Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Media:	DVD
Directed by:	Richard Brooks
Starring:	Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Burl Ives
Release date:	01 June, 2004
List price:	~~$19.97~~
Our price:	$14.67 that is 27% off!

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Average rating:

symbolic crutch

Richard Brooks' 1958 screen adaptation of the Tennessee Williams play, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof finds its greatest merit in its actors. Paul Newman, Elizabeth Taylor, Burl Ives, Judith Anderson, Jack Carson, and Madeline Sherwood give award winning performances as the members of the dysfunctional Pollitt family. Set at the plantation Big Daddy built from the ground up and centering around his sixty-fifth birthday celebration, Cat on A Hot Tin Roof delves into the "mendacity" surrounding this Southern family. All the family has gathered, not so much for the party, but for the news of Big Daddy's medical condition...and of course, to protect their share of the inheritance. Big Daddy has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, but is unaware of it. Oldest son Gooper and his wife Mae vie with youngest son Brick's wife Maggie for the biggest portion of the estate. The two sons and their wives are set up as a direct contrast to one another. Gooper has always tried to please his father, even becoming a lawyer at his suggestion. Mae has done her share to win Big Daddy's affection as well, giving birth to five children, soon to be six. Brick has stayed a child, having been a football hero in his youth and becoming an alcoholic during the film. Maggie also tries to please Big Daddy, but is genuine in her affection for him. Censorship in the 1950s did not allow such controversial things as homosexuality and vulgarity (which were in the play) to be in the film, but they are just beneath the surface. This is partially revealed by Brick's relationship with his friend Skipper. Some of the tension in his marriage to Maggie is assumed to be because she had an affair with Brick's friend. It is later revealed that this is not the case. Skipper's suicide the year before led to Brick's drinking and his problems with Maggie. One of the outstanding parts of the film is the symbolism of Brick's crutch. He used to lean on Skipper, now he leans on his crutch. Twice, he refuses to lean on others for support when they offer it. Maggie and Big Daddy both demand to know why he will not lean on them. Alcohol becomes another crutch for Brick. Big Daddy withholds his liquor and asks why Brick drinks. He says it is because of all of the mendacity in the world. Yet when Maggie demands that he face the truth about Skipper, he throws the crutch at her. The lies he hides from are his own. Big Daddy eventually gets him to explain the he hung up on Skipper just before he killed himself, and that the phone kept ringing and ringing. He says that when he drinks, he hears a "click" in his head and when he hears it, the phone stops ringing.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof -

Dysfunctionalism before it was in vogue

When the familial vultures hear that Big Daddy Burl Ives is dying of cancer, they flock to his southern Gothic spread for a supposed 65th birthday, and the Pollitt brood brings with it about every type of dysfunction that hadn't even been named when this scorching film version of Tennessee Williams' Pulitzer Prize play got the big screen treatment. Alcoholism, suppressed sexual yearnings, latent homosexuality, greed, "mendacity" and children who could be poster kids for the pro-choice lobby are all here, and a riveting cast combine to make this triumphant film a classic. Headed by a sultry Elizabeth Taylor as the sexually frustrated and angry Maggie the Cat and Paul Newman as her alcoholic and closeted gay husband, Brick, "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" explores the interpersonal traumas among husband and wife and a former acquaintance, Skipper, a washed up football player who throws himself out of a window in a Chicago hotel, and the impact his suicide has on Maggie and Brick's marriage. The hint of a gay atrraction between Brick and Skipper is obvious, and Maggie's anger at the physical and emotional distance imposed by her husband is magnificently projected. At the same time, in an overpowering performance by Ives, Big Daddy has to come to terms with his own mortality while baiting the wolves with his decision about who'll get what of his filthy rich estate. In the end, "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" is less a snapshot of a seriously dysfunctional family at a major crossroad and more an affirmation of life, the passion for it and coming to terms with the sometimes vicious pitches life can throw. As Maggie, Elizabeth Taylor is spellbinding, and her performance is all the more credible considering the filming of the movie was interrupted by the death in a plan crash of her third husband, Mike Todd. Paul Newman, as the cynical, alcoholic and sexually ashamed Brick, unleashes a performance worthy of an Oscar, and Burl Ives is no less than commanding with an awesome screen presence. Though more than 40 years old now, this film remains a classic and deserves a spot on virtually every "best of" list that can be developed.

- Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Every line filled with tension, and the acting is wondeful!

This adaptation of a Tennessee Williams play was nominated for six academy awards in 1959. It stars Elizabeth Taylor as Maggie, rejected over and over by her alcoholic husband, Brick, played by Paul Newman. His father, Big Daddy, played by Burl Ives, has just returned to his Mississippi mansion after exploratory surgery. There's bitter rivalry in the family as they speculate about his death. Jack Carson plays the older son, who, with his pregnant wife, played by Madeline Sherwood and their five obnoxious children are determined to inherit Big Daddy's fortune. But Big Daddy despises him, as he does his own wife of 40 years, Big Mama, played by Judith Anderson.

As this film was originally a play, most of it is sharp and cutting dialogue, every line filled with tension and double meanings. Close-ups reveal the artistry of the actors, all of whom are excellent. I especially liked Burl Ives, whose performance called for a wide range of emotions, showing his vulnerability as well as his strength. And as the characters battled with each other, the story, which I understand was rewritten to fall within the guidelines of 1950s censors, slowly revealed itself. Some critics say this ruined this movie adaptation. I can't comment on that because I though the story was great. Most of the film takes place inside a house and there's almost no physical action. Not necessary. The dialog does it all. And it does it well. Recommended.

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