Type of bind: Video On Demand
Release Date: October 22, 2008
Running Time: 109 minutes
Sale Popularity Level: 16236
Studio: Warner Bros.
Theatrical Release Date: December 31, 1969
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Enough Mendacity To Sink A Ship
Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, The Theater of Tennessee Williams, Volume Three, New Directions Books, New York, 1955
The very first couple of paragraphs here have been used as introduction to other plays written by Tennessee Williams and reviewed in this space. This review applies to both the stage play and the film versions with differences noted as part of the review
Perhaps, as is the case with this reviewer, if you have come to the works of the excellent American playwright Tennessee Williams through adaptations of his plays to commercially distributed film you too will have missed some of the more controversial and intriguing aspects of his plays that had placed him at that time along with Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller as America's finest serious playwrights. Although some of the films have their own charms I want to address the written plays in this entry very first (along with, when appropriate, commentary about Williams' extensive and detailed directing instructions).
That said, there are certain limitations for a political commentator like this reviewer on the works of Williams. Although his plays, at least his best and most well-known ones, take place in the steamy South or its environs, there is virtually no acknowledgement of the race question that dominated Southern life during the period of the plays; and, for that matter was beginning to dominate national life. Thus, although it is possible to pay homage to his work on its artistic merits, I am very, very tentative about giving fulsome praise to that work on its political merits. With that proviso Williams nevertheless has created a very modern stage on which to address social questions at the personal level, like homosexuality, incest and the dysfunctional family that only began to get addressed widely well after his ground-breaking work hit the stage.
"Cat On A Hot Tin Roof" is a prime example of the contradiction that a radical commentator is placed in. The themes of duplicity, latent homosexuality, adultery and dysfunctional families topped off by more than enough mendacity to sink a ship are the stuff of social drama that NEED to be addressed as outcomes in the modern capitalist cultural sphere. However, in the end nothing really gets resolved truthfully here. Old 1950's-style All-American boy Brick, the `great white hope' of the family, may or may not sober up after the `lost' of his dear friend and fellow football player, Skipper. Saucy and sexy wife Maggie (the cat) may or may not really get pregnant by Brick and save the family heritage for him, or die trying. The only certainty, despite all that above-mentioned mendacity, is that Big Daddy is going to die and that 28,000 acres of the finest land in the Delta is going to need new management, either Brick, brother Goober (along with his scheming wife and their `lovely brood' of children) or some upstart. Off of these possible outcomes, however, I would not get too worked up about the final outcome.
In the movie version, done in the 1950's as well, which starred the recently departed excellent actor Paul Newman as Brick and a fetching Elizabeth Taylour as Maggie the question of Brick's possible homosexual relationship with Skipper is far more muted than in the play. The implicit question seems to concern Brick's fading youth, his search for perfect meaning to life in Mississippi and that one's existential crisis can be eliminated by reliance on the bottle. The relationship between the dying Big Daddy and his ever suffering wife, Big Mama, is less dastardly than in the play as well. The scheming Goober and wife and family and those `lovely' children, however, run true to form. My sense of the movie, unlike the deeper issues of the play, is that a few therapy sessions would put old Brick back on the right track. The play was far less hopeful in that regard.
The Sweet Bird Of Youth, Three Plays of Tennessee Williams, New Directions Books, New York, 1959
The Fickle Bird Of Youth
The very first couple of paragraphs here have been used as introduction to other plays written by Tennessee Williams and reviewed in this space. This review applies to both the stage play and the film versions with differences noted as part of the review
Perhaps, as is the case with this reviewer, if you have come to the works of the excellent American playwright Tennessee Williams through adaptations of his plays to commercially distributed film you too will have missed some of the more controversial and intriguing aspects of his plays that had placed him at that time along with Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller as America's finest serious playwrights. Although some of the films have their own charms I want to address the written plays in this entry very first (along with, when appropriate, commentary about Williams' extensive and detailed directing instructions). ... Read More
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Cat On A Hot Tin Roof showcases the magnificent talents of Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor; and look for Burl Ives to do a stunning performance as well. The plot moves along at a good pace and the cinematography is excellent. This is a movie with guts to it and it should be mandatory viewing for people who view film as a true art form!
When the action starts, a rather wealthy Southern family gathers ostensibly to celebrate the 65th birthday of its patriarch, Big Daddy Pollitt (Burl Ives). However, the real reason for the large family turnout is soon made very clear: Big Daddy is dying from cancer and the members of the family want to get control of his estate even before he dies. Big Daddy's son Brick (Paul Newman), an ex-football player who indulges is large dosages of self-pity and anger tantrums, plays Big Daddy's son. Big Daddy's other son, Cooper 'Gooper' Pollitt (Jack Carson) arrives at the "festivities" with papers drawn up to make sure he gets Big Daddy's estate instead of Brick and Brick's wife Maggie (Elizabeth Taylor).
Tensions are high from the very beginning. Brick's marriage to Maggie is clearly on the rocks; he shuns her and treats her rather cruelly. There are numerous vague inferences to the possibility that Brick's "friendship" with his late friend "Skipper" might have been of a romantic nature; and therefore Brick might not want Maggie simply because he doesn't like women. However, that is left to the viewer's imagination because at the time men being more than friends was in violation of the Hayes Code. In addition, Gooper and his wife Mae (Madeleine Sherwood) have enough kids to form an army and they are desperate to make sure that they, and not Brick and Maggie, inherit Big Daddy's fortune.
Questions arise almost from the start. Will Brick and Maggie ever be able to rescue their marriage--and will Brick and Big Daddy ever make peace, too? What about the fact that the family and the family doctor hiding from Big Daddy that he has terminal cancer--how will Big Daddy take this when he finds out? Will this influence Big Daddy to give his entire estate to one or the other of his two sons? Watch the film and find out answers to this and other questions!
The DVD comes with two extras of note: There is a roughly ten minute retrospective about the making of the film. It was very challenging for Elizabeth Taylour to do the film because they started shooting just before her husband Mike Todd died in a plane crash. I especially liked the comments made by Madeleine Sherwood; she brings extra light to the retrospective that the historians cannot give because she was on the set with Elizabeth Taylour and they were not. The second bonus is a commentary by Tennessee Williams historian Donald Spoto.
Cat On A Hot Tin Roof deserves to be an Amazon.com "essential video." This film features superb acting from Elizabeth Taylour and Paul Newman when they were still relatively early on in their careers. I highly recommend this film for fans of these actors and people who enjoy classic motion picture will cherish this DVD for years to come.
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I ordered this shortly after Paul Newman's death. He was so georgous as was Elizabeth Taylor. This is a great Southern story with characters you wouldn't believe could exist unless you're from the South. I know some of these people!
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Anyone who has no desire to watch two of America's finest actors at the height of their physical beauty is nothing more than a 'no neck monster.'
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Reviewing `The Hustler' brought to mind the fact that I have as of yet to review `Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' and so I decided to go ahead and get this ball rolling. As I mentioned with `The Hustler', what impresses me most about the actor that was Paul Newman was his ability to compliment and support all of his co-stars. Sure, he was a force and an immediate attention grabber, but instead of being greedy for the limelight he always allowed his co-stars to soak up his natural charm and charisma. This paid off in spades, for the performances given by (especially) his leading ladies is almost always best in show.
In other words; Elizabeth Taylour is beyond marvelous in this movie.
The film tells the story of a very wealthy family, or at least a very wealthy patriarch named Harvey Pollitt, affectionately known as `Big Daddy'. It becomes known to Harvey's sons that he is close to death and so his boys Cooper and Brick make their way to their father's estate to celebrate his birthday and quarrel over his estate. Brick is a washed up football player who has drowned his sorrows in alcoholic and resorted to resenting his wife Maggie. Cooper is the responsible yet resentful son; the one who always tried the hardest yet fell short of daddy's expectations. His nagging wife Mae Flynn is determined to win over Big Daddy's heart and his money.
When word is given that Big Daddy may not be dying after all this causes a big stir in the family as tensions mount and Big Daddy himself decides to weigh in heavy on his two sons, their wives and their `issues'.
`Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' (a saying that refers to the predicament Maggie feels she has found herself) is taken from a stage play, and that may be my one and only complaint with this film. At times it carries a stiffness that only seems to come from stage-to-screen adaptations. It is minute and sparse, but to say it isn't there would be a bold-faced-lie. It doesn't take away much from the film, and it is not really worth mentioning, but I feel compelled to at least bring it out.
There is so much good here that the one sore spot becomes forgettable. The script is wonderful, truly engaging and deeply sincere. The development of relationships, especially between Maggie and Brick, is flawlessly crafted. Cooper and Mae Flynn feel like slight clichés, I have to be honest, but they help add layers to Brick, Maggie and even Big Daddy. There are few films that really grapple the realities of marriage with such blunt honesty, but the relationship between Brick and Maggie ("we occupy the same cage") is so pure I felt such a deep connection. The film broaches much more than marital relationships but approaches the subject of fatherly affection with candor and honesty. As Brick breaks down towards the end of the film we can see how the relationship between father and son is much more important than some give heed to.
The performances by the entire cast really raise the bar here as well. Newman and Ives are magnetic as they spar with one another, but it is Elizabeth Taylour who just dominates this film from start to finish. Her vulnerability and unwavering devotion is just effortlessly captivating. You bleed for her character and strive for her to find her happiness, one way or another.
Richard Brooks (who also directed the gloomier yet equally impressive `In Cold Blood') delivers a fantastic film that is very well crafted and marvelously fleshed out, giving the audience much to appreciate and adore. If you are looking for a tense family drama then look no further, for there are few as rewarding as this one.
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