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Paul Newman, Elizabeth Taylor, Burl Ives, Jack Carson, Judith Anderson ... see more see more... , Madeleine Sherwood , Larry Gates , Vaughan Taylor , Patty Ann Gerrity , Rusty Stevens , Hugh Corcoran , Deborah Miller , Brian Corcoran , Vince Townsend Jr. , Zelda Cleaver , Mildred Dunnock , Bobby Johnson , Tony Merrill , Jeane Wood , Vaughn Taylor

This dynamic and commanding adaptation of Tennessee Williams' Pulitzer Prize-winning play focuses on a troubled Southern family and the discord over their dying father's millions. Wealthy plantation o... read more read more...wner Big Daddy Pollitt (Burl Ives), celebrating his 65th birthday, is visited by his sons, Brick (Paul Newman) and Gooper (Jack Carson). He has cancer, but a doctor has deliberately and falsely declared it in remission. Seemingly perfect son Gooper and his wife, Mae (Madeleine Sherwood), have several children and are anxiously expecting to inherit Daddy's millions. By contrast, Big Daddy's "favorite," Brick, is a has-been football star who's taken to drinking his days away since the suicide of his "best friend" a year earlier. He resents his wife, Maggie (Elizabeth Taylor), because he believes that she had an affair with his deceased friend. As a result, he refuses to sleep with her, although she remains devoted to him. Since Brick and Maggie have failed to produce any grandchildren, Big Daddy is inclined to leave his estate to Gooper, but Maggie attempts to prevent that by telling him that she is pregnant. Big Daddy knows better, yet he recognizes that Maggie loves Brick so much that she would be willing to do anything for him. Although Brick is self-destructive and resentful, unable to come to terms with his losses, it takes Big Daddy's recognition of his own mortality to make Brick change his perspective. Brick's struggle with his sexual identity, and the nature of his relationship with his "friend," had to be toned down for mass consumption, although this intelligently written and acted film covers such topics as infertility, adultery, and alcoholism that were still considered taboo in the 1950s. Newman brings depth and feeling to the role as Brick, while Taylor succeeds brilliantly in portraying Maggie as a passionate and understanding woman despite her own real-life emotional turmoil over the death of her husband at the time, producer Mike Todd. ~ Don Kaye, Rovi

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91% liked it

30,132 ratings

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97% liked it

32 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 48 min.

Directed by: Richard Brooks (VI), Richard Brooks I, Richard Brooks

Release Date: September 20, 1958

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DVD Release Date: September 23, 1997

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Stats: 1,711 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,711)

  • deano
    March 27, 2011
    deano
    This heavy classic drama is masterpiece! This is a relationship full of confusion, betrayal, honesty, dishonesty, love, desire, and trust. Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor are both brilliant as Brick and Maggie Pollitt, respectively. Not very often is there a screen couple that h... read moreave the same chemistry together that they do.
    This is not to say the supporting cast isn't excellent. Burl Ives is superb in a supporting role as Big Daddy, a man who's greatest concern is having his legacy live on after him. The sequence with Ives and Newman in the basement of the house remains one of the most incredible displays of acting I have ever seen.
    I love the story, the acting, the magnificent script and the depth of the characters.
  • mjgildea
    March 24, 2011
    mjgildea
    The only reason I can speak about Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in anything other than stammering ums and drool puddles is because Elizabeth Taylor wasn't in every single scene. I know that hadn't looked even close to this good for over 40 years before her passing, but she has rarely, if... read more ever, looked better. Despite the obvious distractions, the entire cast was great and if it weren't for Ms. Taylor slinking around in that white dress, Burl Ives in all of his cantankerous magnificence and loathing for his grandkids would've stole the show. Despite this incredibly altered version of the story and Tennessee Williams' disdain for it, I like this version of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Because Maggie the cat certainly didn't hurt...
  • ythelastman89
    January 17, 2010
    ythelastman89
    Another one of my favorite Tennessee William's adaptions, it's perhaps one of his most light-hearted scripts. Yet, it still carries the depth and passion of any of his other works. The acting is phenomenal, Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor work perfectly together and make for a g... read morereat couple. I love that the story is essentially about what love is, yet in no way is it done in a romantic style. The sets are beautiful and the direction is great, you couldn't ask for a better looking movie.
  • bottcorecords1
    January 9, 2010
    bottcorecords1
    A brilliantly written screenplay (based on the play by Tennessee Williams) is brought to life by its stars. The family of a dying southern millionaire (Burl Ives) plot and scheme to see who can get his money. The older brother, "Gooper" (Jack Carson) seems to have the inside tr... read moreack, he does everything right, he lives where "big daddy" wants him to live, he gets the job Big Daddy tells him to get, and he has kids like Big Daddy wants him to. And yet, it's the younger brother "Brick" (Paul Newman), the washed up football star-turned alcoholic who's the favorite. As the movie begins, we find Brick absolutely loathing his wife (Elizabeth Taylor). At first it's suggested it's because she's just as greedy as the rest of his family, but soon we learn there's more to it. Everyone in the family is crippled inside. In reality, it's not Big Daddy's money they want, it's his love (well maybe Sisterwoman wants the money). We too, get sucked inside this world of petty bickering and sycophantism, and forget the man who's dying, that is, until Brick finally breaks down and confronts him. What results is a scene of terrible poignancy as the dying man recalls memories of his own father dying, as he sits in his basement surrounded by tons of expensive things that were bought and stored away, never to be opened again. A movie that peels back the layers of cynicism and gets to the heart of people's humanity.
  • ScoopOnline
    December 11, 2009
    ScoopOnline
    I have seen this Movie couple of times. I love the Plot and the Perfomance of Paul Newman. It is one of the Guilty Joy which is even in my DVD collection.
  • groaningbitch
    May 20, 2009
    groaningbitch
    "cat on a hot tin roof" would probably be the very picture in which paul newman and elizabeth taylor radiate the maxium of sex appeal despite their primitive physical allure has been shimmeringly evident in almost every picture they made separately within 1950s but "cat on a hot ... read moretin roof" shall be the most powerful one. somehow i wonder how came tennese williams' plays catapulted into such enormous stardom in the 50s since those reputed scripts of his had been composed and put into broadway during 1940s, why 1950s had the appropriate atmosphere for the williams temperament to glow and shine brilliantly upon the silver screen? my personal assumption may have lots to do with the death of film noir as well as the newly arised and foundamentally revolutionized sort of manhood and gendering attributes.

    as i dissected previously upon the archetypes of tennse williams protagonists: weakening men in resistance of strong sexually loaded women who are ironically enslaved by their unsatiable desire toward distant unavailable men conflicted with impotence and homosexuality. so williams effortlessly forms a literary garden of homme fatales and women as the saps within the traps of elusive charm boys, opposite to the conventional world of film noir viewing woman as the central object of fatal attraction which men would die for. 1950s is the period for the phallic ladies like joan crawford, bette davis and barbara stanwyck started to fall out of favor as the dizzy blonde and chaste ingenuine female types began to reign, such as marilyn monroe and audrey hepburn when the whole society was enclosed with a wholesome aura demanded by maccarthyism...as for male types, the notion of man-boy occurs along with the sweeping phenomenon of junvenile leisure wears as james dean and marlon brando advocated..my point would be men had been made to demonstrate their side of frailty and also remain favorably charming like paul newman's character in "cat on a hot tin roof", and newman has won the public affection while his character with the play is a wimpish drunk inflicted with misogynistic sex frigidity and potential homosexual tedency, at most of the time, newman's whining and mourning while the voiluptuous elizabeth taylor literily begs him to shag her(pardon the usage of language without euphemism due to the effect i apply) and she doesn't mind he barely pulls the thing off at the drunken state. why wouldn't newman's machismo be doubted and defiled while his character is obviously a frightened loser? perhaps only paul newman could accomplish the task of redeeming such role into public empathy and sympathy by his good looks and his winsome charisma.

    some film critic or book writers would claim elizabeth taylor for bringing a new sort of female character who dares to speak out for her rights in her roles of "butterfield 8" and "cat on a hot tin roof", women with strength of life to survive. but one fact they neglec would be: wouldn't taylor's cinematic characters also be pushed around by men? would that be self-deragatory enough to have her role pleading for such petite wish to bed with a man who apparently contempts her? in the film noir cinema of 1940s, men are the saps who are at the sparing mercy of sinister dames whose crotches could dominate the world and high-hat the men with their feminine scents. (pardon the phrases, ha.) wouldn't elizabeth taylor's patronizing womanhood also be a sign of gendering conformity required by the time? why men are so afraid of women, and being warm and beautiful is not enough anymore and you have to apologize for being so to win the heart of men?

    at one scene of the movie, taylor is on the verge of cracking up in vulnerabilty, longing for newman's touch to console her, and she even says if you wouldn't make love to me again, i would use a long knife to stick into my heart...all he does is to hide in the restroom and cling by the door to smell his wife's silky pajamas instead of offering her a bit of compassion..the audience is able to buy into that because it's paul newman who is handsome enough to acquire your forgiveness come what may. as the movie poster demonstrates, the woman is leaning over the man desperately while the man glares without responce, so object of desire is the man. but taylor was so beautiful you forget the outrageous reversal of genders. paul newman's character also rebels against his intimidating father no less harsh than james dean, wouldn't that be a new sort of beatnik boyish manhood by defying your daddy and pushing away your beautiful wife like a misogynist who's got to prove he's not threatened or weakened by the feminine charm? elizabeh taylor is surely the most beautiful ever in "cat in the hot tin roof" but she ain't certainly no seductress. paul newman is.
  • aliceinpunderland
    February 24, 2009
    aliceinpunderland
    Paul Newman is awesome. He's awesome times awesome. He's awesome squared. The story is twisted and tortured, but I hear the original stage play is even more so.
  • tsigur
    February 10, 2009
    tsigur
    I do declare! At the beginning of this movie, I was rolling my eyes because of those Southern drawls that Newman and Elizabeth Taylor (sex personified at this age) had taken on. I even thought some of the back story was too convoluted. Then came Burl fucking Ives and I came to lo... read moreve this movie. The relationship between him and Newman was great and Ives gives some great speeches towards the end. I will say that I do disagree with Newman's whiney turn towards the end of the movie. The whole boo-hoo I'm rich, but nobody loves me argument really gets on my nerves. But I liked at the end that even after all the shit that went down, they still came together as a family. Nice job by Richard Brooks, but with this cast and screenplay it's really paint by numbers.
  • jennifxu
    January 17, 2009
    jennifxu
    This film fairly pulsates with style. The reason I keep on coming back to these play adaptations despite frequent heavyhanded disappointments (see: Doubt) is because I know what they are capable of, if handled correctly. The material is all there: densely packed with emotion but ... read moresated with quietude, beautiful people playing beautiful parts and believing in them too, the succulent taste of words words words. All it needs is a strong rope to string all the pieces together. Tennessee Williams has a tendency to read too dramatic and it takes cinema to soften up the dizzying emotions. The transitions between LOUDquietLOUD are flawless. Paul Newman and Liz Taylor are pure sex. I also appreciate the homosexual undertones. One of the best movies I have seen in a long, long time.
  • Saxia
    December 17, 2008
    Saxia
    Drama for your mama! Issues, issues, issues.

    This is my first movie with Liz Taylor, and she looked all hot and perky!
    She didn't really impress me with her acting skills, but Newman didn't really impress me either. I missed the chemistry he had with Piper Laurie in The Hustler ... read more(still my favorite Newman film).

    I'm glad I finally watched it, and although I wasn't really impressed, I enjoyed it very much. Newman is of course as handsome as ever!

View All Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Reviews

Critic Reviews

October 1, 2008
TIME Magazine

A formaldehyded tabby that sits static while layer after layer of its skin is peeled off, life after life of its nine lives unsentimentally destroyed. Full Review

Variety Staff
April 8, 2008
Variety Staff, Variety

An intense, important motion picture. Full Review

Dave Kehr
April 8, 2008
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

Burl Ives and Judith Anderson are highly entertaining as the nightmare parents, Big Daddy and Big Mama, and Jack Carson has one of his last good roles as Newman's competitive older brother. Full Review

Bosley Crowther
May 20, 2003
Bosley Crowther, New York Times

What a pack of trashy people these accomplished actors perform! Full Review

Josh Larsen
June 27, 2011
Josh Larsen, LarsenOnFilm

...like watching a melodrama in a sauna. It's just too much. Full Review

Nell Minow
December 22, 2010
Nell Minow, Common Sense Media

Classics-loving teens will appreciate family melodrama. Full Review

April 8, 2008
TV Guide's Movie Guide

The performances are the thing in this film version of the Tennessee Williams stage triumph, led by Ives, repeating his stage role like a force of nature. Full Review

April 8, 2008
Film4

Director Brooks skilfully elicits the best from his performers and script with the result that there were Oscars nominations for all concerned. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
February 7, 2008
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

Richard Brooks' screen version of Tennessee Williams' play is compromised (no mention of homosexuality), but it's well directed and deftly acted by Paul Newman and Liz Taylor, both at their sexiest. Full Review

Walter Chaw
June 26, 2006
Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central

A mousetrap with teeth that grip and a musky atmosphere of frustrated sex and milky desperation that serves as poisoned bait. Full Review

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Facts

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    • Brick Pollitt: How do you expect to have a baby with a man who can't stand you?
    • Brick Pollitt: Is it, Maggie?
    • Big Mama Pollitt: When a marriage goes on the rocks, the rocks are there, right there! (She points at the bed)
    • Big Daddy Pollitt: There ain't nothin' more powerful than the odor of mendacity!
    • Big Daddy Pollitt: I've got the guts to die. What I want to know is, have you got the guts to live?
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Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Trivia

  • Name the movie that starred Paul Newman, Elizabeth Taylor, and Burle Ives.  Answer »
  • Grace Kelly was considered for the role of Maggie the cat in Cat On A Hot Tin Roof ?  Answer »
  • Who was known as Maggie the Cat, in the movie Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.  Answer »
  • Who plays Brick Pollit in the 1958 movie "Cat on a hot tin roof"?   Answer »
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