Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)

Good idea lost in the noise

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof shows incredible quanlification on Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor's performance.During watching this film,one who appreciates it must contribute adequate concentration to their expression.

A memorable drama, with superb performances by Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, and Burl Ives. The undercurrent of Taylor and Newman's wrecked marriage energizes the plot; they "occupy the same cage" as Taylor's Maggie puts it. She relentlessly tries seduction, but Newman could care less.As others have pointed out, Brick's brother is presented as a hen-pecked mediocrity, his family fairly trashy, while Brick and Maggie are the 'cool couple.' Actually, Gooper is a solid citizen, and Brick is a bitter alcoholic. It's amusing how Ives' Big Daddy shows no respect for Gooper's family, dropping sarcastic bombs all over them. Nonetheless, he's even more upset by Brick's non-conformity. It would be interesting to have a sort of prequel in which Brick's relationship with Skipper is shown, instead of just referred to. That would've been impossible in the 50s. In fact, it's surprising that the gay theme was explored in such depth, even if inferentially. Big Daddy is consumed by Brick's inclination; he can't understand it, for him it's a problem that should have a solution.Still, he shows considerable sensitivity to Brick. He never insults Brick, as he does everyone else, Maggie excepted. "We even love your hate" as Big Momma aptly puts it. He goes through a huge effort to shoo everyone away when he wants to talk to Brick. "Now that I'm straightened out, I'm gonna straighten you out!" Big Daddy tells him. Brick's alcoholism is the buffer between the way he is, and the way he's expected to be. The thunderstorm breaks, literally, just as they bring up Skipper. While Skipper was losing control, just before his suicide, Maggie wanted to go bed with him in an ironic attempt to keep him away from Brick by trying to 'fix' him. Interestingly, Big Daddy shows concern for Skipper, realizing that Brick is partially responsible for Skipper's death. Big Daddy has sensitivity, but lacks love.After Big Daddy discovers that he will die, the family argument over the estate rivals Brick and Bid Daddy's earlier argument for its intensity. It succeeds in pointing out Gooper's greed and shallowness. The climactic cellar scene telescopes the show's themes adroitly; Brick and Big Daddy finally do understand each other, and each other's strengths and weaknesses. The last scene, however, seems artificial, as though Brick can change his nature through an act of will.Cat On a Hot Tin Roof is an excellent movie, very passionate and very intelligent.

Tennessee Williams are so hard to watch. There are always tormented characters, failure, insensitivity, and lust. The inimitable Burl Ives plays Big Daddy, the patriarch, who is dying, though he doesn't know it for sure. Paul Newman is the son who has never connected with him; actually, there is great hatred for him. His wife is Elizabeth Taylor, Maggie the Cat, who is stunning, of course. This revolves around a birthday party for Big Daddy where the other son and his whiny wife and their kids are circling like vultures, trying to get the entire estate when Big Daddy dies. Brick, Newman's character, is a drunk and walks around with a cast because his foolish actions caused him to break his leg. Of course, the story revolves around the in-fighting plus getting at the root of Brick's anger toward his father. When this is revealed, it creates a final confrontation between the two stiff backed men. Quite a remarkable movie. Ives is a consummate actor and it's interesting how few film roles he had. This is undoubtedly his best.

Unlike many screen adaptations of Tennessee Williams plays, I experienced a peculiar detachment from the central character, Brick Pollitt, in this instance. There was a missing connection for me, but I can't exactly put my finger on it. Perhaps it was the fact that I just wasn't very convinced of Paul Newman as Brick Pollitt. Either Newman grew tired of the role somewhere along the way, or I lost interest watching him perform as a former high school jock who had a peculiar fixation with his former buddy, Skipper, for whose death he holds himself responsible. According to the IMDb trivia page for this film, the role of Brick was refused by Presley, Mitchum, Clift, and Gazzara. As Tony Franciosa and Don Murray were also considered and as James Dean tragically died before this movie was produced, that would mean Newman might have been the eighth choice, or were there even more possibilities in front of him? Why so many? Was it the potential professional stigma surrounding the obvious undercurrent of Brick's strongly suggested homosexuality in the highly homophobic world of 1958 that was at risk? If so, then Newman deserves credit for the courage that others did not possess. Without the powerful performances of Burl Ives and Elizabeth Taylor, this film would never have been so successful. Ives, who had been thought to be "just some folk singer" when he was chosen as "Big Daddy", is nothing short of magnificent in his role as the self-made patriarch who is dying of cancer and who seriously reflects upon the true meaning of his life, which is plagued by "mendacity" and pretense on all sides. Taylor, who had lost her beloved husband, Mike Todd, in a sudden plane crash just before production, seems to express her grief through her art as Maggie Pollitt, the frustrated (and gorgeous!) wife of Brick. Her interactions with the brood of "no neck", spoiled brat nieces and nephews, who invade the family estate for an unbearable and seemingly endless period of time, are hilarious, especially the unforgettable ice cream scene. Why the servants left ice cream out in the Louisiana summer heat is beyond me, but so be it. Her several exchanges with Brick reach a very high level of intensity, even though I felt that at least some of the couple's extended verbal wrangling could have been condensed.Both Madeleine Sherwood and Judith Anderson play very disagreeable members of the Pollitt family all too well. I found them both very difficult to watch for long, but that's what the script demanded. Jack Carson is perfect as Goober Pollitt, the pathetic, older brother who has dutifully adhered to all of the established family rules but who receives in return no respect from anyone.I can't blame playwright Williams for disliking this very murky screen adaptation of his very serious creation. He should have at least been grateful for the casting of Ives and Taylor because they both soar to the skies here, redeeming what otherwise might have been a dreary disaster.