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Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

1958

Richard Brooks

Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Burl Ives, Jack Carson ...

8.0

22,446

Drama Based on the play by Tennessee Williams: A party is planned for the 65th birthday of family patriarch 'Big Daddy', but not everyone is in a festive mood. Big Daddy's son Brick, a one-time star athlete, has a drinking problem and has become cold towards his wife Maggie, though she still desperately loves him. Brick's older brother Gooper and his wife hope to gain control over Big Daddy's estate. Big Daddy himself is just coming home from ... [+]

	Author	Review
United States	Bosley Crowther The New York Times	"A ferocious and fascinating show (...) It is done by superior talents, under the driving direction of Richard Brooks, making even the driest scenes drip poison with that strong, juicy Williams dialogue."	POS
United Kingdom	Peter Bradshaw The Guardian	"A fascinating experience (...) The movie's tacit approach (...) is an advantage that by accident or design brings the movie closer to real life."	POS
United Kingdom	Sue Heal Radio Times	"Newman is splendid (...) It's one of the sounder screen adaptations of the playwright's work (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United Kingdom	Geoff Andrew Time Out	"It frequently errs on the side of overstatement and pretension, but still remains immensely enjoyable as a piece of cod-Freudian codswallop."	NEU
United States	Dave Kehr Chicago Reader	"The material has been bowdlerized to the point of abstraction, which makes Richard Brooks's sweaty, emphatic direction look a little silly (...) But Burl Ives and Judith Anderson are highly entertaining"	NEU
United States	Variety	"An intense, important motion picture (...) Motivations remain psychologically sound (...) [Ives] is a vibrant and convincing plantation king"	POS
United States	Angelica Jade Bastien Village Voice	"[It] is not a good adaptation of Tennessee Williams’s play of the same name. But as a portrayal of the depths of loneliness we create for ourselves, and an example of the power of star performance, it’s a great film."	NEU
Australia	Andrew L. Urban Urbancinefile	"'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' remains surprisingly fresh and relevant 40 years on, with Paul Newman's performance every bit as brilliantly effective as it must have felt in 1958"	POS

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