Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)

Brick, an alcoholic ex-football player, drinks his days away and resists the affections of his wife, Maggie. His reunion with his father, Big Daddy, who is dying of cancer, jogs a host of memories and revelations for both father and son.

Director:

Richard Brooks

Writers:

Richard Brooks (screenplay), James Poe (screenplay),

Stars:

Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Burl Ives

Nominated for 6 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Elizabeth Taylor	...	Maggie Pollitt
Paul Newman	...	Brick Pollitt
Burl Ives	...	Big Daddy Pollitt
Jack Carson	...	Gooper Pollitt
Judith Anderson	...	Big Momma Pollitt
Madeleine Sherwood	...	Mae Pollitt
Larry Gates	...	Dr. Baugh
Vaughn Taylor	...	Deacon Davis

Storyline

The fifth Tennessee Williams play to reach the screen, wealthy Mississippi plantation owner Big Daddy Pollitt, unaware that he's dying of cancer and disturbed by the strained and childless marriage of his favored alcoholic son Brick and his other son, Gooper, whose wife is about to bring forth another in the endless line of little "no-neck monsters," celebrates his sixty-fifth birthday with his family. Brick's wife, Maggie, beautiful and desirable, tries unsuccessfully to coax her husband away from the bottle, while alternately enticing him and taunting him about his obsession with his deceased best friend and the guilt about their relationship. The seamy tensions reach a climax when the truth of Big Daddy's health is revealed, and he and Brick manage to resolve their differences.

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Plot Keywords:

cancer | alcoholic | birthday | marriage | mississippi | 

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Taglines:

All the sultry drama of Tennessee Williams' Pulitzer Prize winning Play is now on the screen!

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 September 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die Katze auf dem heißen Blechdach

Filming Locations:

Coleman Estate, Muttontown, Oyster Bay, Long Island, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Avon Productions (II)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Perspecta Sound) (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Don Murray was considered for role of Brick.

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Goofs

After Brick and Big Daddy come up from the cellar, Big Mamma says to Gooper "Take these papers away before I tear them up. I don't know what's in them; I don't want to know what's in them." Big Daddy goes outside and talks to the folks fixing the light. As he approaches the door to come into the room where Gooper and Big Mamma are arguing, you can hear her say the line "Take these papers away before I tear them up. I don't know what's in them; I don't want to know what's in them." again.

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Quotes

Margaret "Maggie" Pollitt: Thank you for keeping still, for backing me up in my lie.
Brick Pollitt: Maggie, we're through with lies and liars in this house. Lock the door.

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Connections

Featured in AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Elizabeth Taylor (1993)

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Soundtracks

"For He's a Jolly Good Fellow"
(uncredited)
Traditional
Sung by the family

User Reviews

Brilliant

"Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" is quite brilliant. Even though it's an adaptation of a play it's never boring. Of course, it's impossible to make a film based on a play that isn't 'talky,' but Brooks has managed to make a film that is fascinating and interesting despite the theatrical feel. It helps that the cast is uniformly sensational! Elizabeth Taylor, Burl Ives, and -- especially -- Paul Newman. This film is not quite as good as another adaptation of a Tennessee Williams play, "A Streetcar Named Desire" by Elia Kazan, but it comes pretty close. (9/10)