mississippi, Ben Quick discovers that his father has died and the town controlled by Will Varner. Ben befriends Clara Varner, Will's beautiful daughter, then decides to stay in Frenchman's Bend and rebuild the family farm. Ben has to go to Will for the money he needs. Varner, who despises Ben, is annoyed that his spoiled daughter is so strongly attracted to him, and he grants Ben the loan on the condition that he leave Clara alone. When Clara learns of the bargain, she angrily resolves to win Ben's love.

Series details

• Title: The Long, Hot Summer
• Format: Scripted
• Language: English
• Genres: Drama, Romance
• Premiere date: 1965-09-16
• Final broadcast date listed: 1966-04-13
• Status in TVmaze: Ended
• Network listed by TVmaze: ABC
• Network country: United States
• Typical episode runtime: 60 minutes
• TVMaze ID: 28902
• IMDb ID: tt0058823
• TVDB ID: 76741

Cast and credited roles

• Roy Thinnes — Ben Quick
• Nancy Malone — Clara Varner
• Paul Geary — Jody Varner
• Ruth Roman — Minnie Littlejohn
• Lana Wood — Eula Harker
• Dan O'Herlihy — Will 'Boss' Varner
• Edmond O'Brien — Will 'Boss' Varner

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 1965-09-16; final listed air date 1966-04-13; episode order: 26.

Source and licence

Adapted from The Long, Hot Summer on TVmaze. The synopsis is reproduced as plain text; catalogue facts, cast and season records are selected and reformatted. This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, following the TVmaze API licence. Network and web-channel credits identify the service listed in this source; they do not establish current streaming availability.