The Long, Hot Summer
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Movie Reviews of The Long, Hot Summer
Movie Review: You run, and you keep on running. . .
Summary: 5 Stars
I loved this movie! It is a lot better than the 1985 version. Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman are perfect together! It is a great movie that actually has a point and you can watch it over and over again without getting sick of it. I am fifteen years old and have been watching this movie for about three years. It is a movie to watch with the whole family! Buy it, it's WELL worth your money!Movie Review: Newman/Woodward MAGIC
Summary: 5 Stars
Probably one of the sexiest/raw emotion films of the 50's. Due to the censorship rules of the day, all romance/sex is left to the mind of the viewer. That is where it should be. Orson Wells portryal of "Varner",lord of the southern town brings strength and visual reality to the times. Addressing young adults as "BOY" and dressing with a tie and jacket for dinner in the summer really tells a story of power that few can realize unless they have experienced it first hand.The fact that Newman & Woodward married soon after the film was completed attests to the power of the story and those that brought it to the screen. Jerry Wald was producer of the year in my book. Jimmy Rodgers rendition of the title was great.
Movie Review: Newman's strong performance makes this Southern story work
Summary: 3 Stars
William Faulkner's Southern stories come to the screen in this film directed by Martin Ritt and starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward in their first film together as a married couple. Newman stars as Ben Quick, a drifter who infiltrates the family of Mississippi patriarch Will Varner (Orson Welles, quite corpulent, and looking similar to his character in Touch of Evil), his son Jody and wife Eula (Anthony Franciosa and a smoldering Lee Remick) and umarried daughter (Woodward). The story unfolds well, and it is Newman gives a solid performance as a cocky young man who wants to feel a part of society.Movie Review: Newman & Woodward's first pairing is wonderful
Summary: 5 Stars
Pay no attention to the reviewer from New York that disliked this film. It was shot and came out before Cat on a Hot Tin Roof did, so it was not trying to capitalize on Cat's much deserved success.Newman also won best actor at the Cannes Film Festival for his riveting, sexy portrayal of Ben Quick in Summer, even though the American Film Academy would soon snub him the first of seven out of eight times for his role of Brick in Cat.
Ben Quick is an early Newman con man characterization, long before his well-loved role of Henry Gondorf in The Sting came along to enchant the world some 25 years later.
As for the pairing of Paul & Joanne...she was excellently cast in the role of a smart, young southern lady struggling to break free from her dominant father and stifling family history. Orson Welles is excellent as the domineering old brute of a dad. Anthony Franciosa, Lee Remick & Angela Lansbury all turn in wonderful performances as southern folk fighting the stifling heat and Welles' blustery personality at the same time.
Paul & Joanne are lovely together...knowing that they married a few months after making the film adds to it's allure. The last big scene between the two of them on the front porch is glorious chemistry to behold, not to mention her evening visit to the family store that Newman is "tending", in order to work his way into getting a share Welles' wealth.
This is a subtle, intelligent romance and I agree with the reviewer who particularly appreciated the snappy dialogue. It holds up, even if the times have changed.
Enjoy!
Movie Review: Tennessee Williams Wannabe
Summary: 2 Stars
This film seemed to be an attempt to give an encore to Newman's searing performance in Tennessee Williams' "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," complete with big Southern daddy character and twangy speech, but the missing elements were: 1) Williams' gift for dialogue, 2) a truly compelling plot, and 3) a worthy counterpart to the female leading role of Maggie the Cat. Woodward is a talented character actress in her own right (see "The Three Faces of Eve," for sure), but she is missing a character to play here. Plus, let's face it, Liz Taylor she is NOT, and she does not cut it as sultry bait for Newman's lusty drifter. I'm sorry, but the attraction between her and Newman has been and always will be a mystery to me. If you want show-stopping performances, wallop-packing dialogue, and enough heat to singe your eyebrows over an authentic Southern flame, buy "Cat..." instead.