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Suddenly, Last Summer [1959]


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Editorial
Amazon.com

This black-and-white film adaptation of Tennessee Williams's Southern gothic play is perhaps more famous for the rumored off-screen shenanigans of its stars than for its over-the-top repressed sexuality (only Williams could pull off that paradox, and pull it off he does). Supposedly, stars Katharine Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor battled for screen time; Hepburn warred very publicly with director Joseph Mankiewicz; and a post-accident Montgomery Clift relied heavily on painkillers and support from friend Taylor during the gruelling shoot. Even this, however, cannot top the events of the film itself, revolving around the unseen playboy Sebastian and his mysterious death, which has something to do with young boys, a decadent European vacation and Taylor in a provocative wet, white bathing suit. To give away the plot would spoil the fun, but suffice it to say that what Taylor saw was so horrible it drove her nuts, and Sebastian's mother (Hepburn) wants her to have a lobotomy in order to keep it from coming out; Clift is brought in to do the procedure. It's all a hoot and a holler, but as played by the two leading ladies (both of whom nabbed Oscar nominations), it's also compelling, chilling, and utterly gothic. Taylor gives a fierce performance, as the climaxing monologue that reveals Sebastian's "secret" rests entirely on her shoulders, and Hepburn plays brilliantly against type as Sebastian's manipulating, overbearing mother. Only Clift, saddled with a dreary character in charge of plot exposition, fails to deliver. Adapted by Gore Vidal. --Mark Englehart

Editorial
Special Features

filmographies; photo gallery; photo montage.
Editorial
Synopsis

Gore Vidal's stark, powerful screen adaptation of Tennessee Williams's play explores the trauma of Catherine (Elizabeth Taylor), whose homosexual cousin dies an unspeakable and gradually revealed death while traveling with her in Europe. Katharine Hepburn as the murdered man's mother can't bear to hear the details of her son's death, preferring instead to have a lobotomy performed on her niece, insisting that the girl is mad. But a doctor (Montgomery Clift) is determined to explore the reasons behind the girl's inexplicable actions and words, eventually uncovering the secrets the mother wants to hide. Williams's play explicitly stated why the murdered man's death so traumatized his cousin, but this adaptation written by Vidal and filled with wild, moody tension by director Joseph L. Mankiewicz allows viewers to read between the lines and gather their own suspicions about Sebastian Venable's death. Taylor radiates uncertainty and fear as the girl terrorized by her cousin's death and her fierce aunt's obsession to keep her quiet, while Hepburn sways with menace in one of her few, deliciously played roles as a villainess. Both actresses were nominated for Best Actress Oscars for their performances.
Editorial
From the Back Cover

Elizabeth Taylor and Katharine Hepburn each received 1960 Oscar nominations for Best Actress in this gripping adaptation of the Tennessee Williams play. Beautiful Catherine Holly (Elizabeth Taylor) is committed to a mental institution after witnessing the horrible death of the cousin at the hands of cannibals. Catherine's aunt, Violet Veneble (Katharine Hepburn), tries to influence Dr Cukrowicz (Montgomery Clift), a young neurosurgeon, to surgically end Catherine's haunting hallucinations. By utilising injections of sodium pentothal, Dr Cukrowicz discovers that Catherine's delusions are in fact true. He then must confront Violet about her own involvement in her son's violent death.

An extraordinary film from an extraordinary play
Review date: 2008-06-28 Rating: 10 out of 10

An extraordinary film from an extraordinary play that weaves its grim way
Through several dark themes yet it is rooted in the characters natural
Ambitions in the fictional present of the story... The dead characters
End Is the centrepiece of the plot and,homosexuality aside,partakes of the
Nature of perverse paganism but is almost a hysterical parody of a
Pessimistic tourists fears,where the perverse adventurist becomes a
Masochistic sacrifice to a representative sample of The Poor...At the same
Time,a spoilt rich aristocrat tries to bribe an ambitious official to
Censor the heretical cousin yet the conscientious innovator,Clifts
Character will please neither...Lobotomisation is another of the less
Obvious controversial themes in this terrific drama,which,in flashback
Tells another tale within the film when the characters gather at the house
Where the dead Sebastian seems to host the survivors with his bizarre
garden,in absentia:A poetic character obsessed with the brutality of life
As evident in lower nature which he seeks and buys amongst the poor...His
Behaviour contrasts with the possessive idealism of the matriarch who was
Already eccentric from the sons youth,as we see the film's end fortold,
Which is a neat and superb end to the film...A philosophically rich film
That can be seen again and again-I never forgot seeing it at the cinema
In the early eighties,although i had seen it as a child and highly
Commend and recommend it,not least for the subtext of bribery as well as
Of madness,perversion and malicious medicine,serving empire-building .


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Reviews


Good example of Southern Gothic in cinema
Review date: 2007-12-25 Rating: 8 out of 10

"Suddenly, Last Summer" was adapted by Gore Vidal from the one-act Southern Gothic play by Tennessee Williams. Southern Gothic is a genre of American writing which appeared after the civil war which choose to maintain the atmosphere of gothic writing but focus modern social concerns such as race, gender and sexual orientation. Southern writers such as Harper Lee, William Faulkner, Carson McCullers, Truman Capote and Tennessee Williams all fall into this category. "Suddenly, Last Summer" deals with the issues of homosexuality and the attempts of Violet Venable (Katherine Hepburn) to cover up her sons homosexuality to point of trying to get her niece, Catherine Holly (Elizabeth Taylor), lobotomised in order to prevent her from talking. Due to the production code of the period explicit references to homosexuality had to be implied and not spoken of directly which in a dialogue driven film can be difficult. Its not really until the end when Catherine states that women as companions were used for "procurement" does this become apparent.

Katherine Hepburn's character for me felt out-of-character in relation to her real life persona which I found at times difficult to reconcile although it was a great performance. Montgomery Clift's performance is good but really the star for me was Elizabeth Taylor who is wonderful however difficult it is to believe that she could be duped by Sebastian's motives. I would certainly recommend this film to fans of hers. It is a dark and creepy psychologically driven film although by no means a horror picture. For a further example of southern gothic see "A Streetcar Named Desire" (1951, Kazan).

Directed by Joseph L Mankiewicz (The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, 1946; A Letter to Three Wives, 1949; All About Eve, 1950)

Cinematography: Jack Hildyard (Henry V, 1944; The Bridge on the River Kwai, 1957)

Highly melodramatic Tennessee Williams drama
Review date: 2007-11-12 Rating: 8 out of 10

Katharine Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor dominate this film with acting that matches the gothic darkness of the plot where Violet Venable (Hepburn) tries to have Catherine Holly (Taylor) operated on for a frontal lobotomy to erase her memories of what happened last summer to Mrs Venables playboy son Sebastian (an absent role).

Due to censorship restrictions in 1959 the disturbing nature of the plot can only be dealt with obliquely, resulting in embarrassing histrionics by current standards.

However this is very fine acting by Hepburn and Taylor and good production of the time, and we should not be too hard on Montgomery Clift for a below par performance as he was recovering from a car accident.

An important film of its time that is well worth viewing.


What does Cathy know? What happened last summer?
Review date: 2006-05-14 Rating: 8 out of 10

"Suddenly Last Summer" (1959) is a strange, dark movie, directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and based on a play written by Tennessee Williams. This film touches many subjects that where highly controversial at the time it was made, for example mental illness, homosexuality and cannibalism. Truth to be told, a lot is to be inferred, and not much is shown. However, the fact that the characters hardly ever mention things that so obviously have to do with what happens makes those themes stand out even more.

The central question in this movie is, of course, "what happened last summer?", and the spectator will be immediately drawn into the mystery. Unfortunately for us, the only witness to what happened is Catherine Holly (Elizabeth Taylor), a beautiful and traumatized young woman who became mentally unbalanced after witnessing the death of her cousin Sebastian Venable. Her aunt, wealthy Mrs. Violet Venable (Katharine Hepburn), thinks that Catherine should be lobotomized. That is the reason why she urges neurosurgeon Dr. John Cukrowicz (Montgomery Clift) to perform the operation. However, Dr. Cukrowicz believes that his patient may not be mad, after all, and that Mrs. Violet Venable might want the lobotomy in order to destroy Catherine's mind. But what does Cathy know? What happened last summer?

On the whole, I think that you will like this movie, if you don't mind the somber tone that pervades it. Recommended!

You�ll never forget Katharine Hepburn�s voice
Review date: 2005-02-03 Rating: 10 out of 10

An adaptation of a Tennessee Williams play, this film is a clash of two characters, the rich widow Violet Venable (Katharine Hepburn) and her niece (Elizabeth Taylor) over what happened to Sebastian, the son of the older woman when on holiday in Spain with his cousin. If nothing else this film is worth for Katharine Hepburn alone. She gives one of the performances of her career (and one for which she got an Oscar nomination), even before she appears on the screen, her voice being heard as she descends in the lift - you'll never be able to forget it.

Quite daring for its time, I still find it a powerful story, and it ranks high among my favourites. The performances from the two ladies and Montgomery Clift and a strong direction from Joseph L. Mankiewicz have managed to avoid it to age, despite the topics it touches (homosexuality and mental illness). The DVD presents the film in a rather good copy, although not comparable to more recent black and white releases such as the restored "Casablanca", with some extras of no consequence.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Montgomery Clift
Albert Dekker
Mercedes McCambridge
Katharine Hepburn
Elizabeth Taylor

Creators:
Elizabeth Taylor (Primary Contributor)
Katharine Hepburn (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
EAN: 5035822039537
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Black & White, Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 2002-11-11
Number of discs: 1
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 110 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1959-12-22
Language: Dutch (Subtitled)
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: French (Subtitled)
Language: German (Subtitled)
Language: Hindi (Subtitled)
Language: Italian (Subtitled)
Language: Portuguese (Subtitled)
Language: Spanish (Subtitled)
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: French (Dubbed)
Language: German (Dubbed)
Language: Italian (Dubbed)
Language: Spanish (Dubbed)

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