Joseph L. Mankiewicz Tribute: SUDDENLY, LAST SUMMER
Joseph L. Mankiewicz Centennial – Part I
And if Guys and Dolls (1955) was a bore — just about everyone in this film musical is miscast, from Brando to Mankiewicz himself — the director recovered his touch with the adult (and bizarre) Suddenly, Last Summer (1959), a psychotic psychological drama adapted by Gore Vidal and (officially) Tennessee Williams from Williams’s own play. (Williams later said he had nothing to do with the film version.)
The story follows a young woman (Elizabeth Taylor) who is sent to a psychiatric hospital after she suffers a nervous breakdown following some horrific traumatic experience. Things can get quite heady — bad pun intended — when you mix traditional Southern [...]
by Andre Soares | May 1, 2009
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Tags: Arthur Knight, Classic Movies, Cleopatra, Elizabeth Taylor, Garson Kanin, Gay Interest, Gore Vidal, Guys and Dolls, Incest, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Katharine Hepburn, Kenneth L. Geist, Laurence Olivier, Los Angeles Screenings, Marlon Brando, Mercedes McCambridge, Michael Caine, Montgomery Clift, People Will Talk, Psychological Drama, Sleuth, Suddenly Last Summer, Tennessee Williams, The Oney Pot, The Saturday Review, There Was a Crooked Man
Best Films – 1954
Considered by many one of Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s lesser films, The Barefoot Contessa is a classy, intelligently written, and generally well acted morality tale. Inspired by the life of Rita Hayworth (née Margarita Cansino), the film’s plot revolves around the tragic fate of Maria Vargas, a great, earthy beauty who becomes a Hollywood movie star. Besides Jack Cardiff’s beautiful cinematography and Mario Nascimbene’s melancholy score, The Barefoot Contessa offers Ava Gardner in top form — both as a star and as an actress. Humphrey Bogart offers solid support as a film director, while director-screenwriter Joseph L. Mankiewicz (All About Eve, 5 Fingers, Sleuth) handles the proceedings with his usual sophisticated flair.
FILM
The Barefoot Contessa
Hobson’s Choice
Johnny Guitar
The Long, Long Trailer [...]
by Andre Soares | August 31, 2004
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Tags: Ava Gardner, Barbara Stanwyck, Best Films, Brenda De Banzie, Classic Movies, Dorothy Dandridge, Edward Underdown, Eva Marie Saint, Executive Suite, Fredric March, Lenore J. Coffee, Magnificent Obsession, Mercedes McCambridge, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, The Barefoot Contessa, Woman's World
