FAQ

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof started life in 1954 as a play by American playwright Tennessee Williams (1911-1983). It was adapted for the movie by screenwriters Richard Brooks and James Poe. A remake, also titled Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1984), was released in 1984.

"The Cat" refers to Maggie "the Cat" Pollitt (Elizabeth Taylor), the lonely and sexually-frustrated wife of alcoholic ex-football player Brick Pollitt (Paul Newman). Maggie stays in the marriage but is unsure how long she can continue to hold on. She likens herself to a cat trying to stay on a hot tin roof, afraid to jump off because she doesn't know where she's going to land.

Brick tells Big Daddy (Burl Ives) that he's disgusted by mendacity. "Mendacity" is, indeed, a real word. It means "lying", but it's more than just that - it really refers to the tendency to rely on lies to get through situations. Brick is disgusted by all the lying that goes on in the Pollitt family, because it's become the family's habitual way of dealing with things.

Those who have both seen the movie and read or seen the play say that there are two major differences. Thanks to the Hayes Code that was still in effect in the 1950s, all references to a possible homosexual relationship between Brick and his late friend Skipper had to be removed as the reason Maggie was jealous of Skipper. Also, the ending of the play was changed for the movie, adding a poignant scene where Brick and Big Daddy finally conquer the mendacity between them. In fact, the ending in the movie was more upbeat than in the play, and the characters had all come to some resolution of their various problems.