Sweet Bird of Youth (1962)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Richard Brooks

Writers:

Tennessee Williams (play)
Richard Brooks (screenplay)

Release Date:

21 March 1962 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Provocative Adult Entertainment

Plot:

Drifter Chance Wayne returns to his hometown after many years of trying to make it in the movies. With...

Plot Keywords:

Film Star | Drifter | Walter Winchell | Mistress | Gigolo

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Paul Newman	...	Chance Wayne
Geraldine Page	...	Alexandra Del Lago
Shirley Knight	...	Heavenly Finley
Ed Begley	...	Tom 'Boss' Finley
Rip Torn	...	Thomas 'Tom' J. Finley, Jr.
Mildred Dunnock	...	Aunt Nonnie
Madeleine Sherwood	...	Miss Lucy
Philip Abbott	...	Dr. George Scudder
Corey Allen	...	Scotty
Barry Cahill	...	Bud
Dub Taylor	...	Dan Hatcher
James B. Douglas	...	Leroy (as James Douglas)
Barry Atwater	...	Ben Jackson
Charles Arnt	...	Mayor Henricks
Dorothy Konrad	...	Mrs. Maribelle Norris

Runtime:

120 min | Australia:106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

UK:15 (re-rating) (1996) | UK:X (original rating) | Australia:M | Finland:K-18 | Sweden:15

Company:

Roxbury Productions Inc.

Trivia:

Longtime MGM hair stylist Sydney Guilaroff appears uncredited attending to the hair of Geraldine Page. He was extremely well respected, serving as chief hair stylist at MGM from 1934 until the late 1970s. Although he did not receive onscreen credit, he designed Judy Garland's hair styles for The Wizard of Oz (1939) and made Lucille Ball's hair red for Du Barry Was a Lady (1943), the color she kept it for the rest of her life.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: The film depicts St. Cloud Florida on the Gulf of Mexico. In reality, St. Cloud is 80 miles inland.

Quotes:

Heavenly Finley: You have an illusion of power, poppa!
Boss Finley: I have power and that's no illusion.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Death Becomes Her (1992)

Soundtrack:

Ebb Tide

Memorable 1960's.........

Paul Newman is outstanding as the ultimate gigolo gold-digger. This movie also features the quintessential "Heavenly" daughter/ big bad daddy performances by Knight and by Begley, who is frighteningly effective.

Geraldine Page is perfectly imperfect and unattractive- remember she is this way for dramatic effect. You aren't supposed to like her. Anti-heroes and character studies were really featured in that era's plays and films. Such characters don't have to be likable and seldom are. Wonderful 1960's actresses Mildred Dunnock and Madeleine Sherwood also give their usual gem-like performances.

If you want to see what 1960's-style movie-making was really all about, view this one. Sure it is uneven and maybe a little old-fashioned by today's standards, but you can get an idea of why some of us are nostalgic for a decade that is known for big changes in movies, but otherwise somewhat forgotten. Here you get a good dose of the cynicism and fine acting of the 60's but without the annoying pretentiousness that was so prevalent in films of the era.

Also, you don't have to be familiar with the stage play or Tennessee Williams in order to appreciate this movie-making effort by Richard Brooks.