The Night of the Iguana (1964)

Highly Overrated But Still Good

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

For those of you with sore heads who cannot figure it out let me see if I can help you. This movie is supposedly about a defrocked minister coming to terms with his values with a touring group of Baptists. So far so good but even as a teenager, like the Grinch, I puzzled until my puzzler was sore. Eventually I moved on with other things like getting a degree in Psychology along with my degrees in Mathematics and Computer Science.My degrees in Mathematics and Computer Science didn't help me understand this movie but with the one in Psychology I went from a state of puzzling to enlightment. I finally understood that one of the ladies was a flaming lesbian. The other one played by Deborah Kerr is what I call a pseudo-lesbian. Frequently they become more religious and don't even realize themselves what is happening. If they say something like "I hate the Vienna Choir Boys because they sound like a bunch of Screech Owls" or other statements like that they are revealing their hatred for men. So watch for the segments that reveal that and this movie will finally start to make sense. I will not take the fun away from you finding the episodes that reveal this for yourselves.After that, you will have to decide whether or not you like the movie. Personally I like it because it does such a good job of showing what a pseudo-lesbian is like. What do I do when I encounter pseudo-lesbians? I avoid them! But then I am male, not a female.

the air,the heat, the flavors, the traces of words, the clash between spirits. and one of the splendid roles of Richard Burton. result - more than a film. maybe, a form of spell. because all is so real, precise and seductive, bitter and full of salt circles , because to say than the performances are admirable is only a poor definition for a form of art who not only gives the essence of Tennesssee Williams universe but change the viewer in a manner subtle and powerful. poem of solitude, it reminds the small truths defining each life. one of motifs for define "The Night of the Iguana" as magic.

Released in 1964 and directed by John Huston based on Tennessee Williams' play, "The Night of the Iguana" stars Richard Burton as a defrocked Episcopal minister who resorts to a job leading bus tours on the Mexican west coast. As he guides a group of middle-aged Baptist women to Puerto Vallarta, he struggles with the attentions of a teen sexpot (Sue Lyon) and the antagonism of her curmudgeonly ward (Grayson Hall). The group ends up at a bed & breakfast where the effervescent proprietor (Ava Gardner) and a spiritual artist (Deborah Kerr) aid the ex-clergyman in coming to terms with the failures haunting him. Skip Ward plays the hunky bus tour assistant.As much as I appreciate this drama, it's too bad it was shot in B&W as color would've really enhanced it, particularly considering the resort setting. (I'll never understand why filmmakers insist on shooting in B&W when color is readily available). The movie is also marred by some contrived melodrama with Burton guilty of chewing too much scenery. At the same time, it's interesting to go back in time with these old dramas and observe the artificialities of the (over)acting based on the contrivances of an inflexible script.Despite my criticisms, there's a lot to savor here. The rich (and sometimes synthetic) dialogue is full of gems to mine. The film is an honest rumination on the human condition. The theme is to cease struggling and to ride out the hardships of life, whether they're the result of one's own folly or otherwise. The answer will come; just be on the look-out for the "messenger" or "assistant" and, of course, accept. On other fronts, Sue Lyon is outstanding as the Lolita, probably because she literally played Lolita in her previous film, 1962's "Lolita." Thankfully, she's more womanly here. She was 17 during filming and thoroughly sumptuous, particularly in her short shorts. Gardner also looked great at 41, but her character is too boozy and it's a turn-off. She's well contrasted by the almost saintly Kerr.Interestingly, there's a brief denouncement of lesbianism, which wouldn't work today. In our current upside down culture it would be hailed as the highest good, worthy of a call from the President (rolling my eyes). RUNTIME: 118 minutes. SHOOTING LOCATIONS: Puerto Vallarta and Mismaloya Village, Mexico. GRADE: B

Two years after this movie, Richard Burton would star opposite Elizabeth Taylor in the emotionally ripping Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, a great movie based on a great play that is hard to watch, because it is the story of a couple who have spent years ripping each other apart.I kept thinking of WAVW when I watched this movie tonight. Especially as it moves on, it becomes the story of alcoholics who know each other's weak points and therefore how to hurt each other when they themselves feel hurt. Everything works out in the end here, which is not really the case in WAVW, but there is still a lot of rending of flesh. Though it is well done by fine actors, at least tonight I found that I wanted it to end, that I didn't want to watch Burton and Gardner hurting each other any more. Kerr's wonderfully enunciated, calm explanation of what she has learned in life, delivered to Burton while he is trussed up in the hammock on the veranda, provided the only relief to all that flesh rendering. I hadn't seen this movie in 50 years, and I think I could go another 50 without seeing it again.If you haven't ever seen it, treat yourself. It's a well done movie. But make sure you're in a good mood. Anything less and this could devastate you.