Suddenly, Last Summer (film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the 1959 film. For the play, see Suddenly, Last Summer.

For the song, see Suddenly Last Summer (song).

Suddenly, Last Summer
Image:L28693.jpeg Film poster
Directed by	Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Produced by	Sam Spiegel
Written by	Gore Vidal Tennessee Williams (play)
Starring	Elizabeth Taylor Katharine Hepburn Montgomery Clift
Music by	Malcolm Arnold Buxton Orr
Cinematography	Jack Hildyard
Editing by	William Hornbeck Thomas Stanford
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)	Image:Flag of the United States.svg 22 December 1959
Running time	114 min
Country	USA
Language	English
Budget	US $3,000,000 (estimated)
IMDb profile

Suddenly, Last Summer is a 1959 drama film made by Columbia Pictures, based on the play of the same title by Tennessee Williams. The film was directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and produced by Sam Spiegel from a screenplay by Gore Vidal and Williams, based on Williams' play. The music score was by Malcolm Arnold and Buxton Orr and the cinematography by Jack Hildyard. The production was designed by Oliver Messel.

The film stars Elizabeth Taylor, Katharine Hepburn and Montgomery Clift with Albert Dekker, Mercedes McCambridge, and Gary Raymond. Eddie Fisher, Gore Vidal, and Williams' lover Frank Merlo (1915-1963) make uncredited cameo appearances. Vidal and Merlo's cameos are as surgeons who are watching an operation being performed. Fisher appears as one of the street thugs pursuing Taylor in the flashback.

1 Plot
2 Background and production
3 Cast
4 Awards and nominations
5 External links

[edit] Plot

The film features Catherine Holly (Taylor), a young woman who seems to go insane after her cousin Sebastian dies on a trip to Europe under mysterious circumstances. Sebastian's mother, Violet Venable (Hepburn), tries to cloud the truth about her son's homosexuality and his death, as she wants him to be remembered as a great artist. She threatens to lobotomize Catherine for her incoherent utterances relating to Sebastian's demise. Finally, under the influence of a truth serum, Catherine tells the gruesome story of Sebastian's death by cannibalism at the hand of local boys whose sexual favors he sought. Both his mother and later Catherine were only devices for him to attract the young men.

[edit] Background and production

The original play on which the film is based is a one-act play, part of the double-bill called Garden District, paired with Something Unspoken, performed Off-Broadway in 1958.

The production was fraught with difficulties. Hepburn was apparently resentful of the attention Taylor was receiving. In addition, Mankiewicz and Spiegel reportedly disliked Clift. Reasons given include that he was gay and that he was unable to film for more than a few hours a day.

As a result of the May 1956 car crash near the home of Taylor and her then-husband Michael Wilding, Clift was relying heavily on drugs and/or alcohol. Hepburn was deeply resentful of the treatment Clift was receiving, and despite the moral support both she and Taylor (who had been instrumental in getting him the role) provided to Clift, Clift's behavior on the set caused much negativity among the crew. At the end of filming, after confirming her part of the filming was completely done, Hepburn reportedly spat in the face of Spiegel, Mankiewicz or both.[1]

The film was shot entirely in England, at Shepperton Studios and in London between May and August 1959, and released in the U.S. on December 22 of that year. Despite opening up the play to include some exteriors and additional scenes, the film cannot hide its stage origins and was felt by some critics to be dialogue-bound [2].

[edit] Cast

Elizabeth Taylor - Catherine Holly
Katharine Hepburn - Mrs. Violet Venable
Montgomery Clift - Dr. John Cukrowicz
Albert Dekker - Dr. Hockstader
Mercedes McCambridge - Mrs. Holly
Gary Raymond - George Holly
Mavis Villiers - Miss Foxhill
Patricia Marmont - Nurse Benson
Joan Young - Sister Felicity
Maria Britneva - Lucy
Sheila Robbins - Dr. Hockstader's Secretary
David Cameron - Young Blonde Intern
Roberta Woolley - Patient

[edit] Awards and nominations

[edit] Academy Awards

Both Katharine Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor were nominated for the Best Actress award. The surprise winner that year was Simone Signoret for Room at the Top. The film was also nominated for Best Art Direction for Oliver Messel, William Kellner and Scott Slimon.