Suddenly, Last Summer (1959)

Sorry, this movie sucks

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

. . . zucchini, celery stalks, or salami while viewing SUDDENLY, LAST SUMMER. Though "Johnny Knoxville" was born too late to become the capital of "Tennessee Williams," the conclusion of this horror flick would make an even better JACKASS movie stunt than that room full of mousetraps or all of those catapulted Port-a-Johns. While the build up to what must be a pretty universal sexual fantasy seems to be "padded" by at least half an hour of extraneous "fluff" (do we REALLY need to see a Venus Fly-Trap being fed?), when the other shoe finally drops it's at least a Size 10. SUDDENLY, LAST SUMMER provides quite a bit of food for thought, with enough left over for a Boy Scout picnic on the beach. Some sources claim that SUDDENLY is based upon a stage play originally dedicated to JFK's lobotomized sister. (Others say this is just a wild rumor dreamed up by SUDDENLY's screen adapter, political novelist Gore Vidal of the Tennessee Gores.) At any rate, I suddenly have a craving now for something sweet, like a Ding Dong.

It's sad to think that for most people the name Elizabeth Taylor draws up images of an overweight overly made up jewelry bedecked fading actress known more for her long time involvement with Richard Burton or that she was friends with Michael Jackson. Taylor was so much more than that. Tabloids seem to rule though so the rest is forgotten. Ignored is the fact she began as a child actress, that she moved on to leading lady roles in some classic films and that she displayed a great acting prowess in movies like WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOLFE actually winning for that performance and that she was nominated 5 times winning twice. It's easy to see why she would be nominated when watching this film.The story opens in a New Orleans mental hospital trying to stay afloat and seeking funding. Their star attraction is a young psycho-surgical doctor named Dr. John Cukrowicz (Montgomery Clift). Using new techniques he's doing all he can for his patients, never rushing to use the methods he masters but trying to find other solutions when possible.John is sent by hospital administrator Dr. Hockstader (Albert Dekker) to talk to wealthy Violet Venerable (Katherine Hepburn) about her niece Catherine Holly (Taylor). Catherine was there with Violet's son Sebastian when he died and has since told a tale that Violet claims is mere babbling. She claims to want to help Catherine but in truth she wants her lobotomized in hopes of silencing her.John doesn't just randomly do the procedure though, instead trying to help his patients. Meeting with Catherine he hears her story and realizes that something is hidden in the deepest recesses of her mind that won't come out and help her heal. His job remains throughout the film to help Catherine find out what it is that is causing her such mental trauma and at the same time why this news would cause Violet to want him to perform such an operation on the girl.Based on the play by Tennessee Williams with a screenplay by Gore Vidal, the story is filled with references to a most controversial topics at the time, homosexuality. The inferences are there from the start so it shouldn't be a spoiler to realize that Sebastian had something to hide that his domineering mother is unwilling to discuss or contemplate all the while knowing the truth. Catherine is a naïve character here never realizing quite what Sebastian is. It is her innocence and the determination of Violet to protect her own mental illusions that makes up the drama in the film.The movie takes its time to unravel the story it tells and does so with skill. The performances on display show actors at the top of their game though much has been said about the problems faced by Clift while shooting. Having suffered an injury in a car wreck he was dependent on drugs and alcohol and was trying to get over that dependency. It was Taylor, the top box office star at the time, who wielded her power of popularity to force the studio to hire Clift, one of the many displays of compassion she showed people during her lifetime.Both Hepburn and Taylor were nominated for their performances but both lost. The film was a financial hit at the time but now seems unknown to most. Offering a solid story that's sad and hopefully it will be rediscovered on disc.Twilight Time has done a great job of presenting this film in the most beautiful way imaginable. While a black and white film their handling of the presentation here offers the most crisp and clean looking copy I've ever seen, a 1080p hi def edition. Extras are limited to an isolated music and effects track and the original trailer. As always the disc is limited to just 3,000 copies so if interested by one today.

a film of actors. that defines this adaptation of Suddenly, last summer by Gore Vidal. perfect performances of Hepburn and Taylor, who seems crash Montgomery Clift, the inspired manner to build the tension, the images - skin for monologue, and, sure, the ambiguous manner to define homosexuality. a film who provokes at each new view. because it is precise, cold and fascinating. because the story has Tennessee Williams ' dramatic, but it breaks the circle of a simple adaptation. because it is a duel between two great actresses who, each, impose , in deep manner, her mark on the role. it is a great film for the opportunity of public to make a trip in himself's world. and that could not be a surprise . not only for the force of Elizabeth Taylor to translate the universe of play but for the art of Mankiewicz.

Elizabeth Taylor gives a fine performance in a story taken from one of Tennessee Williams' more contrived plays. Revised significantly for the Hollywood film, subplots and additional characters are added, and references to Sebastian being a homosexual are made less explicit. The cannibalism of Sebastian is still referenced, but of course, not directly shown. The story draws heavily from the author's own life, as his sister Rose had undergone a lobotomy in the 1930s; and Williams himself was gay. Williams had also begun psychoanalysis in the mid-to-late 1950s, and that is very much reflected in the scenes with Miss Taylor's character and her doctor, played by Montgomery Clift.