Suddenly, Last Summer (film)
Encyclopedia
Suddenly, Last Summer is a 1959 American Southern Gothic
mystery film
based on the play of the same title
by Tennessee Williams
. The film was directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
and produced by Sam Spiegel
from a screenplay
by Gore Vidal
and Williams. The music score was by Buxton Orr
using themes by Malcolm Arnold
and the cinematography by Jack Hildyard
. The production was designed by Oliver Messel
.
The plot centers on a young woman who, at the insistence of her wealthy New Orleans aunt, is being evaluated by a psychiatric doctor
to receive a lobotomy
after witnessing the death of her cousin, Sebastian Venable, while traveling with him in Spain
the previous summer.
The film stars Elizabeth Taylor
, Katharine Hepburn
and Montgomery Clift
with Albert Dekker
, Mercedes McCambridge
, and Gary Raymond
.
The film tells the story of Catherine Holly (Elizabeth Taylor
), a young woman institutionalized for a severe emotional disturbance that came about when her cousin, Sebastian Venable, died under questionable circumstances while they were on holiday in Europe. The late Sebastian's wealthy mother, Violet Venable (Katharine Hepburn
), makes every effort to deny and suppress the potentially sordid truth about her son and his demise. Toward this end, she attempts to bribe the state hospital's administrator, Dr. Hockstader (Albert Dekker
), by offering to finance a new wing for the underfunded facility – in Sebastian's name – if he will coerce his brilliant young surgeon, Dr. John Cukrowicz, (Montgomery Clift
) into lobotomizing her niece, thereby removing any chance that the events surrounding her son's death might be revealed by Catherine's "obscene babbling".
Mrs. Venable meets with Dr. Cukrowicz in the primordial garden ("like the dawn of creation") at her estate to discuss her niece's case, and their conversation eventually turns to Sebastian. Mrs. Venable describes him as a poet
whose art was his sole occupation – even though he only wrote a single poem each year during the summer months and never published his work – and recounts her own previous vacations with him. She tells of one particular voyage to the Encantadas
where her son forced her to witness the horrific sight of birds feeding on newborn turtles
emerging from the sand, a ghastly scene in which Sebastian believed he saw the "face of God
".
Cukrowicz agrees to visit Catherine and begin his evaluation. Catherine has been confined to a private women's mental institution since her return from Europe several months earlier. At first remaining out of sight, Cukrowicz watches as she is caught smoking by Sister Felicity (Joan Young), one of the nuns who staff the facility. When the nun confronts Catherine and holds out her hand, demanding that she turn the cigarette over, Catherine responds by extinguishing the lit cigarette into her palm, burning her. The nun then tells the doctor that this can be seen as proof of her mental instability. Cukrowicz dismisses Sister Felicity and goes on to interview Catherine. She claims that her memory does not extend any further back than an incident that occurred just before she left for Europe with Sebastian, when she "lost her honor" while being driven home from a Mardi Gras
ball. Beyond that, she struggles to recall the events that led to Sebastian's death and her subsequent breakdown, but expresses her desire to do so.
Beginning to doubt that she has lost her mind, Cukrowicz decides to move Catherine into the state hospital for continued observation. Catherine's mother (Mercedes McCambridge
) and brother George (Gary Raymond
) pay her a visit and reveal that Sebastian has left them a considerable sum of money. Unfortunately, Mrs. Venable will not give them the inheritance unless they sign papers to commit Catherine to the institution and allow a lobotomy to be performed. Alarmed by this prospect, Catherine tries to escape. She accidentally wanders onto a catwalk suspended over the men's recreational area. With the door at the other end of the catwalk locked, she is forced to fight her way back past the men who are trying to climb up onto the catwalk and grope her, and returns to her room in defeat.
Later, Mrs. Venable drops by to check on the status of Cukrowicz's evaluation. The doctor persuades her to meet Catherine face to face. In the ensuing confrontation, Catherine tries to get her aunt to reveal the true nature of her relationship with Sebastian and the reason why she was left behind and Catherine chosen to take her place as his traveling companion, vaguely hinting that Sebastian used them as "bait" and that they "procured for him". Mrs. Venable responds to these allegations by fainting. Using this opportunity to slip away, Catherine finds another catwalk that runs above a room filled with women who initially stare at her in silence as she walks overhead. She climbs the railing and leans out precipitously, considering the jump as the women start cackling below, but before she can release her hold, an orderly (David Cameron) comes up behind her, drags her back to her room and sedates
her.
In a last-ditch effort to help Catherine, Cukrowicz brings her to the Venable estate where he administers a truth serum
that will allow her to overcome any resistance to remembering the details of what happened that summer. Before an audience consisting of her aunt, mother and brother, Miss Foxhill (Mavis Villiers
), Dr. Hockstader, and Nurse Benson (Patricia Marmont
), all of whom have gathered on the patio in the jungle-like garden, Cukrowicz begins questioning Catherine. She recalls how she and Sebastian spent their days on the beach in the Spanish town of Cabeza de Lobo. On one occasion, he drags her reluctantly into the water, which causes the fabric of her white bathing suit to become transparent. A group of young men who had been watching her from the neighboring public beach start to approach but are intercepted by Sebastian. Catherine gradually realizes that he is using her to attract these boys in order to proposition them for sex
. Since the boys are desperate for money, Sebastian is successful in his efforts; however, he gradually becomes "fed up with the dark ones" and, being "famished for blondes", makes plans to depart for the northern countries
. One scorching white-hot day, Sebastian and Catherine are beset by a team of ragged boys playing cacophonous music on instruments of scrap metal and begging for money. When Sebastian rejects them, they take up pursuit through the streets of the town. Sebastian attempts to flee, but the boys swarm around him at every turn. He is finally cornered among the ruins
of a temple located on a hilltop. In the meantime, Catherine has been frantically trying to catch up with Sebastian, but she reaches him only to see him overwhelmed at last by the group of boys. To her horror and revulsion, she realizes that they are literally tearing him apart and eating his flesh
. She screams for help, to no avail.
The film returns to Catherine, who has collapsed upon the ground, sobbing. Mrs. Venable closes Sebastian's last book of poems, the pages of which are blank, then slowly rises from her seat and takes Cukrowicz's arm. Calling him Sebastian, she tells him not to be out in the sun for too long and that they should go inside the boat and inform the captain that they want to leave. Mrs. Venable is led away and Cukrowicz returns to check on Catherine, who has recovered. They both walk into the house together.
that was originally paired with Something Unspoken as part of the 1958 off-Broadway
double-bill, Garden District. The play was adapted for the screen by Gore Vidal
; although Williams received credit for the adaptation, he would later say that he had nothing to do with the script. Vidal attempted to construct the screenplay as a small number of very long scenes, echoing the structure of the play. Following A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
, it was the third of Williams's plays to be adapted for the screen that dealt with the subject of homosexuality
, although Suddenly, Last Summer was far more explicit in its treatment of the subject than either of the earlier adaptations were allowed to be under the Motion Picture Production Code. Working in conjunction with the Legion of Decency
, an organization primarily affiliated with Catholic Church, the Production Code Administration
gave the filmmakers special dispensation to depict Sebastian Venable, declaring, "Since the film illustrates the horrors of such a lifestyle, it can be considered moral in theme even though it deals with sexual perversion." Publicity stills of Sebastian were shot – showing him as a handsome, if drawn, man in a white suit – but his face is never actually seen in the released film. Williams felt that no actor could convincingly convey Sebastian and that his absence from the screen would paradoxically make his presence stronger.
Elizabeth Taylor selected Suddenly, Last Summer as her first project following the end of her contractual commitment to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
. At the time she was the biggest box office draw in Hollywood and she used that power to insist that Montgomery Clift be hired for the film. As a result of a May 1956 car crash near the home of Taylor and her then-husband Michael Wilding
, Clift had become heavily reliant on drugs and alcohol. When he was unable, after several tries, to find a doctor willing to attest to his insurability
, Sam Spiegel went ahead with production anyway.
Clift found the long scenes exhausting and had to have his longest scene shot in multiple takes one or two lines at a time. His shaky performance on set led Mankiewicz to ask Spiegel several times to replace the actor. Most of the crew were sympathetic toward Clift, but Katharine Hepburn was especially resentful of the poor treatment Clift received at Mankiewicz's hands. Indeed, Hepburn found Mankiewicz's behaviour so unforgivable that as soon as he called the final "cut" of the film, she asked him to confirm that her services were no longer required, and when he did, she spat in his face. The story persists that she also spat in Sam Spiegel's face, but sources differ.
Problems also beset the production of the film's musical score. Malcolm Arnold
was originally contracted to provide it, but he apparently found some of the story's aspects disturbing and withdrew from the project after writing only the main themes. Buxton Orr
completed the score.
Taylor, following her final monologue wherein she describes Sebastian's murder, burst into tears and could not be consoled. She had, using Method acting
, called upon her grief over the 1958 death of her husband Mike Todd
.
Production on Suddenly, Last Summer took place between May and September of 1959. Interior scenes were shot at Shepperton Studios
in Surrey
, England
. The "Cabeza de Lobo" sequence was filmed at Majorca in the Balearic Islands
and at Begur, Castell-Platja d'Aro
, Costa Brava
, and S'Agaró
in Girona
, Catalonia
, Spain
.
magazine in 1961, "It stretched my credulity to believe such a 'hip' doll as our Liz wouldn't know at once in the film that she was 'being used for something evil'." Williams told The Village Voice
in 1973 that the film "made [him] throw up" and that the script moved too far away from his original play. Gore Vidal criticized the ending, which was altered by director Mankiewicz: "We were also not helped by...those overweight ushers from the Roxy Theatre on Fire Island pretending to be small ravenous boys." Mankiewicz himself blamed the source material, describing the play in 1973 as "badly constructed...based on the most elementary Freudian psychology
".
; they lost to Simone Signoret
for Room at the Top. The film was also nominated for Best Art Direction
for Oliver Messel
, William Kellner
and Scott Slimon
. Taylor and Hepburn were nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama and the Laurel Award
for Top Female Dramatic Performance, with Taylor winning both awards.
Southern Gothic
Southern Gothic is a subgenre of Gothic fiction unique to American literature that takes place exclusively in the American South. It resembles its parent genre in that it relies on supernatural, ironic, or unusual events to guide the plot...
mystery film
Mystery film
Mystery film is a sub-genre of the more general category of crime film and at times the thriller genre. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of a crime by means of clues, investigation, and clever deduction.The...
based on the play of the same title
Suddenly, Last Summer
Suddenly, Last Summer is a one-act play by Tennessee Williams. It opened off Broadway on January 7, 1958, as part of a double bill with another of Williams's one-acts, Something Unspoken. The presentation of the two plays was given the overall title Garden District, but Suddenly, Last Summer is...
by Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
. The film was directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Joseph Leo Mankiewicz was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Mankiewicz had a long Hollywood career and is best known as the writer-director of All About Eve , which was nominated for 14 Academy Awards and won six. He was brother to screenwriter and drama critic Herman J...
and produced by Sam Spiegel
Sam Spiegel
Sam Spiegel was an Austrian-born American independent film producer.-Life and career:Spiegel was born in Jarosław, Galicia, Austria-Hungary as Samuel P. Spiegel to a German-Jewish father and Polish mother and educated at the University of Vienna. His brother was Shalom Spiegel, a professor of...
from a screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
by Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal is an American author, playwright, essayist, screenwriter, and political activist. His third novel, The City and the Pillar , outraged mainstream critics as one of the first major American novels to feature unambiguous homosexuality...
and Williams. The music score was by Buxton Orr
Buxton Orr
Buxton Orr was a Glasgow-born Anglo-Scottish composer.Originally trained as a doctor, Orr gave up medicine and switched to music, studying composition with Benjamin Frankel and conducting with Aylmer Buesst...
using themes by Malcolm Arnold
Malcolm Arnold
Sir Malcolm Henry Arnold, CBE was an English composer and symphonist.Malcolm Arnold began his career playing trumpet professionally, but by age thirty his life was devoted to composition. He was ranked with Benjamin Britten as one of the most sought-after composers in Britain...
and the cinematography by Jack Hildyard
Jack Hildyard
Jack Hildyard, B.S.C. was a British cinematographer who worked on more than 80 films during his career...
. The production was designed by Oliver Messel
Oliver Messel
Oliver Hilary Sambourne Messel was an English artist and one of the foremost stage designers of the 20th century....
.
The plot centers on a young woman who, at the insistence of her wealthy New Orleans aunt, is being evaluated by a psychiatric doctor
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
to receive a lobotomy
Lobotomy
Lobotomy "; τομή – tomē: "cut/slice") is a neurosurgical procedure, a form of psychosurgery, also known as a leukotomy or leucotomy . It consists of cutting the connections to and from the prefrontal cortex, the anterior part of the frontal lobes of the brain...
after witnessing the death of her cousin, Sebastian Venable, while traveling with him in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
the previous summer.
The film stars Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
, Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
and Montgomery Clift
Montgomery Clift
Edward Montgomery Clift was an American film and stage actor. The New York Times’ obituary noted his portrayal of "moody, sensitive young men"....
with Albert Dekker
Albert Dekker
Albert Dekker was an American character actor and politician best known for his roles in Dr. Cyclops, The Killers, Kiss Me Deadly, and The Wild Bunch. He is sometimes credited as Albert Van Dekker or Albert van Dekker...
, Mercedes McCambridge
Mercedes McCambridge
Carlotta Mercedes McCambridge was an American actress. Orson Welles called her "the world's greatest living radio actress."-Early life:...
, and Gary Raymond
Gary Raymond
Gary Raymond is an English actor.He made his film debut as Cliff Lewis in Tony Richardson's film adaptation of John Osborne's Look Back in Anger , opposite Richard Burton and Claire Bloom...
.
Plot
A title card at the start of the film sets the story in the year 1937.The film tells the story of Catherine Holly (Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
), a young woman institutionalized for a severe emotional disturbance that came about when her cousin, Sebastian Venable, died under questionable circumstances while they were on holiday in Europe. The late Sebastian's wealthy mother, Violet Venable (Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
), makes every effort to deny and suppress the potentially sordid truth about her son and his demise. Toward this end, she attempts to bribe the state hospital's administrator, Dr. Hockstader (Albert Dekker
Albert Dekker
Albert Dekker was an American character actor and politician best known for his roles in Dr. Cyclops, The Killers, Kiss Me Deadly, and The Wild Bunch. He is sometimes credited as Albert Van Dekker or Albert van Dekker...
), by offering to finance a new wing for the underfunded facility – in Sebastian's name – if he will coerce his brilliant young surgeon, Dr. John Cukrowicz, (Montgomery Clift
Montgomery Clift
Edward Montgomery Clift was an American film and stage actor. The New York Times’ obituary noted his portrayal of "moody, sensitive young men"....
) into lobotomizing her niece, thereby removing any chance that the events surrounding her son's death might be revealed by Catherine's "obscene babbling".
Mrs. Venable meets with Dr. Cukrowicz in the primordial garden ("like the dawn of creation") at her estate to discuss her niece's case, and their conversation eventually turns to Sebastian. Mrs. Venable describes him as a poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
whose art was his sole occupation – even though he only wrote a single poem each year during the summer months and never published his work – and recounts her own previous vacations with him. She tells of one particular voyage to the Encantadas
Galápagos Islands
The Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, west of continental Ecuador, of which they are a part.The Galápagos Islands and its surrounding waters form an Ecuadorian province, a national park, and a...
where her son forced her to witness the horrific sight of birds feeding on newborn turtles
Sea turtle
Sea turtles are marine reptiles that inhabit all of the world's oceans except the Arctic.-Distribution:...
emerging from the sand, a ghastly scene in which Sebastian believed he saw the "face of God
Divine countenance
The divine countenance is the face of God.-Pagan:In pagan religions, the face of God might be viewed in a literal sense - the face of an idol in a temple. In prayers and blessings, the concept was more metaphorical, indicating the favourable attention of the deity...
".
Cukrowicz agrees to visit Catherine and begin his evaluation. Catherine has been confined to a private women's mental institution since her return from Europe several months earlier. At first remaining out of sight, Cukrowicz watches as she is caught smoking by Sister Felicity (Joan Young), one of the nuns who staff the facility. When the nun confronts Catherine and holds out her hand, demanding that she turn the cigarette over, Catherine responds by extinguishing the lit cigarette into her palm, burning her. The nun then tells the doctor that this can be seen as proof of her mental instability. Cukrowicz dismisses Sister Felicity and goes on to interview Catherine. She claims that her memory does not extend any further back than an incident that occurred just before she left for Europe with Sebastian, when she "lost her honor" while being driven home from a Mardi Gras
Mardi Gras
The terms "Mardi Gras" , "Mardi Gras season", and "Carnival season", in English, refer to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after Epiphany and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday...
ball. Beyond that, she struggles to recall the events that led to Sebastian's death and her subsequent breakdown, but expresses her desire to do so.
Beginning to doubt that she has lost her mind, Cukrowicz decides to move Catherine into the state hospital for continued observation. Catherine's mother (Mercedes McCambridge
Mercedes McCambridge
Carlotta Mercedes McCambridge was an American actress. Orson Welles called her "the world's greatest living radio actress."-Early life:...
) and brother George (Gary Raymond
Gary Raymond
Gary Raymond is an English actor.He made his film debut as Cliff Lewis in Tony Richardson's film adaptation of John Osborne's Look Back in Anger , opposite Richard Burton and Claire Bloom...
) pay her a visit and reveal that Sebastian has left them a considerable sum of money. Unfortunately, Mrs. Venable will not give them the inheritance unless they sign papers to commit Catherine to the institution and allow a lobotomy to be performed. Alarmed by this prospect, Catherine tries to escape. She accidentally wanders onto a catwalk suspended over the men's recreational area. With the door at the other end of the catwalk locked, she is forced to fight her way back past the men who are trying to climb up onto the catwalk and grope her, and returns to her room in defeat.
Later, Mrs. Venable drops by to check on the status of Cukrowicz's evaluation. The doctor persuades her to meet Catherine face to face. In the ensuing confrontation, Catherine tries to get her aunt to reveal the true nature of her relationship with Sebastian and the reason why she was left behind and Catherine chosen to take her place as his traveling companion, vaguely hinting that Sebastian used them as "bait" and that they "procured for him". Mrs. Venable responds to these allegations by fainting. Using this opportunity to slip away, Catherine finds another catwalk that runs above a room filled with women who initially stare at her in silence as she walks overhead. She climbs the railing and leans out precipitously, considering the jump as the women start cackling below, but before she can release her hold, an orderly (David Cameron) comes up behind her, drags her back to her room and sedates
Sedation
Sedation is the reduction of irritability or agitation by administration of sedative drugs, generally to facilitate a medical procedure or diagnostic procedure...
her.
In a last-ditch effort to help Catherine, Cukrowicz brings her to the Venable estate where he administers a truth serum
Truth Serum
Truth Serum is an independent comic book series created, written and drawn by author Jon Adams.-Overview:Originally published as a mini comic in 2001 and given away for free, it appeared as a three-issue mini series published by Slave Labor Graphics in 2002...
that will allow her to overcome any resistance to remembering the details of what happened that summer. Before an audience consisting of her aunt, mother and brother, Miss Foxhill (Mavis Villiers
Mavis Villiers
Mavis Villiers, born Mavis Clare Cooney , was a British actress of stage, film and television. Her brother was Cecil Cooney, a camera operator and cinematographer. Her stage name, Villiers, was taken from her maternal grandfather...
), Dr. Hockstader, and Nurse Benson (Patricia Marmont
Patricia Marmont
Patricia Marmont is an American actress. She is the daughter of Percy Marmont and was married to Nigel Green.-Selected filmography:* Front Page Story * The Crowded Day * Helen of Troy...
), all of whom have gathered on the patio in the jungle-like garden, Cukrowicz begins questioning Catherine. She recalls how she and Sebastian spent their days on the beach in the Spanish town of Cabeza de Lobo. On one occasion, he drags her reluctantly into the water, which causes the fabric of her white bathing suit to become transparent. A group of young men who had been watching her from the neighboring public beach start to approach but are intercepted by Sebastian. Catherine gradually realizes that he is using her to attract these boys in order to proposition them for sex
Male prostitution
Male prostitution is the practice of engaging in sexual acts for money. Compared to female sex workers, male sex workers have been far less studied by researchers, and while studies suggest that there are differences between the ways these two groups look at their work, more research is needed.Male...
. Since the boys are desperate for money, Sebastian is successful in his efforts; however, he gradually becomes "fed up with the dark ones" and, being "famished for blondes", makes plans to depart for the northern countries
Northern Europe
Northern Europe is the northern part or region of Europe. Northern Europe typically refers to the seven countries in the northern part of the European subcontinent which includes Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Finland and Sweden...
. One scorching white-hot day, Sebastian and Catherine are beset by a team of ragged boys playing cacophonous music on instruments of scrap metal and begging for money. When Sebastian rejects them, they take up pursuit through the streets of the town. Sebastian attempts to flee, but the boys swarm around him at every turn. He is finally cornered among the ruins
Ruins
Ruins are the remains of human-made architecture: structures that were once complete, as time went by, have fallen into a state of partial or complete disrepair, due to lack of maintenance or deliberate acts of destruction...
of a temple located on a hilltop. In the meantime, Catherine has been frantically trying to catch up with Sebastian, but she reaches him only to see him overwhelmed at last by the group of boys. To her horror and revulsion, she realizes that they are literally tearing him apart and eating his flesh
Cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
. She screams for help, to no avail.
The film returns to Catherine, who has collapsed upon the ground, sobbing. Mrs. Venable closes Sebastian's last book of poems, the pages of which are blank, then slowly rises from her seat and takes Cukrowicz's arm. Calling him Sebastian, she tells him not to be out in the sun for too long and that they should go inside the boat and inform the captain that they want to leave. Mrs. Venable is led away and Cukrowicz returns to check on Catherine, who has recovered. They both walk into the house together.
Cast
- Elizabeth TaylorElizabeth TaylorDame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
— Catherine Holly - Katharine HepburnKatharine HepburnKatharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
— Violet Venable - Montgomery CliftMontgomery CliftEdward Montgomery Clift was an American film and stage actor. The New York Times’ obituary noted his portrayal of "moody, sensitive young men"....
— Dr. John Cukrowicz - Albert DekkerAlbert DekkerAlbert Dekker was an American character actor and politician best known for his roles in Dr. Cyclops, The Killers, Kiss Me Deadly, and The Wild Bunch. He is sometimes credited as Albert Van Dekker or Albert van Dekker...
— Dr. Lawrence J. Hockstader - Mercedes McCambridgeMercedes McCambridgeCarlotta Mercedes McCambridge was an American actress. Orson Welles called her "the world's greatest living radio actress."-Early life:...
— Mrs. Grace Holly - Gary RaymondGary RaymondGary Raymond is an English actor.He made his film debut as Cliff Lewis in Tony Richardson's film adaptation of John Osborne's Look Back in Anger , opposite Richard Burton and Claire Bloom...
— George Holly - Mavis VilliersMavis VilliersMavis Villiers, born Mavis Clare Cooney , was a British actress of stage, film and television. Her brother was Cecil Cooney, a camera operator and cinematographer. Her stage name, Villiers, was taken from her maternal grandfather...
— Miss Foxhill - Patricia MarmontPatricia MarmontPatricia Marmont is an American actress. She is the daughter of Percy Marmont and was married to Nigel Green.-Selected filmography:* Front Page Story * The Crowded Day * Helen of Troy...
— Nurse Benson - Joan Young — Sister Felicity
- Maria Britneva — Lucy
- Sheila Robbins — Dr. Hockstader's secretary
- David Cameron — Young blonde intern
- Eddie FisherEddie Fisher (singer)Edwin Jack "Eddie" Fisher , was an American entertainer. He was one of the world's most famous and successful singers in the 1950s, selling millions of records and hosting his own TV show. His divorce from his first wife, Debbie Reynolds, to marry his best friend's widow, Elizabeth Taylor, garnered...
(uncredited cameoCameo appearanceA cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
) - Gore VidalGore VidalGore Vidal is an American author, playwright, essayist, screenwriter, and political activist. His third novel, The City and the Pillar , outraged mainstream critics as one of the first major American novels to feature unambiguous homosexuality...
(uncredited cameo) - Frank Merlo (uncredited cameo)
Production
Suddenly, Last Summer is based on a one-act play by Tennessee WilliamsTennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
that was originally paired with Something Unspoken as part of the 1958 off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
double-bill, Garden District. The play was adapted for the screen by Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal is an American author, playwright, essayist, screenwriter, and political activist. His third novel, The City and the Pillar , outraged mainstream critics as one of the first major American novels to feature unambiguous homosexuality...
; although Williams received credit for the adaptation, he would later say that he had nothing to do with the script. Vidal attempted to construct the screenplay as a small number of very long scenes, echoing the structure of the play. Following A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (film)
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a 1958 American drama film directed by Richard Brooks. It is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name by Tennessee Williams adapted by Richard Brooks and James Poe...
, it was the third of Williams's plays to be adapted for the screen that dealt with the subject of homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
, although Suddenly, Last Summer was far more explicit in its treatment of the subject than either of the earlier adaptations were allowed to be under the Motion Picture Production Code. Working in conjunction with the Legion of Decency
National Legion of Decency
The National Legion of Decency was an organization dedicated to identifying and combating objectionable content, from the point of view of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States, in motion pictures...
, an organization primarily affiliated with Catholic Church, the Production Code Administration
Production Code Administration
The Production Code Administration was established by the Motion Picture Association of America in 1934. The PCA required all filmmakers to submit their films for approval before release.-See also:* Pre-Code* Joseph Breen* Will H. Hays...
gave the filmmakers special dispensation to depict Sebastian Venable, declaring, "Since the film illustrates the horrors of such a lifestyle, it can be considered moral in theme even though it deals with sexual perversion." Publicity stills of Sebastian were shot – showing him as a handsome, if drawn, man in a white suit – but his face is never actually seen in the released film. Williams felt that no actor could convincingly convey Sebastian and that his absence from the screen would paradoxically make his presence stronger.
Elizabeth Taylor selected Suddenly, Last Summer as her first project following the end of her contractual commitment to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
. At the time she was the biggest box office draw in Hollywood and she used that power to insist that Montgomery Clift be hired for the film. As a result of a May 1956 car crash near the home of Taylor and her then-husband Michael Wilding
Michael Wilding (actor)
-Early life:Born in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, England, Wilding was a successful commercial artist when he joined the art department of a London film studio in 1933. He soon embarked on an acting career.-Career:...
, Clift had become heavily reliant on drugs and alcohol. When he was unable, after several tries, to find a doctor willing to attest to his insurability
Insurability
Insurability can mean either whether a particular type of loss can be insured in theory, or whether a particular client is insurable for by a particular company because of particular circumstance and the quality assigned by an insurance provider pertaining to the risk that a given client would...
, Sam Spiegel went ahead with production anyway.
Clift found the long scenes exhausting and had to have his longest scene shot in multiple takes one or two lines at a time. His shaky performance on set led Mankiewicz to ask Spiegel several times to replace the actor. Most of the crew were sympathetic toward Clift, but Katharine Hepburn was especially resentful of the poor treatment Clift received at Mankiewicz's hands. Indeed, Hepburn found Mankiewicz's behaviour so unforgivable that as soon as he called the final "cut" of the film, she asked him to confirm that her services were no longer required, and when he did, she spat in his face. The story persists that she also spat in Sam Spiegel's face, but sources differ.
Problems also beset the production of the film's musical score. Malcolm Arnold
Malcolm Arnold
Sir Malcolm Henry Arnold, CBE was an English composer and symphonist.Malcolm Arnold began his career playing trumpet professionally, but by age thirty his life was devoted to composition. He was ranked with Benjamin Britten as one of the most sought-after composers in Britain...
was originally contracted to provide it, but he apparently found some of the story's aspects disturbing and withdrew from the project after writing only the main themes. Buxton Orr
Buxton Orr
Buxton Orr was a Glasgow-born Anglo-Scottish composer.Originally trained as a doctor, Orr gave up medicine and switched to music, studying composition with Benjamin Frankel and conducting with Aylmer Buesst...
completed the score.
Taylor, following her final monologue wherein she describes Sebastian's murder, burst into tears and could not be consoled. She had, using Method acting
Method acting
Method acting is a phrase that loosely refers to a family of techniques used by actors to create in themselves the thoughts and emotions of their characters, so as to develop lifelike performances...
, called upon her grief over the 1958 death of her husband Mike Todd
Mike Todd
Michael Todd was an American theatre and film producer, best known for his 1956 production of Around the World in Eighty Days, which won an Academy Award for Best Picture...
.
Production on Suddenly, Last Summer took place between May and September of 1959. Interior scenes were shot at Shepperton Studios
Shepperton Studios
Shepperton Studios is a film studio in Shepperton, Surrey, England with a history dating back to 1931 since when many notable films have been made there...
in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The "Cabeza de Lobo" sequence was filmed at Majorca in the Balearic Islands
Balearic Islands
The Balearic Islands are an archipelago of Spain in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.The four largest islands are: Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera. The archipelago forms an autonomous community and a province of Spain with Palma as the capital...
and at Begur, Castell-Platja d'Aro
Castell-Platja d'Aro
Castell-Platja d'Aro is a municapality in the middle of the Costa Brava in Catalonia, Spain. It is formed from two parts: Castell d'Aro is the ancient village 3 km inland build around a medieval castle and fortified church on the road from Platja d'Aro to Santa Cristina d'Aro...
, Costa Brava
Costa Brava
The Costa Brava is a coastal region of northeastern Catalonia, Spain, in the comarques of Alt Empordà, Baix Empordà and Selva, in the province of Girona. Costa is the Catalan and Spanish word for 'coast', and Brava means 'rugged' or 'wild'...
, and S'Agaró
S'Agaró
S'Agaró is an upmarket resort on the Costa Brava between Sant Feliu de Guíxols and Castell-Platja d'Aro in Spain.In the early 1920s Josep Ensesa Gubert, the son of a successful Girona industrialist, persuaded his father to buy the land between the bay at Sant Pol and the long beach at Sa Conca...
in Girona
Girona (province)
Girona is a province of north-eastern Spain, in the northern part of the autonomous community of Catalonia. It is bordered by the provinces of Barcelona and Lleida, and by France and the Mediterranean Sea....
, Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
Critical response
Several people involved in the production of Suddenly, Last Summer later went on to denounce the film. Williams denied having any involvement with the script despite being credited on-screen for it. He felt that Taylor was miscast as Catherine, telling LifeLife (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
magazine in 1961, "It stretched my credulity to believe such a 'hip' doll as our Liz wouldn't know at once in the film that she was 'being used for something evil'." Williams told The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
in 1973 that the film "made [him] throw up" and that the script moved too far away from his original play. Gore Vidal criticized the ending, which was altered by director Mankiewicz: "We were also not helped by...those overweight ushers from the Roxy Theatre on Fire Island pretending to be small ravenous boys." Mankiewicz himself blamed the source material, describing the play in 1973 as "badly constructed...based on the most elementary Freudian psychology
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is a psychological theory developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis has expanded, been criticized and developed in different directions, mostly by some of Freud's former students, such as Alfred Adler and Carl Gustav...
".
Box office
Suddenly, Last Summer was a hit at the box office, earning $6.4 million dollars upon release.Accolades
Both Katharine Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor received nominations for the Academy Award for Best ActressAcademy Award for Best Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
; they lost to Simone Signoret
Simone Signoret
Simone Signoret was a French cinema actress often hailed as one of France's greatest movie stars. She became the first French person to win an Academy Award, for her role in Room at the Top...
for Room at the Top. The film was also nominated for Best Art Direction
Academy Award for Best Art Direction
The Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. The Academy Award for Best Art Direction recognizes achievement in art direction on a film. The films below are listed with their production year, so the Oscar 2000 for best art direction went to a film from 1999...
for Oliver Messel
Oliver Messel
Oliver Hilary Sambourne Messel was an English artist and one of the foremost stage designers of the 20th century....
, William Kellner
William Kellner
William Kellner was an Austrian-born art director who worked primarily on British films in the 1940s and 1950s. He began his career as a draughtsman working for Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger on their films A Canterbury Tale and I Know Where I'm Going! and on David Lean's Brief...
and Scott Slimon
Scott Slimon
Scott Slimon was a set decorator. He was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Art Direction for the film Suddenly, Last Summer.-Selected filmography:...
. Taylor and Hepburn were nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama and the Laurel Award
Laurel Awards
The Laurel Awards were cinema awards to honor pictures, actors, actresses, directors and composers. This award was created by Motion Picture Exhibitor magazine, and ran from 1958 to 1968, then 1970 and 1971....
for Top Female Dramatic Performance, with Taylor winning both awards.