The Long, Hot Summer (1958)

Director:

Martin Ritt

Writers:

William Faulkner (stories) (novel "The Hamlet")
Irving Ravetch (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

18 May 1958 (West Germany)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Not since "Peyton Place" has a story been told so boldly!

Plot:

Ben Quick arrives in Frenchman's Bend, MS after being kicked out of another town for allegedly burning a barn for revenge...

Plot Keywords:

Wild Horse | Southern Gothic | Love Hate | Strife | Family Life

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Paul Newman	...	Ben Quick
Joanne Woodward	...	Clara Varner
Anthony Franciosa	...	Jody Varner
Orson Welles	...	Will Varner
Lee Remick	...	Eula Varner
Angela Lansbury	...	Minnie Littlejohn
Richard Anderson	...	Alan Stewart
Sarah Marshall	...	Agnes Stewart
Mabel Albertson	...	Mrs. Stewart
J. Pat O'Malley	...	Ratliff
Bill Walker	...	Lucius (as William Walker)

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (35 mm magnetic prints) (Westrex Recording System) | Mono (35 mm optical prints)

Certification:

USA:Approved (certificate #18811) | Iceland:L | Canada:PG (video rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:S | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Asphodel Plantation - 4626 Highway 68, Jackson, Louisiana, USA

Company:

Jerry Wald Productions

Trivia:

Director Martin Ritt was forever known after this movie as the man who tamed Orson Welles. During filming Ritt drove Welles into the middle of a swamp, kicked him out of the car and forced him to find his own way back.

Quotes:

Auctioneer: This is gonna be about the most expensive chicken supper you ever had, boy, but worth every cent of it, considering the charming company you're gonna be eating it in. I, uh, I hope you're gonna give him dessert for that price, Clara.
Clara: He'll get his just deserts, all right.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Important c'est d'aimer, L' (1975)

Soundtrack:

The Long, Hot Summer

The Newmans' Best Film

This is the best story playwright Tennessee Williams never wrote. It is based on a few short stories written by William Faulkner, but the film looks more Williams than Faulkner. In fact, the film is very similar to Williams' play "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof", which (coincidentally) was filmed the same year (Paul Newman stars in both films). The story revolves around a troubled Southern family headed by Will "Bid Daddy" Varner (Orson Welles). The arrival of a stranger (Paul Newman) manages to disrupt the family dynamic in very interesting ways. The cast is impeccable. In addition to Welles and Newman, Lee Remick, Anthony Franciosa, Angela Lansbury and Joanne Woodward (in her first movie with husband Newman) can be found among the cast members. They are all terrific with the exception of Welles, who looks like a puppet with a sunburn and who tries his very best to look old, when in fact he is not much older than Newman or Lansbury. He is okay, but when it comes to play "Big Daddy", he is no match for Burl Ives. Martin Ritt (his first of many movies with Newman) creates a vivid Southern atmosphere, and the script by Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank (they will collaborate with Ritt in future films) is full of good dialogue. Great title song and color cinematography (by Joseph LaShelle).