MovieChat Forums > Carousel (1956) Discussion > a clambake... in june?

a clambake... in june?


i guess oscar hammerstein didn't know anything about seafood... people didn't fetch clams in the summer.

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Really?

I'm not from New England, but according to what I've read, clambakes involve going to a beach and digging for clams. I find it difficult to believe that people go to the beach in New England other than in the summer.

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I have fetched clams in New England in the summer and I live to tell the tale.


Would anyone like to see Mr. Simpson harvest a soul?

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I'm not from New England, but according to what I've read, clambakes involve going to a beach and digging for clams. I find it difficult to believe that people go to the beach in New England other than in the summer.





clams are not in season in the summer. clambake season starts in autumn. clams are at their peak in the winter, because the water is more cold. the characters in 'carousel' are probably experienced clam diggers and would know that.

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You CAN dig clams in Maine in the summer. There are different kinds of clams...

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It could be set in the fall, with a misunderstanding. Maybe the song "June is Bustin' Out All Over" is referring to an unusually well-endowed female character.

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Softshell clams can be harvested year around in Maine, with peak season being from May to October:

http://www.seagrant.umaine.edu/maine-seafood-guide/soft-shell-clams#season

The universe is not only stranger than we imagine, it is stranger than we can imagine.–J.B. Haldane

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And the clambake in this story doesn't take place right in that month of June. It's a few months after, after Billy & Julie get married; and she is just starting to get pregnant. So it would be about the start of autumn -- so the timing is right; and the OP's original interpretation is WRONG.

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