The Long, Hot Summer
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Movie Reviews of The Long, Hot Summer
Movie Review: Infinitely superior to the Don Johnson remake.
Summary: 4 Stars
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. The TV-movie version of "The Long, Hot Summer" suffers from miscasting (Judith Ivey was passable, but just, and I can't decide if Don Johnson's attempt to fill Paul Newman's shoes represents touching bravery or misguided arrogance), dreadful accents, and jarring anachronisms.
This film, the 1958 original, leaves it in the dust. Newman and Woodward generate palpable heat, and Orson Welles--clammy, jowly, bullfrog-voiced, crudely vigorous--is unforgettable as a classically bullying, overbearing Southern patriarch. In contrast to the pallid TV remake, it features a top cast whose work transcends the sometimes creaky melodrama of the plot. Nearly every white Southern archetype is brought to life: the brutish, domineering, castrating patriarch; the arch, charming, coyly seductive belle with hot pants; the aging good-time girl, simultaneously randy and prim, with her eye on the prize of a rich widower; the hotheaded but weak son and heir, goaded to jealousy by his seductive, flirtatious wife and utterly dominated by his father, whom he both adores and despises; the sharp-tongued old maid, smoldering with repressed fire, who just needs a "real man" to take the place of her suspiciously lukewarm long-term suitor; and, of course, the roguish, charming, sexy, potentially dangerous outsider, spiritual heir to Rhett Butler, who gets both the community and the heroine in a lather. There's even a lynch mob--chasing a white man, for a change.
Skip the TV-movie remake, which at best is a clunky imitation, in favor of the classic--if for no other reason than to see Paul Newman, at the peak of his beauty, in an undershirt. If that's not inducement enough, it's also marvelously cast, scripted, acted, and directed, and it captures Southern family dynamics with humor, pathos, and wince-inducing accuracy. Florence King would be proud.
Movie Review: Why daughters become rebels......
Summary: 4 Stars
I saw the LONG HOT SUMMER on the big screen back in 1958 when I was 16 and thought it was fabulous. I'm older now, and although the film still has some appeal, mainly because of the two lead actors whom I admire very much, I didn't enjoy the film as much on the small screen today. For one thing, the detail in some shots is hard to see which might not be the case if you have a large viewing screen. For another thing, I don't think it is clear to me even yet why old man Will Varner (Orson Wells in a "big Daddy" type role) has it in for his son (Anthony Franciosa). Faulkner's tales, the basis of the screen play, may reveal the source of the animosity between the two men, but this film does not. The closest we come to understanding Will Varner's cruel behavior is to hear him call his son "weak" which does not seem to be the case for Miss Varner's equally effeminate beau who is obviously a mama's boy, and whom Will Varner would approve as the stud for his daughter if only he would "pop" the question. Both young men seem weak compared to the muscular, virile, tanned Newman (Ben Quick). Furthermore, why is a beautiful girl like Joanne Woodward unmarried in the old South where couples ran off in their teens? And, what father would bribe a "no account barn-buring drifter" to wed his daughter? Again, the Faulkner tales probably reveal much the screen play misses.
The film has it's appeal - the actors are beautiful (including Lee Remick who went on to play acclaimed roles as drunken and/or crazy wives), and Angela Landsbury (Jessica Fletcher) is wonderful as Minnie, the long suffering mistress of Will Varner. Based on it's price, this is a good buy for your "oldies" film library as the story is instructive for youngsters who wonder what fueled the youthful rebellion that later culminated in Women's Movement in the late 1950s.
Movie Review: Body Heat!
Summary: 4 Stars
This movie, released in 1958, must have raised eyebrows in the declining Eisenhower years. Sometimes less is more. It is amazing how sexy and erotic a movie can be without the lead characters running around naked. You can feel the sizzling electricity between Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward; but then, they weren't acting since they married soon after finishing this film. Although the movie is billed as "William Faulkner's The Long Hot Summer" and is based on some of his stories, I kept seeing and hearing shades of "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof," which came out in the same year so I don't know who influenced whom if at all.
Both Newman as the sexy drifter and Woodward, the school teacher who is 23 and still not married, are both so young and handsome and play off each other beautifully. The other actors give credible performances as well although Orson Welles is a little over the top at times. He certainly fills up the screen both in physical size and bombast. Angela Lansbury is charming as the local madam who provides pleasure for Welles who plays the rich landowner Varner. I don't know how true to Faulkner the plot is, not having read the stories in question, but something tells me the ending is distinctly not Faulknerian.
Southern accents are always tricky; occasionally they don't ring true here with the exception of Woodward's; but she's a native Southerner after all.
Set in Mississippi although shot in Louisiana, the film has an authentic feel and remains remarkably undated. It sizzles.
Movie Review: DON'T GO TO THE WELLES TOO OFTEN
Summary: 4 Stars
A really good motion picture with Newman earning an Oscar as a southern misfit who suddenly becomes a Welles favorite. Welles,43, dominates the film as a 60 year old property owner who's looking for someone to oversee his southern ranch/ land ownings. Franciosa, Welles' son,is a total dud to his father. Enter Newman,in whom Welles develops a grudging respect, enough to entrust his posesssions (including his daughter in an arranged marriage to attempt to produce a male heir). Enter daughter Woodward,who breaks off one relationship and then develops an open disdain for Newman.Civil War 2 is averted when Franciosa burns down the family barn with Welles inside, thus proving to the eventually rescued old man that his son has gumption after all.One problem: this is a film for impending geriatrics,definitely not filmed for 2008 adolescents. Sadly!Movie Review: Old style entertainment
Summary: 4 Stars
Never saw this on the big screen but on TV as a teenager and think it is one of Paul Newmans best performances (of course there is Cool Hand Luke and The Sting) but his brooding character with a drive to succeed was something that I related to on a personal level so it may not be everyones choice, just mine. The chemistry between Paul Newman and his wife is just great and the other characters bring good performances to the table as well making the movie very entertaining viewing.