Review of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) by Harry W — 19 Aug 2014

Tennessee Williams got very famous for writing plays about characters who work extra overtime to destroy their own lives, often with strong reasons to do exactly that. This film is about a very wealthy family in the American deep south that is totally miserable and dysfunctional.

There is so much anxiety, stress, tension it is palpable. That, along with all the yelling and screaming can give one a serious headache. However, once the story finally unravels it becomes quite powerful.

The patriarch of the family, called big daddy, (burl Ives) centers the film. There is a darkly hilarious scene early on in which a group of children are annoyingly playing the song Dixie over and over, and holding a Confederate flag.

And there is enough eye candy for at least four movies as it features a young Paul Newman, and Elizabeth Taylor.