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Sweet Bird of Youth (1962)
Four years after they triumphed with the screen version of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Tennessee Williams, Richard Brooks, and Paul Newman reunited to bring another Williams stage sizzler, Sweet Bird of Youth to the screen.
Newman and Geraldine Page were actually allowed to reprise the roles they created on Broadway for this 1962 screen translation. Newman plays Chance Wayne, a hustler and womanizer who has spent years in Hollywood struggling to become famous, but is now returning to his hometown, St. Cloud, Florida, to reunite with the girl of his dreams, Heavenly Finley. His plans are complicated by an alcoholic actress named Alexandra Del Lago (Page) who is passed out in Chance's backseat and by Boss Findlay (Ed Begley)a smarmy politician who has most of the town in his hip pocket and doesn't want Chance anywhere near his daughter, Heavenly.
Williams' play premiered on Broadway in 1959 and ran for less than 400 performances, but the story didn't take long making it to the big screen, despite rather steamy material for 1962 movie audiences. I've never seen the piece onstage, but if history with Williams is any indication, the screen version is centered around some pretty adult staff and was probably watered down for 1962 consumption. This Chance Wayne character is no boy scout...this guy has spent years in Hollywood using his body to get wealthy women to finance his career and makes no bones about it. We aren't shocked when it is revealed that he has pretty much kidnapped Ms. Del Lago after a drunken escapade and plans to blackmail her into jump starting his career. It's also made clear that Chance is still in love with the virginal Heavenly Finley and always will be and is determined to win her back. The audience finds themselves scratching their collective heads trying to figure out how he's going to do both.
Director Richard Brooks, as he did with Cat on a Hot Tin Roof has created another steamy southern atmosphere where we see character morals wilt under the same sun that has most of the characters sweat. We see a central character that we sympathize with even though we really shouldn't though we don't understand a lot of the contempt that he has returned to. It's never really made clear why the Finley clan hates Chance so much, other than what he put Heavenly through, but Heavenly brought a lot of that pain on herself. And in the tradition of Big Daddy Pollitt, Williams has created another totally reprehensible villain in Boss Finley, a smarmy snake who does the majority of his dirt with a great big smile on his face. And in a nice change for Tennessee Williams, most of the characters in this twisted story get what's coming to them.
The film received seven Oscar nominations, with Ed Begley winning Best Supporting Actor for his theatrical turn as Boss Finley. Geraldine Page received a richly deserved nomination for her dazzling turn as Alexandra Del Lago, a tragic heroine in the best tradition of Blanche Dubois that did win her a Golden Globe. and Shirley Knight's surprisingly rich performance as Heavenly earning her a supporting actress nomination.
Newman was somehow overlooked by the Academy for his powerhouse performance playing a somewhat reprehensible character that we can't help but love because he's being played by Paul Newman. Rip Torn, who would marry Page shortly after this film was released, also impresses as Boss Finley's son and # 1 stooge. Madeline Sherwood, who was also in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof can also be glanced in a flashy performance here as Boss' mistress, a character nothing like the one she played in Cat. Another solid adaptation of a Tennessee Williams work that was remade for TV in 1987 with Elizabeth Taylor and Mark Harmon playing Page and Newman's roles.
Four years after they triumphed with the screen version of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Tennessee Williams, Richard Brooks, and Paul Newman reunited to bring another Williams stage sizzler, Sweet Bird of Youth to the screen.
Newman and Geraldine Page were actually allowed to reprise the roles they created on Broadway for this 1962 screen translation. Newman plays Chance Wayne, a hustler and womanizer who has spent years in Hollywood struggling to become famous, but is now returning to his hometown, St. Cloud, Florida, to reunite with the girl of his dreams, Heavenly Finley. His plans are complicated by an alcoholic actress named Alexandra Del Lago (Page) who is passed out in Chance's backseat and by Boss Findlay (Ed Begley)a smarmy politician who has most of the town in his hip pocket and doesn't want Chance anywhere near his daughter, Heavenly.
Williams' play premiered on Broadway in 1959 and ran for less than 400 performances, but the story didn't take long making it to the big screen, despite rather steamy material for 1962 movie audiences. I've never seen the piece onstage, but if history with Williams is any indication, the screen version is centered around some pretty adult staff and was probably watered down for 1962 consumption. This Chance Wayne character is no boy scout...this guy has spent years in Hollywood using his body to get wealthy women to finance his career and makes no bones about it. We aren't shocked when it is revealed that he has pretty much kidnapped Ms. Del Lago after a drunken escapade and plans to blackmail her into jump starting his career. It's also made clear that Chance is still in love with the virginal Heavenly Finley and always will be and is determined to win her back. The audience finds themselves scratching their collective heads trying to figure out how he's going to do both.
Director Richard Brooks, as he did with Cat on a Hot Tin Roof has created another steamy southern atmosphere where we see character morals wilt under the same sun that has most of the characters sweat. We see a central character that we sympathize with even though we really shouldn't though we don't understand a lot of the contempt that he has returned to. It's never really made clear why the Finley clan hates Chance so much, other than what he put Heavenly through, but Heavenly brought a lot of that pain on herself. And in the tradition of Big Daddy Pollitt, Williams has created another totally reprehensible villain in Boss Finley, a smarmy snake who does the majority of his dirt with a great big smile on his face. And in a nice change for Tennessee Williams, most of the characters in this twisted story get what's coming to them.
The film received seven Oscar nominations, with Ed Begley winning Best Supporting Actor for his theatrical turn as Boss Finley. Geraldine Page received a richly deserved nomination for her dazzling turn as Alexandra Del Lago, a tragic heroine in the best tradition of Blanche Dubois that did win her a Golden Globe. and Shirley Knight's surprisingly rich performance as Heavenly earning her a supporting actress nomination.
Newman was somehow overlooked by the Academy for his powerhouse performance playing a somewhat reprehensible character that we can't help but love because he's being played by Paul Newman. Rip Torn, who would marry Page shortly after this film was released, also impresses as Boss Finley's son and # 1 stooge. Madeline Sherwood, who was also in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof can also be glanced in a flashy performance here as Boss' mistress, a character nothing like the one she played in Cat. Another solid adaptation of a Tennessee Williams work that was remade for TV in 1987 with Elizabeth Taylor and Mark Harmon playing Page and Newman's roles.