Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)

Director:

Richard Brooks

Writers:

Richard Brooks (screenplay) and
James Poe (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

20 September 1958 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Just one pillow on her bed ... and just one desire in her heart!

Plot:

Brick, an alcoholic ex-football player, drinks his days away and resists the affections of his wife, Maggie. His reunion with his father, Big Daddy, who is dying of cancer, jogs a host of memories and revelations for both father and son.

Plot Keywords:

Alcoholic | Cancer | Birthday | Obsession | Mississippi

Awards:

Nominated for 6 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Elizabeth Taylor	...	Maggie Pollitt
Paul Newman	...	Brick Pollitt
Burl Ives	...	Big Daddy Pollitt
Jack Carson	...	Gooper Pollitt
Judith Anderson	...	Big Momma Pollitt
Madeleine Sherwood	...	Mae Pollitt
Larry Gates	...	Dr. Baugh
Vaughn Taylor	...	Deacon Davis
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Zelda Cleaver	...	Sookey (uncredited)
Brian Corcoran	...	Boy (uncredited)
Hugh Corcoran	...	Buster Pollitt (uncredited)
Patty Ann Gerrity	...	Dixie Pollitt (uncredited)
Bobby Johnson	...	Pollitt Groom (uncredited)
Walter Merrill	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Deborah Miller	...	Trixie Pollitt (uncredited)
Robert 'Rusty' Stevens	...	Sonny Pollitt (uncredited)
Vince Townsend	...	Lacey (uncredited)
Jeane Wood	...	Party Guest (uncredited)

Directed by
Richard Brooks

Writing credits
Richard Brooks		(screenplay) and
James Poe		(screenplay)
Tennessee Williams		(based on the play "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" by)

Produced by
Lawrence Weingarten	....	producer

Original Music by
Charles Wolcott		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
William H. Daniels		(director of photography) (as William Daniels)

Film Editing by
Ferris Webster		(film editor)

Art Direction by
William A. Horning
Urie McCleary

Set Decoration by
Henry Grace		(set decorations)
Robert Priestley		(set decorations)

Makeup Department
Sydney Guilaroff	....	hair stylist
William Tuttle	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
William Shanks	....	assistant director
Hank Moonjean	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Tom Jung	....	poster artist (uncredited)
Tom Jung	....	poster designer (uncredited)

Sound Department
Wesley C. Miller	....	recording supervisor (as Dr. Wesley C. Miller)
Norwood A. Fenton	....	sound (uncredited)
Van Allen James	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Lee LeBlanc	....	special effects

Stunts
Dean Smith	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Bill Johnson	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Helen Rose	....	wardrobe: Elizabeth Taylor

Editorial Department
Charles K. Hagedon	....	color consultant

Other crew
Marguerite Lamkin	....	dialogue coach (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (presents)
• Avon Productions (II) (as Avon Productions, Inc.)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1958) (USA) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1958) (France) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1966) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1967) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1991) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1994) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1997) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1997) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2001) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD) (special edition)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1959) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Seven Films (2008) (Greece) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Living Colour Entertainment (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1981) (1986) (Finland) (TV)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2001) (Finland) (DVD)
• TV3 (1992) (Finland) (TV)
• Warner Home Video (1992) (Finland) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (Finland) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1969) (1998) (2000) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• Playwrights-Catinroof Company, The  presented on the stage by

Also Known As:

"Die Katze auf dem heißen Blechdach" - Austria, West Germany
"Katt på hett plåttak" - Finland (Swedish title), Sweden
"La chatte sur un toit brûlant" - Canada (French title), France
"Un gato sobre el tejado caliente" - Colombia (imdb display title), Mexico (imdb display title)
"Gata em Telhado de Zinco Quente" - Portugal
"Gata em Teto de Zinco Quente" - Brazil
"Kat på et varmt bliktag" - Denmark
"Katt på hett blikktak" - Norway (imdb display title)
"Kissa kuumalla katolla" - Finland
"Kizgin damdaki kedi" - Turkey (Turkish title)
"Kotka na goracym blaszanym dachu" - Poland
"La gata sobre el tejado de zinc" - Spain
"La gatta sul tetto che scotta" - Italy
"Lyssasmeni gata" - Greece (transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title)
"Macka na usijanom limenom krovu" - Serbia
"Macska a forró bádogtetőn" - Hungary
"Un gato sobre el tejado de cinc" - Argentina

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Perspecta Sound) (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Portugal:M/12 (re-rating) | Spain:18 | Finland:K-3 (2007) | South Korea:15 (DVD rating) | Brazil:14 | USA:TV-PG | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Canada:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | Netherlands:AL | Portugal:17 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #19046) | West Germany:18 (original rating) | UK:12A (re-rating) (2005) | UK:X (original rating) | UK:15 (video rating) (1987) | UK:15 (video rating)

Filming Locations:

Coleman Estate, Muttontown, Oyster Bay, Long Island, New York, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The references to homosexuality in the original play were removed from the screenplay to comply with the Hollywood Production Code.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Maggie is arriving at the birthday party, she is assaulted by her niece who throws ice cream at Maggie's legs. Maggie scoops up a teaspoonful of the mess from her legs, with the intent of smearing it in the child's face. When she reaches the child, the tiny amount of ice cream she holds has grown to considerably more than a pint.

Quotes:

Ida 'Big Momma' Pollitt:I'm talking in Big Daddy's languge now. I'm his wife, not his widow. I'm still his wif!
Gooper Pollitt:What we've got here...
Mae Pollitt:What Gooper's saying is just a plan, a basis.
Ida 'Big Momma' Pollitt:I'll tell you what your plan is. Margaret, what is it Big Daddy always says when he's disgusted?
Margaret "Maggie" Pollitt:He says bull when he's disgusted.
Ida 'Big Momma' Pollitt:Yes, that's right. I say bull too, like Big Daddy.
Mae Pollitt:Well, coarse language don't seem called for to me.
Ida 'Big Momma' Pollitt:Bull!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Dead Talk Back (#7.3)" (1994)

Soundtrack:

Fourth movement, Symphony No, 5 in C minor, Op. 67

Some Really Fine Acting Here

Sultry and downbeat, this Richard Brooks directed film is set at a Southern plantation where a dysfunctional family celebrates the 65th birthday of family patriarch Big Daddy (Burl Ives), a portly man whose health, or the lack of it, is very much on the minds of all the family members. The story centers on one of Big Daddy's two sons, a brooding young man named Brick (Paul Newman) and his childless wife Maggie (Elizabeth Taylor).

Brick is reticent and repressed for reasons unknown, and finds relief in alcohol. Beautiful Maggie is concerned that Brick's indifference to Big Daddy may cost them their share of the family inheritance, at the hands of Brick's brother and scheming sister-in-law. Adding fuel to the fire is Brick's prepubescent nieces and nephews, in-your-face brats, whom Maggie refers to, not kindly, as little "no-neck" monsters. Big Momma (Judith Anderson) just wants Big Daddy to be physically well, and for everyone to get along.

Of course, with a big inheritance on the line, tension erupts, first between Brick and Maggie, then later between them and everyone else. As the tension mounts, arguments erupt into a real down-home Southern soap opera.

The film's script is heavy on dialogue. But because of the story's thematic depth, the issues are interesting and insightful, and the script never seems talky. At the heart of the story is the subject of mendacity, of lies and not telling the truth. There is considerable emotional pain, expressed as anger, resentment, and sarcasm. The story, originated by Tennessee Williams, goes against its era, in that it contradicts the virtues of traditional family values and capitalism.

Casting and acting are quite good. But Burl Ives' performance is wonderful, and alone makes the film worth watching. Color cinematography is conventional. It's a slow-paced film with long camera "takes". Sets and production design are lavish.

Because the dreadful Hays Code censored much of the thematic content in 1958, the film's conclusion is weak and does not justify Brick's emotional state. This is not a criticism of the film, but of the Hays Code itself which, mercifully, was abolished in the 1960s.

Dripping with Southern atmosphere, and with a sultry jazz score, "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof" is a terrific movie, for its thematic value, its cast, and the splendid performance of Burl Ives.