Suddenly, Last Summer (1959)

The only son of wealthy widow Violet Venable dies while on vacation with his cousin Catherine. What the girl saw was so horrible that she went insane; now Mrs. Venable wants Catherine lobotomized to cover up the truth.

Director:

Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Writers:

Tennessee Williams (play), Gore Vidal (screenplay),

Stars:

Elizabeth Taylor, Katharine Hepburn, Montgomery Clift

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Elizabeth Taylor	...	Catherine Holly
Katharine Hepburn	...	Mrs. Violet Venable
Montgomery Clift	...	Dr. Cukrowicz
Albert Dekker	...	Dr. Lawrence J. Hockstader
Mercedes McCambridge	...	Mrs. Grace 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 Interne

Storyline

A wealthy harridan, Violet Venable, attempts to bribe Dr. Cukrowicz, a young psycho-surgeon from a New Orleans mental hospital that is desperately in need of funds, into lobotomizing her niece, Catherine Holly. Violet wants the operation performed in order to prevent Catherine from defiling the memory of her son, the poet Sebastian. Catherine has been babbling obscenely about Sebastian's mysterious death that she witnessed while on holiday together in Spain the previous summer.

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Plot Keywords:

poet | operation | mental institution | lobotomy | widow | 

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Taglines:

These are powers and passions without precedent in motion pictures!

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 December 1959 (USA)

Also Known As:

De repente en el verano

Filming Locations:

Bagur, Girona, Cataluña, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Horizon Pictures (II), Academy Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the Italian post-synchronized version of the film, the actors are dubbed by: Lidia Simoneschi (Elizabeth Taylor), Andreina Pagnani (Katharine Hepburn), Giuseppe Rinaldi (Montgomery Clift), Giorgio Capecchi (Albert Dekker), Rosetta Calavetta (Mercedes McCambridge), Massimo Turci (Gary Raymond) and Wanda Tettoni (Mavis Villiers).

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Goofs

At the films opening a title says, "1935" but the films hair, makeup and costumes are obviously 1959.

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Quotes

Dr. Cukrowicz: Mrs. Venable, loving your neice as you do, you must know there's great risk in this operation. Whenever you enter the brain with a foreign object...
Mrs. Venable: Yes.
Dr. Cukrowicz: Even a needle thin knife.
Mrs. Venable: Yes.
Dr. Cukrowicz: In the hands of the most skilled surgeon...
Mrs. Venable: Yes, yes.
Dr. Cukrowicz: There is a great deal of risk.
Mrs. Venable: But it does pacify them, I've read that, it quiets them down. It suddenly makes them peaceful.
Dr. Cukrowicz: Yes that that it does do, but...
Mrs. Venable: But what?
[...]

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Connections

Featured in Vito (2011)

User Reviews

Tennesse Does it Again

Catherine Holly, played by the indelible Elizabeth Taylor,is a woman whose conscience and memory continue to cast a foreboding shadow. Enshrouded in her memory is the unforgettable realization to which she came, suddenly last summer. Katherine Hepburn plays somewhat of a southern anchoress, Mrs. Violet Venable,whose only repose comes from memorializing her late son Sebastian in the fantastic jungalesque garden he created. On the surface Sebastian seems pensive, sincere, and wise; however, Holly knows a secret, a disturbing secret about the late Sebastian that Mrs. Venable must suppress at all costs. It remains in the hands of Dr. Cukrowicz, Montgomery Clift, to extract this secret from Holly's memory, before the secret is lost forever. I enjoyed this movie, and it kept my attention even though I had read the play I knew the outcome. It is another fine story from the mind of Tennessee Williams. The movie sticks to the play unlike other Williams' movies, like Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. The only problem is that like so many other Tennesse Williams'stories, depravity and decadence are central themes, which make it difficult at times to really like any characters or develop a fondness for the story itself.