Suddenly, Last Summer is essential Katharine Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor. Is it essential Montgomery Clift? I think the more appropriate question to be is there such a thing as non-essential Montgomery Clift? Not in my book.
The real star of this deep Southern gothic drama is Hepburn's spoiled, selfish son Sebastian, who except for brief flashbacks, is never actually seen. Yet he dominates the film, the conversations, the setting, and the central mystery of what drove Elizabeth Taylor's character, his cousin Catherine Holly, insane enough to be committed to a series of mental institutions. Sebastian is an enigma who can either redeem or destroy the lives of the main protagonists in this disturbing psychological tale based on the play by Tennessee Williams and adapted to the screen by Gore Vidal.
Directed by Joseph Mankiewicz (
The Barefoot Contessa,
Dragonwyck,
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir), the story revolves around a Southern matriarch and widow Violet Venable (played by Katharine Hepburn) who requests the services of a young, brilliant psychiatrist named John Cukrowicz (played by Clift) to review the case of the recent mental breakdown of her niece Catherine Holly. Cukrowicz is a rising celebrity in scientific circles for his pioneering use of lobotomy to cure seemingly incurably violent mentally ill patients. He has been hired out of Chicago by the aging and financially struggling local state mental institute to oversee its new programs and to add prestige to its staff. The carrot dangled by Violet to the institute is a substantial financial gift if Cukrowicz will examine Catherine's as a suitable candidate for lobotomy.
And so the story begins, through a series of interviews with Catherine by Cukrowicz in an attempt to unlock the events that drove her insane. Along the way we see Catherine's torment at the hands of some well meaning but clueless nuns who are currently caring for her and are no longer able to control her rages, her transfer to Cukrowicz's institute, and the dramas that erupt there when Catherine comes face-to-face with her aunt Violet, her mother and brother, and the other inmates of a madhouse.
Like the layers of an onion, the plot peels back the nature of Catherine's psychosis and the motivations of the central characters. Sebastian rises to the forefront of the story and remains there until the bitter, violent, melodramatic end. By the time the curtain comes down on this cinematic working of William's play, we have been treated (or subjected to, depending on your point of view) to just about the darkest themed and overwrought film in Mankiewicz's impressive career. Drivers to the story include insanity, murder, cruelty, cannibalism, cowardice, and loving something to the extremes of evil in order to protect it. Homosexuality is a central theme; how it is portrayed in the film is subject to both the Hays Code and the view of the times.
Suddenly, Last Summer is a film that will not appeal to everyone. Tennessee Williams himself roundly scourged the film, criticizing among other things how it was adapted from his original play and the casting of Taylor as Catherine (he felt Taylor, at this time at the height of her career, as too glamorous and unsuitable for the role). Critics gave it mixed reviews, although in the court of public opinion where things really count, the audience flocked to it and made it a hit. In spite of Williams dire assessment of casting choices, Taylor is magnificent as Catherine. In my opinion, this is one of her finest roles. Hepburn is also tremendous as Violet, a performance both nuanced and over-the-top, so well done that she is instrumental in making the unseen character of Sebastian leap to life on the screen. Both Hepburn and Taylor received Academy award nominations for this film. I would be amiss if I did not also point out the performance of Mercedes McCambridge as Catherine's mother, a role owned by McCambrige, one of my favorite actresses, who brings to the story a particularly pathetic and craven accompaniment to a horror that nevertheless earns her the sympathy of the audience.
Taylor and Hepburn leave a little room for Clift. His portrayal of Dr. Cukrowicz is subdued, but so were just about all of Clift's roles at this time and going forward. At this point in his career he was in the grip of pain killers and alcohol as he recovered from the auto accident that changed his life forever. He was unstable, had problems with his lines, and required multiple takes to get his scenes complete. Taylor was instrumental in Clift getting the role at a time when he was considered a liability due to his dependencies; the two of them were great friends, and Clift's accident had happened as he was leaving Taylor's home. From what I have read, director Mankiewicz was totally unsympathetic to the actor's struggles and wanted him replaced. The story goes that Hepburn was so appalled by Mankiewicz's treatment of Clift that, when her final scene was filmed and Mankiewicz confirmed her services were no longer needed, she spat in the director's face. In my mind I equate Clift's performance here on par with his acting in
The Misfits. He seems rather stiff and slightly spaced out, a tortured individual struggling to maintain balance, who still carries his roles onscreen with a pathos and humanity few others could equal. He is an essential actor in my opinion.
The 4K transfer of
Suddenly, Last Summer is beautiful and rich, reflecting how good black and white film can look in high definition. I have no complaints with the video or sound presentation. The movie may be guilty of Southern Gothic excess, but it is a guilty pleasure I most heartily recommend and could watch over and over again.
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