VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Sexyloutak Absolutely the worst movie.

Kidskycom It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

Calum Hutton It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

SnoopyStyle Wannabe actor Chance Wayne (Paul Newman) returns to his hometown St. Cloud with drunken former film star Alexandra Del Lago (Geraldine Page). Dr. George Scudder tells him his mother died recently and that he's marrying his ex-girlfriend Heavenly (Shirley Knight). Corrupt political boss "Boss" Finley (Ed Begley), father of Heavenly, forced him out of town years earlier. Tom Finley Jr. (Rip Torn) is the tough violent muscle.It's based on a Tennessee Williams play and has that sweaty old south feel. The dialog crackles. There are some great lines. The language is tough. There is some interesting stuff with Newman and Page. However early scenes struggle with their relationship. It does get more and more interesting as it goes on. However there is a good chunk in the middle that needs to be cut back. The power is elevated every time Ed Begley and Rip Torn push their way around. Rip is electric threatening Del Lago. Geraldine Page is acting very close to the edge but she's a great diva. This is a fine southern melodrama.

Robert J. Maxwell Playwright Tennessee Williams has said he slept through the 1960s. He's still awake here, though maybe a bit groggy."Sweet Bird of Youth" is full of juicy parts and vicious scenes. Paul Newman is a young man who has been traveling around -- New York, Hollywood -- seeking to cash in on his good looks, so far without success. This vision of mortal splendor was imparted to him by Boss Finley, Ed Begley. Finley is not called "Boss" for nothing. He's insinuated himself into one powerful political office after another in this Southern state and now runs it as his personal fiefdom. The state police serve as his body servants.Years ago, love was growing between Newman's character, Wayne Chance, and Begley's daughter Heavenly, played by succulent blond Shirley Knight. Love is a fine thing and all that, but to Begley it was an irritant because Heavenly was a débutante whereas Newman was some kind of BUSBOY at the local hotel. You and Heavenly want to get married and that's great, Begley tells him, but you got to go out and conquer the world first so's to be worthy of her. Hollywood and New York, that's the ticket. Speaking of tickets, here's a one-way to New York and a hundred dollars to go with it. Now seek your fortune, and good luck to ya. You come back now, sometime in the distant future, you hear?Dumb Newman accepts the bribe and is off on a quest for the Holy Chalice. He returns to St. Claire once in a while to see Heavenly on the sly and during one of these visits he impregnates her before leaving to continue his pursuit of fame, which by now has acquired functional autonomy. Like Duddy Kravitz, he still believes he's doing it for someone else but he's mistaken.Basically, this film is the story of his final visit. Everyone in town warns him to stay away from Heavenly and get out of town. Never mind that he's dragged the famous but aging movie star Alexandra Del Lago, Geraldine Page, into St. Claire with him, along with her Cadillac and her money. We feel sorry for her because she's on the run from her latest movie, which she believes to have been a failure, and Newman is exploiting the hell out of her, but she's exploitative and narcissistic herself and exploits him back. This raises an interesting question. If a woman orders a man to make love, and he's ashamed of himself, can he still do it? I always could but, I mean, how about Newman's character? The plot get pretty complicated and I don't want to get into it in any detail. Besides, it's been modified to suit a more general audience. I remember seeing the theater marquis in New York with Newman playing the same part on the stage. I didn't get to see a performance but I read about it. Gee, that was a long time ago. I feel antediluvian.The film's writer and director, Richard Brooks, is sometimes thought of as a man who castrated Tennessee Williams for the movie audience, what with the homosexual theme of "Cat On a Hot Tin Roof" being further submerged, and then this one, in which the world "castration" is particularly apt. But then, in the 50s, you could only push the envelope so far.Boss Finley's goons bash Newman's face in so he'll never be beautiful again. But does it matter? You bet it doesn't. Newman and Knight run off happily together. Geraldine Page discovers her latest movie wasn't a disaster at all but the greatest hit in the history of the entire planet and she skids off in her Cadillac, happy as only a vicious lover of self can be. Word of some skeletons in the Finley closet are made public and the voters and higher authorities reject him and Begley winds up ruined. This is what is known as a "happy ending" in the trade.Newman is something of a bastard in this film and the part is within his range, just as "The Hustler" and "Hud" were, but it's still one of his more lackluster performances. Geraldine Page's character is over ripe and she makes the most of it. The hysteria is delicious. Shirley Knight is just adequate. But Ed Begley is great -- toothy, overbearing, treacherous, sadistic, barking out orders to massacre people in between the hollow and flagrantly phony greetings. His girl friend, Madeleine Sherwood as "Miss Lucy," matches him in her determine spite.

whpratt1 If you are a Paul Newman, (Chance Wayne) fan, this is the film for you, he was young and at the height of his career and gave an outstanding performance. Chance Wayne plays the role as a young man who starts many careers and never seems to get anywhere at all. Chance decides he wants to go to Hollywood, however, he has a girl named Heavenly Finley, (Shirley Knight) who he is very much in love with. Heavenly has a father named Tom Finley, (Ed Begley) who does not like Chance and he does everything in his power to keep this couple apart from each other. It is not very long when Chance returns from Hollywood with a burned out actress, Alexandra Del Lago, (Geraldine Page) who adds a great deal of comedy and romance in this film as well as, an outstanding performance. Enjoy.

blanche-2 Geraldine Page, Paul Newman, Madeline Sherwood and Rip Torn all recreate their Broadway roles for the film version of "Sweet Bird of Youth," a 1962 film based on Tennessee Williams' play and directed by Richard Brooks. Again and as usual, some bite has been taken out of the original story in order to get past the censors.Geraldine Page is the drunk, drugged and over the hill movie star Alexandra del Lago, who has picked up with a Hollywood gigolo, Chance Wayne and promised him a film career. At present she's escaping from what she perceives as a disastrous comeback. Chance returns with her to his home town, yearning for the respectability and success that has eluded him. Instead he runs into trouble from his ex-girlfriend's crooked politician father, Tom Finley (Ed Begley) and Finley's son, Tom Jr. (Rip Torn) who want him out of town because of what happened to Heavenly (Shirley Knight). In the play, Chance has given Heavenly a venereal disease; in the film, she's had an abortion. Chance desperately tries to see and speak with Heavenly, appealing to her Aunt Nonnie (Mildred Dunnock), but it leads to more trouble than he bargained for.Page is a powerhouse as Alexandra, more glamorous than we're used to seeing her and as sloppy a drunk and druggie as you'll ever find. Alexandra's a selfish user, and she's got the technique down pat. The role of Chance, another selfish user, came fairly early on in the handsome Newman's career - he came very close to being typecast as these fast-talking amoral men. In those days, Newman struggled with a lack of emotional availability and these roles fit him beautifully. Thankfully he grew to encompass parts in films such as he had in "The Verdict" and became one of our greatest American actors. Madeline Sherwood, so effective in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," is equally good here as Boss Finley's girlfriend; her scene with Begley in her hotel room is truly terrifying. Begley is fantastic, mean as dirt, as is Torn as his equally cruel son. And "Desperate Housewives" fans will be interested to see a slim, pretty Shirley Knight as Heavenly, a somewhat vapid role for such a strong actress.The DVD has a screen test for Chance by Rip Torn, who would later marry Page. He and Page perform a scene between Alexandra and Chance from the play - though the scene is in the film, it has been changed slightly. It's total stage acting, quite different from the film, but both are excellent, Torn giving Chance a lot of intensity. Though in those days he was very good-looking, he probably didn't come off as enough of a boy toy for the producers. It's a very interesting extra and well worth seeing, as is this somewhat watered-down "Sweet Bird of Youth."