One of Paul Newman's WORST/Taylor is gorgeous
My friend Helen and me always are looking to watch older films while taking pain medication and knitting. One lazy afternoon she recommend we look up a movie called Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. I'm all about titles, and this one sounded interesting- so we Amazon Primed it and here's our disappointing take-
Its a confusing mess. It plays just like a Play- based on boring Tennessee Williams, who's only really good piece of writing was Suddenly, Last Summer (even Streetcar is a pretentious bore). Since everything has to "mean something else", Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is no exception.
The title refers to Maggie the Cat! Elizabeth Taylor, then 27 and with a figure women wish they could don these days, plays the outspoken and self centered southern belle who tells her husband, Paul Newman, "I never had a lot of money. Even my wedding dress was a hand me down." It's pretty clear she wants to dig her claws into her father's fortune. He's dying of cancer, so everyone gathers at the big house to pay Big Daddy their respects for one last night on his birthday. Taylor is determined not to let the other side of the family get the fortune. "You can't leave now Brick! We have to settle this thing." I couldn't believe how evil she was. Beautiful, but so in need for cash its dripping off her wigs and makeup tricks. Newman is as dull as they come. For some reason, he won't touch his wife. Helen laughed and said "Maybe he's just gay". But being a film from the 50s, we knew this wasn't the case. Newman just comes off like a snide, and for some reason just mumbles his lines throughout the picture. "What about it...Maggie?", "Why don't we leave- Maggie?", "Go away- Maggie." I don't know about you, but if I had Elizabeth Taylor undressing in front of me and begging for sex, I wouldn't be whining. Paul does though- and it's a real annoying performance. We know men like this. Can't see a good thing when they have it.
Taylor's father is played by Burl Ives (forgive spelling). He's funny. When the bratty children sing to him, his ugly daughter in law asks how it was. "Pass the green beans", he says dully. That's a man there! Ives doesn't seem to be having a good time at his party, but unlike Newman, he at least has a sense of humor about it. He seems to know most of the people there are just after his money, but yet he smiles when ever Liz sits next to him. I guess having a pretty daughter would make any man do that.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a strange, sad movie with much potential about people we can't really relate to. Even the mother, Judith Anderson, is stuck in a sort of flighty self existence. And then there's the doctor who keeps lying about the father's prognosis. Does he have cancer or not? The film doesn't seem to want to tell us.
Back to Maggie the Cat! Cats are known for being selfish, unpredictable monsters and also not faithful. So Helen claimed Paul Newman didn't want to be with Liz because he could not trust her. "She's too good for him", I claimed. But I also agreed Taylor's greed for the family fortune and the fact that she keeps going on about some other dude while prancing around in her underwear made us roll our eyes. This was like Taylor in Raintree County, only the southern belle pulls it back a bit.
Newman is dreadful though. He walks around with crutches the entire time, and the accident of course is never explained until ALL the way to the end. Williams has a thing for making the audience wait for the layered pasts to finally be revealed. I thought Paul Newman was a bore. Helen insisted he was gay, but there is no evidence to support this. It's as if the film might have been censored? Too many loopholes.
The final scenes with Newman and Big Daddy are sad, but Newman again proves he's one of the overrated actors of the new generation (post 1955). He's not likable, he drinks too much, and he has no reason not like like this sweet dying man other then plot devices, I guess.
The ugly sister is also annoying and so are her 8 brats. We fast forward all their scenes. We liked that Maggie at least defended herself against them with cakes to the face.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof makes no literature sense, but I guess the filmmakers thought the title would be smoother then calling it "Big Daddy's Final Night" or "To Hell With Her!" (another great line from Ives when he's informed his sister is calling long distance).
FINAL GRADE: C