The Night of the Iguana (1964)

Director:

John Huston

Writers:

Tennessee Williams (play)
Anthony Veiller (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

6 August 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Man And Woman - Love And Lust - Ruin And Redemption - One Night They All Meet.

Plot:

A defrocked Episcopal clergyman leads a bus-load of middle-aged Baptist women on a tour of the Mexican coast and comes to terms with the failure haunting his life.

Plot Keywords:

Bus | Hotel | Artist | Church | Spinster

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 12 nominations

Cast

Richard Burton	...	Rev. Dr. T. Lawrence Shannon
Ava Gardner	...	Maxine Faulk
Deborah Kerr	...	Hannah Jelkes
Sue Lyon	...	Charlotte Goodall
Skip Ward	...	Hank Prosner (as James Ward)
Grayson Hall	...	Judith Fellowes
Cyril Delevanti	...	Nonno
Mary Boylan	...	Miss Peebles
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Fidelmar Durán	...	Pepe (uncredited)
Emilio Fernández	...	Barkeeper (uncredited)
Eloise Hardt	...	Teacher (uncredited)
Gladys Hill	...	Miss Dexter (uncredited)
Barbara Joyce	...	Teacher (uncredited)
C.G. Kim	...	Chang (uncredited)
Roberto Leyva	...	Pedro (uncredited)
Billie Matticks	...	Miss Throxton (uncredited)
Betty Proctor	...	Teacher (uncredited)
Liz Rubey	...	Teacher (uncredited)
Bernice Starr	...	Teacher (uncredited)
Dorthy Vance	...	Teacher (uncredited)
Thelda Victor	...	Teacher (uncredited)

Directed by
John Huston

Writing credits
Tennessee Williams		(play)
Anthony Veiller		(screenplay) and
John Huston		(screenplay)

Produced by
Ray Stark	....	producer
Sandy Whitelaw	....	associate producer (as Alexander Whitelaw)
Emilio Fernández	....	associate producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Benjamin Frankel

Cinematography by
Gabriel Figueroa		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Ralph Kemplen

Art Direction by
Stephen B. Grimes		(as Stephen Grimes)

Costume Design by
Dorothy Jeakins

Makeup Department
Agnes Flanagan	....	hair stylist
Sydney Guilaroff	....	hair styles creator
Eric Allwright	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Jack Obringer	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Clarence Eurist	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Tom Shaw	....	assistant director
Jaime Contreras	....	second assistant director (uncredited)
Terry Morse Jr.	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Basil Fenton-Smith	....	sound
Van Allen James	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Manuel González	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Music Department
Benjamin Frankel	....	conductor

Other crew
Angela Allen	....	script supervisor
Gladys Hill	....	associate: Mr. Huston
Abe Steinberg	....	production executive
Joseph P. Sinda	....	assistant: Richard Burton (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
• Seven Arts Productions

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1964) (USA) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1964) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Neue Visionen Filmverleih (19??) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1968) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Living Colour Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (USA) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Charles Bowden - Two Rivers Enterprises  adapted from stage production by

Also Known As:

Runtime:

125 min | Germany:112 min | 118 min (TCM print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | West Germany:16 (f) | UK:12 (video rating) (1996) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia) | UK:X (original rating) | Australia:PG | Canada:14A (video rating) | USA:Approved (certificate #20613)

Filming Locations:

Mismaloya Village, Jalisco, Mexico

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Nearly half the film's $3 million budget was used to pay the three major star's salaries: Richard Burton ($750,000), Ava Gardner ($400,000) and Deborah Kerr ($250,000).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Miss Fellowes runs into the ocean to yell for her niece to get out, her skirt is completely wet. In the next scene, when she's back on the beach, it's dry.

Quotes:

Barkeeper:[to Charlotte Goodall] We do not want our sons to know that young girls can be like you!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Undead (#9.6)" (1997)

Soundtrack:

Mxican Hat Dance

The BEST film ever... or pretty close!

First, you must understand the nature of Night of the Iguana. The story centers on Shannon (Burton), a life-long preacher caught in a philosophical crisis. His humanity clashes with his theology and leaves havoc in its wake. Removed from his position in a quiet Texas community after an affair with an underage girl, he takes a job in Puerto Vallarta as the tour guide for a rickety bus full of pious old women and one manipulative nymph (Lyon). Shannon is tortured by the girl's advances and finally gives in--only to be found out by her bullish chaperone. To save his job, Shannon hijacks the bus and takes the ladies to a remote motel high on the mountain, run by his ex-flame, Maxine (Gardner). Max is a bawdy, hard-drinking, hard-loving gal, not too keen on the new arrivals. She harbors an unrequited love for Shannon, however, so relents. Within moments of the troop's arrival, two stragglers also enter: Hannah (Kerr) is a penniless watercolor painter who, with her aged grandfather, Nonno--a supposedly renowned oral poet--travels from place to place selling their wares. They wearily hike up the mountain and plead for board, offering to paint or recite poetry to earn their keep.

As the characters struggle with their passions, their pride, and their self-definition, egos break and walls come down, exposing the underbelly of the human situation. They grapple with the questions and desires that plague us all. Who am I? Do my actions define me or do my thoughts? Why am I here? The answers come in ten-fold, and in a poignant moment, Kerr reveals our purpose on Earth: To connect with each other. To help each other through each day. To meet, to see, hear, and feel, and share what we have experienced. This is the meaning of life. Totall riveting. Especially if you travel to Puerto Vallarta and put these questions to the test.