VividSimon Simply Perfect

Konterr Brilliant and touching

CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Crwthod A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

Guy Plot: A dangerous drifter becomes friends with the richest family in a town in Mississippi More of a play than a film, this garish monstrosity combines most of the worst features of 1950s American film-making. There is simply too much music, too much make-up, too much studio shooting, too many static shots, too much of everything. Orson Welles in particular doesn't so much as chew the carpet as eat the whole darned house, in a dementedly florid performance. The two genres that age worst tend to be teen rebel and sex films, because what is provocative to one generation is tepid to another; which is exactly what happens here. The film also makes the mistake of thinking itself positively Shakespearian because it has broad Southern accents. It isn't. It's a fairly run of the mill family melodrama as daddy tries to arrange his brood to provide him with grand-kids, whilst the nice school teacher rejects Paul Newman's tough drifter in such a way that you know that they will inevitably end up together. As indeed they do.

mark.waltz Yes, this is another trip to "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" territory. Orson Welles is Will Varner, William Faulkner's version of Big Daddy, but this time, he has the rather frigid Joanne Woodward as his daughter, and Paul Newman (here much more sexually alive as Ben Quick than he was as Brick in that Tennessee Williams classic). Secondary couple Anthony Franciosa and Lee Remick play the Jack Carson/Madeline Sherwood parts, but are MUCH more likable. Drifter Newman arrives in town, having been accused of burning a barn nearby. Already, his name is known. He takes on Welles, who actually seems to like him in spite of his mistrust. Welles is desperate for a grandchild, and Newman seems to be a better studly match for Woodward than mama's boy Richard Anderson. There seems to be some homosexual undertones for Anderson's character who still lives with the seemingly overbearing Mabel Albertson (yes, Darrin's "Bewitched" mother, oh, those sick headaches). Of course, in 1958, it is not mentioned outright (as it wasn't as well in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"), but it's fairly obvious that there's something the handsome but closeted Anderson isn't revealing. While there isn't great chemistry on screen here consistently between Woodward and Newman (married in real life, and partners in quite a few films), they do heat up in a few moments. It is much more interesting to see the work between Newman and Welles. The heavyset patriarch seems at first that he'd never like someone like Ben Quick, but when Quick immediately stands up to him, he begins to consider him like the son he wish he had instead of weak Anthony Franciosa. Quick is soon working in his store, then moves into the Varner house, and finally is ordered by Will to marry his daughter. It seems that this Southern patriarch has no class dividers; He thinks that a studly man like Newman would keep his daughter satisfied and under his thumb as long as babies are being born. What he doesn't count on are two thing's: Franciosa's sudden twist of hate, and Newman's determination not to be controlled by a man he does admire, but would never let dominate him in the way he so obviously wants to. That makes for great drama.Unfortunately, the beautiful Angela Lansbury is wasted as Welles' gal pal; She has a few nice scenes in which she is excellent as always. She is also quite beautiful here, not the harpy of some of her MGM films and certainly not the monster mama of "Manchurian Candidate". Eight years later, she would win Broadway immortality as "Mame", and there are some hints of what she would do in that part here. The beautiful Joanne Woodward had come off her Oscar Winning work in "The Three Faces of Eve", and does fine, but her screen presence as a romantic heroine wasn't established yet. She seems to be one of those actresses more comfortable on stage than screen. She is also one of the few who seemed to get more beautiful as she got older, but it appears that she was being bred to be a new Grace Kelly since that actress had gone and left Hollywood to live with a man of some means in Monaco. When Woodward got films like "Rachel, Rachel" and "Summer Wishes, Summer Dreams", where she could really show her acting chops and not just be another beautiful Ice Princess, she was fantastic. She would have to wait until the studio years were fully done in Hollywood before she could command such roles.Newman, Welles, and Lee Remick get the most outstanding parts. Remick is another one who seemed to be another Grace Kelly on the rise, but here, she gets to be flirtatious even though married to Franciosa, who can't seem to tame her. A scene where local boys call for Remick while her entire family is present is very revealing of what this family is all about. The film is beautifully photographed and a lush musical score (including a lovely title song) adds to the luster of the movie.

kenjha A drifter comes into a Mississippi town and is taken under the wing of the town big shot in this drama based on multiple works of Faulkner. Newman is solid as an ambitious worker trying to escape his past. Welles steals the film in a wonderfully hammy performance as a larger-than-life character who rules over not only his two meek children but also the entire town. Franciosa is fine as Welles's wimpy son, but Woodward's performance seems somewhat wooden. Remick is given little to do except look pretty, which she does well. In the first of six films he made with Newman, Ritt creates an atmosphere befitting the title. The plot element concerning fire-starting is rather silly.

Martin Bradley Martin Ritt's movie, based on a couple of stories by William Faulkner, may not be earth-shatteringly profound or even particularly serious but it's a hugely enjoyable melodrama nevertheless. Paul Newman is Ben Quick, an alleged barn-burner, who drifts into a sleepy small town, the whole of which seems to be the property of Will Varner, (Orson Wells, going way over the top), during that long, hot summer of the title.Quick is aptly named as it doesn't take him long to make his mark as the son Varner would rather he had instead of feckless Anthony Franciosa. Joanne Woodward is also on hand as the prim school mistress daughter who has the hots for Quick, (just as Woodward had the hots for Newman, who probably never looked more beautiful on screen). Others on board include Lee Remick as Franciosa's trashy wife and Angela Lansbury as Welles' mistress and they are all good value. Lushly photographed in widescreen by Joseph LaShelle and with a good score by Alex North this remains something of a forgotten treat.