For years I was turned off from watching this movie. I tried once, but found that the movie looked like an episode of MOMMA'S FAMILY where they finally gave everyone meat cleavers and told them to mix it up good!! It was that ugly and tough to watch in only the first 10 or 15 minutes, so I just turned it off and assumed it was not my type of movie. Thankfully, I tried it again and realized it was an exceptional film in every way.
The movie is essentially a film about how everyone in the family is dealing with the imminent death of the family patriarch, Big Daddy. For some odd and annoying reason, everyone has nicknames like "Big Momma", "Big Sister", etc. but considering this is my only complaint, it's no big deal really.
The problem is that the family is at heart really screwed up. The oldest son, played by Jack Carson, is the "good" son who became a lawyer and is superficially dutiful, though down deep he does everything to try to maneuver himself and his evil brood into the best position when the loot is divvied up when Big Daddy dies. It's totally sick the way he and his obnoxious brood fawn over Big Daddy so unconvincingly in order to ingratiate themselves.
His wife, Mae, played by Madeleine Sherwood, is probably the most detestable of all the adults in the film. Just how awful she is is revealed more and more as the film progresses, as she has both the mouth and heart of a viper AND she choreographs the kids to do some major sucking up to Big Daddy. This sucking up is so saccharine and annoying that Big Daddy obviously detested the kids! The children are basically evil spawns of Satan, as their parents allow them to do ANYTHING so long as they suck up to Big Daddy and Big Mamma. When the film starts, one of the brats is reaching her hands into a big bowl of ice cream--ruining it for everyone. When she sees her Aunt Maggie (Liz Taylor) she throws a huge handful on her. Another of these darlings later laughs at Aunt Maggie and taunts her because she doesn't have any kids! They did a great job of playing horrid kids, as I found myself wanting to strangle them.
Aunt Maggie is also pretty mercenary, though is much more subtle and likable than her brother-in-law and sister-in-law and the little demons. But she and her husband, Brick, played by Paul Newman, have a stormy marriage at best. Of all the kids and in-laws, the only one without designs on the fortune is Brick, who is so full of self-pity and self-loathing that all he really is interested in is staying drunk.
Big Mamma, played by Judith Anderson, is pretty ineffectual and lives in a constant state of denial. Otherwise, she would have to admit to herself that her kids are creeps and her husband doesn't care at all about her.
Big Daddy, played by Burl Ives, is a loud and obnoxious man who as insensitive and blunt. His way of showing love is through money and success. He appears to realize the score on everyone and where they stand--except for himself. Here he's got a huge blind spot--thinking he's done a fine job when the problems he sees are in many ways his own doing.
Initially, Big Daddy thinks that the stomach pains he's been having are not very serious--after all, that's what the doctor has told him. However, he's dying of cancer and his time left is very short. Once he learns this is so, he actually stops yelling and the most poignant part of the film begins. His conversation with Brick about the illness and the future is one of the finest moments in movie history. In particular, Paul Newman's performance nearly brought me to tears. It was only then that real raw feelings and pain began to emerge and the movie began to feel so real and wonderful.
Where all this goes from there you just need to see for yourself. I had a hard time choosing whether or not to give the movie a 9 or a 10, but I tend to be more conservative than some and reserve 10s for only a very select group of films--and this one nearly made it. See it and be amazed.
PS--A final interesting note is that one of the kids playing the brats was Rusty Stevens--"Larry Mondello" from the old LEAVE IT TO BEAVER show. Look quickly at the kid running around with the sparkler--it's him. He's not listed in the credits, but is on IMDb and I'm sure it's him.
The movie is essentially a film about how everyone in the family is dealing with the imminent death of the family patriarch, Big Daddy. For some odd and annoying reason, everyone has nicknames like "Big Momma", "Big Sister", etc. but considering this is my only complaint, it's no big deal really.
The problem is that the family is at heart really screwed up. The oldest son, played by Jack Carson, is the "good" son who became a lawyer and is superficially dutiful, though down deep he does everything to try to maneuver himself and his evil brood into the best position when the loot is divvied up when Big Daddy dies. It's totally sick the way he and his obnoxious brood fawn over Big Daddy so unconvincingly in order to ingratiate themselves.
His wife, Mae, played by Madeleine Sherwood, is probably the most detestable of all the adults in the film. Just how awful she is is revealed more and more as the film progresses, as she has both the mouth and heart of a viper AND she choreographs the kids to do some major sucking up to Big Daddy. This sucking up is so saccharine and annoying that Big Daddy obviously detested the kids! The children are basically evil spawns of Satan, as their parents allow them to do ANYTHING so long as they suck up to Big Daddy and Big Mamma. When the film starts, one of the brats is reaching her hands into a big bowl of ice cream--ruining it for everyone. When she sees her Aunt Maggie (Liz Taylor) she throws a huge handful on her. Another of these darlings later laughs at Aunt Maggie and taunts her because she doesn't have any kids! They did a great job of playing horrid kids, as I found myself wanting to strangle them.
Aunt Maggie is also pretty mercenary, though is much more subtle and likable than her brother-in-law and sister-in-law and the little demons. But she and her husband, Brick, played by Paul Newman, have a stormy marriage at best. Of all the kids and in-laws, the only one without designs on the fortune is Brick, who is so full of self-pity and self-loathing that all he really is interested in is staying drunk.
Big Mamma, played by Judith Anderson, is pretty ineffectual and lives in a constant state of denial. Otherwise, she would have to admit to herself that her kids are creeps and her husband doesn't care at all about her.
Big Daddy, played by Burl Ives, is a loud and obnoxious man who as insensitive and blunt. His way of showing love is through money and success. He appears to realize the score on everyone and where they stand--except for himself. Here he's got a huge blind spot--thinking he's done a fine job when the problems he sees are in many ways his own doing.
Initially, Big Daddy thinks that the stomach pains he's been having are not very serious--after all, that's what the doctor has told him. However, he's dying of cancer and his time left is very short. Once he learns this is so, he actually stops yelling and the most poignant part of the film begins. His conversation with Brick about the illness and the future is one of the finest moments in movie history. In particular, Paul Newman's performance nearly brought me to tears. It was only then that real raw feelings and pain began to emerge and the movie began to feel so real and wonderful.
Where all this goes from there you just need to see for yourself. I had a hard time choosing whether or not to give the movie a 9 or a 10, but I tend to be more conservative than some and reserve 10s for only a very select group of films--and this one nearly made it. See it and be amazed.
PS--A final interesting note is that one of the kids playing the brats was Rusty Stevens--"Larry Mondello" from the old LEAVE IT TO BEAVER show. Look quickly at the kid running around with the sparkler--it's him. He's not listed in the credits, but is on IMDb and I'm sure it's him.