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 | Thriller

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 | Tour Guide | Guide | Artist

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
John Huston	....	producer
Ray Stark	....	producer
Sandy Whitelaw	....	associate producer (as Alexander Whitelaw)
Emilio Fernández	....	associate producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Benjamin Frankel

Cinematography by
Gabriel Figueroa

Film Editing by
Ralph Kemplen

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

Costume Design by
Dorothy Jeakins

Makeup Department
Agnes Flanagan	....	executive hair stylist
Sydney Guilaroff	....	hair stylist
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	....	continuity
Gladys Hill	....	associate: John Huston
Abe Steinberg	....	production executive
Thelda Victor	....	assistant: Mr. Huston
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) (special edition)

Runtime:

125 min | Germany:112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

UK:12 (video rating) (1996) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia) | UK:X (original rating) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | West Germany:16 (f)

Filming Locations:

Mismaloya Village, Jalisco, Mexico

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

This movie put Puerta Vallarta, Mexico, on the map - it didn't even have scheduled air service before John Huston shot the film there. Elizabeth Taylor's appearance on the set and her ensuing scandalous affair with Richard Burton made headlines around the world. Now it's a top resort destination with thousands of hotel rooms and is a popular cruise ship port.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Sign in front of church reads "St. Jame's Episcopal Church". Also gives Morning Prayer and Holy Communion as a single service at an early hour (9:00?) with "Sermon" as a separate service at a later hour (11:00?). This movie took place during the 1928 Prayer Book period. Morning Prayer was one service and Holy Communion was another service, and a sermon could have been part of either service, but it would not have been a stand-alone event.

Quotes:

T. Lawrence Shannon: I'm panicking!
Hannah Jelkes: I know that.
T. Lawrence Shannon: A man can die of panic!
Hannah Jelkes: Not when he enjoys it as much as you do, Dr. Shannon.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Coming Attractions: The History of the Movie Trailer (2006)

Lively and enjoyable

John Huston brought his crackpot vitality to this screen version of a not terribly well-known Tennessee Williams play. On stage it was epigrammatic and full of William's faux poetry but on film it has a nice line of lewdness running through it. Before this film I don't think the cinema knew what to do with Richard Burton but here he's perfectly cast as a defrocked clergyman working as a tour guide in Mexico. There is a twinkle in his eye and he's good fun. Ava Gardner, too, is well cast as the blowsy hotel owner, (she plays the part like Ava Gardner gone to seed). Only Deborah Kerr is a bit of a bind in this one. She supplies the faux poetry as the genteel artist traveling with her ancient grandfather. (Margaret Leighton played the part on Broadway and won a Tony).

The rest of the largely female cast is made up of Sue Lyon as a slightly older Lolita type and Grayson Hall as an hysterical, thinly veiled lesbian, (it was 1964, after all). The superb black and white photography is by the great Mexican cameraman Gabriel Figueroa. It's a very 'opened-out' version of a play, not theatrical at all, and while lively, it never insults our intelligence.