The Long, Hot Summer Reviews

• Southern Fried Masterpiece

  
  By A3QFC8X23IR3QC on 2005-07-22
  Well now, what do we have here? It is nothing less than one of the best and sexiest southern fried dramas from the 1950's. This adaptation of several works of William Faulkner is a tour de force for everyone involved. How lucky are we to have two great films on southern family life starring Paul Newman come out in 1958? This film is a fine companion piece to "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof", a bit more upbeat than "Cat" but still full of sound and fury.
  
  As Ben Quick, Paul Newman ignites the screen and fairly burns down half of Mississippi in the process with his incredible magnetism. He brings to Quick all he as to bear as an actor and creates one of his early memorable performances. Just watch him as bare chested he hugs his pillow on the hot veranda while watching Joanne Woodward through a screen door sitting up in her bed trying to ignore him, or his walk across the Varner yard early on in the film, his interactions with Orson Wells or Tony Franciosa. He is every inch the "mean and dirty" barnburner everyone thinks he is. He is just what the Varner family and Clara Varner in particular need to feed their respective fever dreams brought on by the heat of this particular August in the south.
  
  Hitting her marks in a great performance is Joanne Woodward. She being a true daughter of the South comes to the table with and extra barrel loaded. As Clara Varner she is both needy and steely, a magnolia ready to be plucked but at that same time fearful that she will be passed over and left to wither on the vine. Her scene in the general store after closing time with Newman is just about one of the steamiest love scenes ever filmed this
  side of "Picnic". Miss Woodward here in this film is pure magic to watch and in combination with Paul Newman the pair become an alchemy of fireworks and lightning bugs on a summers night.
  
  Adding to the fine cast is Lee Remick, Tony Franciosa, the incredible Angela Lansbury and the equally and always impressive Orson Wells. I would go on about each of them but I think it best to let them surprise you. That's half the fun of the film.
  
  The score by Alex North is memorable and one of his best. The cinematography by Joseph LeShelle captures the hazy heat of Mississippi. And Martin Ritt's direction of all parties concerned is perfectly on target. Be sure to check some of his other collaborations with Newman, "Paris Blues", "Hud" to mention only two.
  
  Pour yourself a tall sweet tea, kick off your shoes and open the veranda doors and let the breeze of this long hot summer envelope you.
  
  
  

• A LONG HOT SIZZLER WITH EXTRAS TO BOOT

  
  By A1M9DQDGE07Q0U on 2003-05-21
  "The Long Hot Summer" was (for its time)a steamy study of sexual repression and sensual misbehavior. It starred Paul Newman as a drifter accused of barn burning who sets up house-keeping with the daughter (Joanne Woodward) of a rich plantation owner (Orson Welles). The on screen chemistry is certainly there and why not. This film just happened to be the catalyst for the real life romance between Newman and Woodward. Contextualizing the fact that the censors still reigned supreme during the time of its production, "The Long Hot Summer" still proved to be a smoldering, sexy drama fraught with tension and chaos.
  THE TRANSFER: Fox has done a particularly nice job on remastering this movie. Yes, the flicker of scene changes (inherant in all early Cinemascope films)remains present and yes, color consistancy leaves something to be desired. But over all, colors are nicely balanced, if showing slight fading. Contrast and shadow levels are well represented. Pixelization, shimmering and edge enhancement, though all present, are kept to a bare minimum. The audio is Stereo surround and, even though considerably dated, still manages to have a hearty kick in all of the speakers.
  EXTRAS: Very nice - the Backstory featurette that details the production of the film, a Paul Newman gallery, original movietone snippet and the film's theatrical trailer.
  BOTTOM LINE: This is a nice presentation and a pretty good film besides. At the extremely economical price that Fox has advertised it at, "The Long Hot Summer" is guaranteed to burn up your DVD player.
  
  

• This video is as "hot" as its name

  
  By A17FLA8HQOFVIG on 2001-08-12
  Adapted from some William Faulkner stories, this 1958 film certainly lives up to its name. It is "hot". The setting is a small town in the Deep South and the characters familiar, but under the skillful direction of Martin Rich, they spring to life as complex, flawed and very human individuals. Paul Newman, in his prime then, is cast as Ben Quick, a young drifter who is taken under the wing of the town's patriarch, Will Varner, played by Orson Wells. Newman romances Varner's schoolteacher daughter, Clara, played by Joanne Woodward, and competes with Varner's son Jody, played by Anthony Franciosa, for the old man's respect and affection. Lee Remick is cast as Jody's pretty wife and Angela Lansbury plays Varner's lady friend. What a cast!

  Both Paul Newman and Orson Wells exude the essence of macho in the finest southern tradition. I can almost smell all that testosterone right off the video screen. There's nothing politically correct about this story, as the strength of the women lies only in the way they can manipulate the men in their lives. And, in spite of Joanne Woodward's, declaration of how much she loves books, the audience knows that what she really wants is nothing less than the kind of man who will make her wake up smiling each morning. This was the first movie that Woodward and Newman made together and they married shortly thereafter and so the audience is treated to a very special chemistry between them. Newman's blue eyes sparkle and his sexiness comes through loud and clear when he takes off his shirt. His body is naturally rugged without the sculptured pumped and ripped muscles that have since become trendy. Orson Wells' outstanding performance is the glue that holds the story together. He plays the role of the powerful 60-year old patriarch with exceptional vigor and is completely believable even though he was only 43 at the time. He wears his bulk well and there's sparkle between him and Angela Lansbury. During the course of the film, it is his character that goes through the most changes and he plays this with a naturalness that makes this believable.

  There's good writing, directing and close-up shots of the actors. And the story moved fast, holding my interest throughout. The camera also captured the distinctions between the dusty dirt farms and the luxurious mansion, but basically it focused on the people and the human drama. And the ending is a happy and satisfying one. I thought it was excellent.
  
  

• Infinitely superior to the Don Johnson remake.

  
  By A39SYCBUA3E66S on 2003-04-23
  If it ain't broke, don't fix it. The TV-movie version of "The Long, Hot Summer" suffers from miscasting (Judith Ivey was passable, but just, and I can't decide if Don Johnson's attempt to fill Paul Newman's shoes represents touching bravery or misguided arrogance), dreadful accents, and jarring anachronisms.
  
  This film, the 1958 original, leaves it in the dust. Newman and Woodward generate palpable heat, and Orson Welles--clammy, jowly, bullfrog-voiced, crudely vigorous--is unforgettable as a classically bullying, overbearing Southern patriarch. In contrast to the pallid TV remake, it features a top cast whose work transcends the sometimes creaky melodrama of the plot. Nearly every white Southern archetype is brought to life: the brutish, domineering, castrating patriarch; the arch, charming, coyly seductive belle with hot pants; the aging good-time girl, simultaneously randy and prim, with her eye on the prize of a rich widower; the hotheaded but weak son and heir, goaded to jealousy by his seductive, flirtatious wife and utterly dominated by his father, whom he both adores and despises; the sharp-tongued old maid, smoldering with repressed fire, who just needs a "real man" to take the place of her suspiciously lukewarm long-term suitor; and, of course, the roguish, charming, sexy, potentially dangerous outsider, spiritual heir to Rhett Butler, who gets both the community and the heroine in a lather. There's even a lynch mob--chasing a white man, for a change.
  
  Skip the TV-movie remake, which at best is a clunky imitation, in favor of the classic--if for no other reason than to see Paul Newman, at the peak of his beauty, in an undershirt. If that's not inducement enough, it's also marvelously cast, scripted, acted, and directed, and it captures Southern family dynamics with humor, pathos, and wince-inducing accuracy. Florence King would be proud.
  
  

• Body Heat!

  
  By A9I40WFF40R4 on 2004-09-02
  This movie, released in 1958, must have raised eyebrows in the declining Eisenhower years. Sometimes less is more. It is amazing how sexy and erotic a movie can be without the lead characters running around naked. You can feel the sizzling electricity between Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward; but then, they weren't acting since they married soon after finishing this film. Although the movie is billed as "William Faulkner's The Long Hot Summer" and is based on some of his stories, I kept seeing and hearing shades of "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof," which came out in the same year so I don't know who influenced whom if at all.
  
  Both Newman as the sexy drifter and Woodward, the school teacher who is 23 and still not married, are both so young and handsome and play off each other beautifully. The other actors give credible performances as well although Orson Welles is a little over the top at times. He certainly fills up the screen both in physical size and bombast. Angela Lansbury is charming as the local madam who provides pleasure for Welles who plays the rich landowner Varner. I don't know how true to Faulkner the plot is, not having read the stories in question, but something tells me the ending is distinctly not Faulknerian.
  
  Southern accents are always tricky; occasionally they don't ring true here with the exception of Woodward's; but she's a native Southerner after all.
  
  Set in Mississippi although shot in Louisiana, the film has an authentic feel and remains remarkably undated. It sizzles.
  
  
• I'm no trembling little rabbit with unsatisfied desires
  By AK61LQI92GTCH on 2005-01-29
  Joanne Woodward plays the 22-year-old maid with a mama's boy beau and Paul Newman the menacing - well, roguishly and charmingly menacing, anyway - prince with eyes for her in Martin Ritt's THE LONG HOT SUMMER.
  As one of the dvd extras tells us, Woodward and Newman were hot in love during the filming of this movie, and their chemistry translates well onto the screen. The story, a young girl coming of age and finding love, didn't do much for me. Orson Welles, hidden behind a movable rubber nose and a thick layer of insta-tan, mumbles in an incomprehensible southern accent and chews the scenery in just about every scene he's in.
  This is purportedly based on a number of short stories by William Faulkner. Save for some character names and the use of barn burning as a plot device the Faulkner link is pretty tenuous.
  If you enjoy romantic melodramas, or are a fan of the stars, it's likely you'll enjoy this one more than I did. I thought it was just okay.
  
  
  
• Newman & Woodward's first pairing is wonderful
  By on 2000-07-17
  Pay no attention to the reviewer from New York that disliked this film. It was shot and came out before Cat on a Hot Tin Roof did, so it was not trying to capitalize on Cat's much deserved success.

  Newman also won best actor at the Cannes Film Festival for his riveting, sexy portrayal of Ben Quick in Summer, even though the American Film Academy would soon snub him the first of seven out of eight times for his role of Brick in Cat.

  Ben Quick is an early Newman con man characterization, long before his well-loved role of Henry Gondorf in The Sting came along to enchant the world some 25 years later.

  As for the pairing of Paul & Joanne...she was excellently cast in the role of a smart, young southern lady struggling to break free from her dominant father and stifling family history. Orson Welles is excellent as the domineering old brute of a dad. Anthony Franciosa, Lee Remick & Angela Lansbury all turn in wonderful performances as southern folk fighting the stifling heat and Welles' blustery personality at the same time.

  Paul & Joanne are lovely together...knowing that they married a few months after making the film adds to it's allure. The last big scene between the two of them on the front porch is glorious chemistry to behold, not to mention her evening visit to the family store that Newman is "tending", in order to work his way into getting a share Welles' wealth.

  This is a subtle, intelligent romance and I agree with the reviewer who particularly appreciated the snappy dialogue. It holds up, even if the times have changed.

  Enjoy!
  
  

• Six Stars for The Long Hot Summer
  By AFHX0CITLH3BB on 2002-06-08
  If it was possible I would give this movie six stars!
  While others may view Cat On A Hot Tin Roof as a better movie I feel TLHS is without a doubt the BEST movie. The film location in Clinton LA as well as the understated accents of the actors, feel and fit the time.
  Newman and Woodward heat the screen with real sizzle. Woodward has a natural feel for life in the deep south.
  Each character in this movie brings an enchanting realism to this movie that stands the test of time.
  "Varners and more Varners"...
  Maybe it's a southern thing, but as you can guess I love this movie!
  
  
• A Dangerous Drifter
  By A1345VRK5MYG7 on 2002-09-29
  Paul Newman plays another one of his cocky, dangerous characters in this story of a drifter who moves into a small Mississippi town dominated by fatcat Orson Welles. Welles' own son, Anthony Franciosa is weak, and he likes Newman and wants to match him up with his staid daughter Joanne Woodward, but she's not interested ... or at least not at first. Newman's high wattage star charisma is on display here as the man who manages to get out of tight spots and can spot an opportunity when it is presented. Woodward is very good as the young woman who needs to let go and allow herself to live. Welles dominates every scene he is in, with his characteristic bluster and dramatics a good fit for this character. Lee Remick, as Franciosa's wife, and Angela Lansbury, as Welles longtime girlfriend, are both sadly underused. The script has got some great bits of dialogue, and the main characters are allowed to develop quite well. But the ending seems rushed, and the full dramatic potential of the town's confrontation with Newman and Welles is not allowed to play out enough. The movie does evoke a Southern atmosphere, and this chance to see Newman and Woodward in their primes shouldn't be missed.
  
  
• Why daughters become rebels......
  By A1G56KHOUOFWDW on 2004-09-06
  I saw the LONG HOT SUMMER on the big screen back in 1958 when I was 16 and thought it was fabulous. I'm older now, and although the film still has some appeal, mainly because of the two lead actors whom I admire very much, I didn't enjoy the film as much on the small screen today. For one thing, the detail in some shots is hard to see which might not be the case if you have a large viewing screen. For another thing, I don't think it is clear to me even yet why old man Will Varner (Orson Wells in a "big Daddy" type role) has it in for his son (Anthony Franciosa). Faulkner's tales, the basis of the screen play, may reveal the source of the animosity between the two men, but this film does not. The closest we come to understanding Will Varner's cruel behavior is to hear him call his son "weak" which does not seem to be the case for Miss Varner's equally effeminate beau who is obviously a mama's boy, and whom Will Varner would approve as the stud for his daughter if only he would "pop" the question. Both young men seem weak compared to the muscular, virile, tanned Newman (Ben Quick). Furthermore, why is a beautiful girl like Joanne Woodward unmarried in the old South where couples ran off in their teens? And, what father would bribe a "no account barn-buring drifter" to wed his daughter? Again, the Faulkner tales probably reveal much the screen play misses.
  
  The film has it's appeal - the actors are beautiful (including Lee Remick who went on to play acclaimed roles as drunken and/or crazy wives), and Angela Landsbury (Jessica Fletcher) is wonderful as Minnie, the long suffering mistress of Will Varner. Based on it's price, this is a good buy for your "oldies" film library as the story is instructive for youngsters who wonder what fueled the youthful rebellion that later culminated in Women's Movement in the late 1950s.
  
  
• Newman's strong performance makes this Southern story work
  By A1WGF3DAX2WUV0 on 2000-07-19
  William Faulkner's Southern stories come to the screen in this film directed by Martin Ritt and starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward in their first film together as a married couple. Newman stars as Ben Quick, a drifter who infiltrates the family of Mississippi patriarch Will Varner (Orson Welles, quite corpulent, and looking similar to his character in Touch of Evil), his son Jody and wife Eula (Anthony Franciosa and a smoldering Lee Remick) and umarried daughter (Woodward). The story unfolds well, and it is Newman gives a solid performance as a cocky young man who wants to feel a part of society.
  
  
• Now I understand all of the fuss about Paul Newman.
  By on 1998-12-22
  Very simply, this is a great movie with a great cast. I had seen many of Paul Newman's movies, but it was this one which made me really understand why everyone was and is so enamored with him. And the conflict/chemistry between Newman and Woodward was (cliche, I know) palpable. Definitely worth watching.
  
  
• Newman & Woodward make you tingle!
  By on 1999-10-22
  I saw this movie for the first time in college in the '80s when it was 20 years old. I watched it two more times that day when the station repeated it. Paul Newman is soooooo sexy in this movie...and I mean really! He makes all others pale. The acting by Franciosa and Remick and, of course Welles reminds one of what real acting, real stories and real movies used to be. Long Hot Summer tells such a good story!
  
  
• Hot indeed!
  By AV5LDY0I6WPJ4 on 2001-07-11
  Wow! This is definitly a barn burner. Newman and Woodward are just perfect in this film. The chemistry on and off screen between the two is obvious. No false moves on their parts. The dialogue is snappy and smart. I love this movie. I have watched it again and again and recommend you do the same.
  
  
• Southern soaper! Quintessential 50s flick!
  By A3LU79BYMWZEW9 on 2001-11-06
  OK, this is the one everyone mixes up with "Cat on A Hot Tin Roof." It's the Tennessee Williams movie that was really based on William Faulkner, but still FEELS like Tennessee Williams. It's the one where the Burl Ives role was played by Orson Welles. But the Paul Newman part is still played by Paul Newman--which no doubt is one reason for the confusion.

  It's hard to imagine in 2001 how revolutionary the (now) demure references Joanne Woodward makes to her decidedly repressed sexuality must have seemed in 1958. And Lee Remick flouncing around in her slip and falling languidly into Tony Franciosa's eager arms must have seemed pretty racy at the time. (Of course, Lee and Tony had perfected the act in the previous year's "Face In the Crowd.") All of this seems pretty tepid nowadays. More's the pity, I guess.

  As a time capsule, the movie's priceless. Dramatically, though, the pacing could have been lots better. This was only director Martin Ritt's third theatrical effort. Although he is known for getting good performances out of his actors, the script here lets him and the cast down. Dramatic scenes (Jody's attempted murder of his overbearing father; the attempted lynching of Ben Quick by the enraged townsmen) seem rushed and are ultimately more ludicrous than moving. Potentially affecting, the movie is more often frustrating.

  But as potboilers of the era go, "Long Hot Summer" remains a must see. The chemistry between Woodward and Newman is evident in this, their first film together. Remick continues her Southern belle shtick begun in "Face in the Crowd" (and that she'd revisit again in another Faulkner-based epic, "Sanctuary") in a way surprisingly winsome for a gal from Quincy, Mass. Orson Welles hams it up gloriously as "Big Daddy," I mean, "Will Varner." Fans of 50s and 60s American cinema will definitely want to take this one in. Whether you want to BUY it or not depends on just how big a fan you are.
  
  

• Newman's ingenious acting...
  By AGZVS6M8XJGN6 on 2007-01-06
  "The Long, Hot Summer," the first of six films he made for director Martin Ritt and the first of seven co-starring Joanne Woodward, is based on two short stories and part of a novel by Faulkner, provided him with his best role to that time...
  
  Ben Quick (Newman), a foolhardy, opportunistic young wanderer, drifts into a Mississippi town owned and run by the huge, powerful Will Varner (Orson Welles), who also dominates his daughter Clara (Woodward), a 23-year-o1d unmarried schoolteacher... Despite Quick's reputation as a "barnburner," he is hired by Varner, and rapid1y works his way up to a partnership in the general store and a room in the main house...
  
  Varner, like Big Daddy in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," wants strong descendants, and since his son is a weakling, he decides that Clara will marry Quick, whose aggressive masculinity he admires (he calls Quick a "big stud horse"). Clara, offended by Quick's very self-satisfaction and vulgar manner, and by both men's treating her as property, resists...
  
  Like Billy the Kid, Quick is an outcast, isolated from humanity because of his notorious reputation... But in temperament he's the opposite, an extreme extrovert... From the very beginning, Newman, hat down low over his forehead, eyes gleaming with ambition, projects an overwhelming confidence, self-satisfaction and, above all, electrifying virility... Cynical, arrogant, crude and unwilling to allow anything to interfere with his drive, he resembles Larry Maddux of "The Helen Morgan Story." But now the portrayal is more than one-dimensional: behind Quick's hard blue eyes, barely hidden sneer and devilish smile there's enough intelligence, humor, charm, and downright attractiveness to force our involvement in his quest for power...
  
  This is due entirely to Newman's ingenious acting, because as written the character reveals no positive traits until near the end, when he breaks down and tells Clara the truth about himself... It's a powerful scene: his voice breaking, eyes filling slow1y with tears, Newman effectively depicts a man whose carefully formed cold shell is finally cracking to reveal the vulnerable soul within...
  
  The confession gives him a bond of equality with Clara that enables him to stand up decisively to Varner... But even earlier, Quick was never completely dominated by the old man... Of all the father-figures in Newman's films, Varner seems the most imposing, but Quick, unlike the weakling sons in "The Rack" and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," isn't passive enough to be stepped upon...
  
  William Faulkner's characters are perfect foils: Newman is sexually sure, and seemingly devoid of vulnerability and humanity; Woodward is a virgin, extremely vulnerable, and longing to express her humanity... She teaches him humility and the value of an individual; he helps her discover her sexuality...
  
  Two scenes are among the best in their careers, partly because of the sharp dialog by the screenwriters... In the first, Clara comes to see Ben in the store at night... After much childish verbal attacks and a few unperceptive truths, the two have pierced beneath the surface and have found the nerve endings of each other's weaknesses...
  
  Later, in the film's finest scene, Clara expresses herself more maturely, asserting that he has the wrong idea about her: she is no "trembling little rabbit, full of smoldering unsatisfied desires," but a full-grown, intelligent woman, who will not be bought and sold... She says he's too much like her father: "I gave up on him when I was nine years old, and I gave up on you the first time I ever looked into those cold blue eyes."
  
  With his firm and fresh manner Quick sums up his honest, hard, purely sexual appraisal of life: "Well, I can see you don't like me, but you're gonna have me. It's gonna be you and me... "
  
  
  
  
• I love this movie...its the greatest ever!!!!!
  By on 1999-10-14
  PN is wonderful ..I really enjoy the conversation the dialouge is to die for --I mean nowadays there is never any word wars--smart word wars---

  IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT WATCH IT NOW

  One word WITTY!
  
  

• GREAT CLASSIC!!!
  By A6A0LTYEAMAP5 on 2001-07-12
  I loved this movie!!!I keep watching it again and agian.Director Martin Ritt made this movie work.This is a moody drama,adapted from Faulkner Story,about small- town lovers resisting paternal tyrant's mandates.A favorite movie for drama and classic movie lovers.Out of 10 I would give this a 7.
  
  
• Entertaining Southern Soap Opera
  By A2ZHH7AK83JB5G on 2006-08-10
  This is a very entertaining melodrama. Paul Newman is incredibly handsome as a charismatic drifter and Joanne Woodward is perfect as a repressed yet spunky schoolteacher. Orson Welles plays Woodward's father in a manner that brings Boss Hogg to mind. His fake Southern accent, though, is so tough to understand it is fortunate that this film is close captioned. Lee Remick is lovely as a brainless Southern belle but Tony Francioso seems miscast as Welles's despised weakling son. Angela Lansbury is also at hand and does a passing Southern accent for a British gal. The ending is not at all what I expected but I'm sure it pleased 1950's movie audiences. An AMC channel "Back Story" is included with Newman, Lansbury and Woodward sharing their memories of making the film.
  
  
• You run, and you keep on running. . .
  By A3GHBJCEA9QUWZ on 2000-10-02
  I loved this movie! It is a lot better than the 1985 version. Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman are perfect together! It is a great movie that actually has a point and you can watch it over and over again without getting sick of it. I am fifteen years old and have been watching this movie for about three years. It is a movie to watch with the whole family! Buy it, it's WELL worth your money!
  
  
• Newman/Woodward MAGIC
  By A3EKKW0F75KFHJ on 2000-08-27
  Probably one of the sexiest/raw emotion films of the 50's. Due to the censorship rules of the day, all romance/sex is left to the mind of the viewer. That is where it should be. Orson Wells portryal of "Varner",lord of the southern town brings strength and visual reality to the times. Addressing young adults as "BOY" and dressing with a tie and jacket for dinner in the summer really tells a story of power that few can realize unless they have experienced it first hand.

  The fact that Newman & Woodward married soon after the film was completed attests to the power of the story and those that brought it to the screen. Jerry Wald was producer of the year in my book. Jimmy Rodgers rendition of the title was great.
  
  

• A '50s classic
  By A3BAJH4QW7LDWV on 2006-07-20
  Here are several William Faulkner stories in an excellent screen
  version.The movie benefits greatly from being filmed on location
  in Mississippi.Joseph LaShelle's gorgeous CinemaScope DeLuxe color photography and Alex North's brilliant score give it a
  sensual glow.Martin Ritt's powerful direction and the literate,
  well-written Irving Ravetch-Harriet Frank Jr. script show how to film a book perfectly.But what really puts the movie over are the wonderful performances by its top-notch cast.Orson Welles,Anthony Franciosa,Lee Remick,and Angela Lansbury are
  all outstanding.However,the movie belongs to its two stars.
  Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward absolutely smolder in two starmaking performances.It is evident throughout the film that they are falling in love with each other on and offscreen,which
  makes their work here that much more convincing.All in all,this is a 1950s classic.
  
  
• "Summertime, and the livin' is easy" Or The Long, Hot Summer with Young Hot Paul Newman
  By A2BPDFR58H9575 on 2007-05-25
  
  It was the time when they called him a young new star and it was his breakthrough to stardom, fame, and success. The moment Paul Newman's Ben Quick, rebellious and irresistible drifter enters a rural Mississippi town of Frenchman's Bend to stir up its women, puzzle its men and to catch the interest of Big Daddy Varner (Orson Welles, the ferocious force of nature seemed to have fun playing Will Varner and experimenting with make-up) the town richest and most powerful redneck who perhaps sees in Ben a lot of himself, the screen legend was born.
  
  "The Long, Hot Summer" (1958) is based on five short stories and a novel by one of the America's greatest novelists and storytellers, the expert of Southern life, William Faulkner, and the film is a steamy, moving, often funny (perhaps, unintentionally) tale of lust, greed, jealousy, and larger than life personalities and their clashes. I guess I need to read more Faulkner's stories because I was surprised to see the film that is based on the works of the writer known for his heavy use of such sophisticated literary techniques as symbolism, allegory, and especially stream of consciousness, the film which linear narrative is easy to follow from the third person point-of-view.
  
  
  Besides Paul Newman who was as talented as he was hot, his off- screen wife-to-be Joanna Woodward shines as Clara Varner, Will's intelligent, thinking daughter, the teacher in a local school whom her father wants to see married (and not just wants but takes certain steps that Clara does not like and feels offended by). The film was the first of many Newman's and Woodward's collaboration and it is not easy to recall the greater chemistry between two leads. Orson Welles dominates the screen in his every scene as expected. 21-years-old Lee Remick (Eula, Varner's daughter-in-law, sexy and innocent woman-child), Anthony Franciosa (Jody, Varner's overlooked and jealous son), and Angela Lansbury (Minnie, the woman who has her own plans about future that include a widower Varner in them) all add to the sizzling fun that "The Long Hot Summer" is.
  
  
  
• Tennessee Williams Wannabe
  By on 2000-04-08
  This film seemed to be an attempt to give an encore to Newman's searing performance in Tennessee Williams' "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," complete with big Southern daddy character and twangy speech, but the missing elements were: 1) Williams' gift for dialogue, 2) a truly compelling plot, and 3) a worthy counterpart to the female leading role of Maggie the Cat. Woodward is a talented character actress in her own right (see "The Three Faces of Eve," for sure), but she is missing a character to play here. Plus, let's face it, Liz Taylor she is NOT, and she does not cut it as sultry bait for Newman's lusty drifter. I'm sorry, but the attraction between her and Newman has been and always will be a mystery to me. If you want show-stopping performances, wallop-packing dialogue, and enough heat to singe your eyebrows over an authentic Southern flame, buy "Cat..." instead.
  
  
• The Long Hot Summer
  By A34KVRBQECCLH1 on 2006-03-21
  A beautiful classic movie with handsome Paul Newman and the lovely Elizabeth Taylor. Both are talented along with the entire cast. A must see movie for the young as well as the old.
  
  
• I love it!!!!!!!
  By A1G3HKYAUZZS7A on 2006-06-18
  I love this movie along with Paul Newman. To the last poster "kat" its Joanne Woodward not Elizabeth Taylor in this movie,you're thinking of Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, which I also love.
  
  
• One of Paul Newman's best movies
  By A3W4X7S6FZCA75 on 2006-07-31
  I love this old Paul Newman movie. The plot is terrific. The characters and all the family personalities are very realistic. The story taking place down south is refreshing. Paul Newman is very sexy. I highly recommend seeing this movie if you are a Paul Newman fan.
  
  
• An ok way to kill boredom
  By API39DXE1BMLJ on 2007-10-07
  It isn't really a great movie, the end seems like something they came up with in about 5 minutes when they realized they needed to wrap it up or this thing would go on forever. It is offensive, however, to talk about this movie and mention William Faulkner at the same time. The ingredient list on a box of cereal has about as much in common with this terrible script as Faulkner's works.
  
  
• Paul Newman - it doesnt get any better
  By A3T5PRW9ZGEXW4 on 2008-01-19
  Paul Newman in his prime - what more is there to say? Old school acting, old school style, always in vogue. Paul Newman dominates the screen but the supporting character acting is just as fine.
  
  
• Wonderful film, however....
  By A1OB6GMPE9WQT2 on 1999-09-20
  I give it only 4 stars (instead of five) for the weak ending. Something tells me that the folks in Hollywood demanded a happy ending - out of character with the rest of the film. Wonderful performances all around. Wells has never been better.
  
  

• Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Deluxe Edition)
• Hud
• Cool Hand Luke (Deluxe Edition)
• From the Terrace
• The Sting