Paul Newman.
Paul Newman films on TCM: Oscar-nominated performances in Martin Ritt’s Hud, Richard Brooks’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Twelve Paul Newman films on Turner Classic Movies on Saturday, Aug. 21, as part of TCM’s “Summer Under the Stars” series. (See further below TCM’s Paul Newman film schedule.)
Any rare stuff? Not really. Most Paul Newman movies are widely available. Well, his early television appearances are probably hard to find. Perhaps also The Secret War of Harry Frigg. Or Pocket Money. But TCM won’t be showing any of these.
Even so, TCM will be offering some good stuff, most notably the family drama/social commentary Hud (1963), the psychological drama Rachel Rachel (1968), and the Hitchcockian comedy-adventure The Prize (1963).
In my view, Hud is one of Newman’s two or three best films and one of the most mature movies to come out of Hollywood in the 1960s. It also has Newman’s most effective pre-1980s performance; he is the selfish, reckless, rudderless Hud, the guy wearing the most dangerous jeans west of the Mississippi.
Patricia Neal, who died a week ago, veteran Melvyn Douglas, and Brandon De Wilde costar. Both Neal and Douglas won well-deserved Oscars for their magnificent portrayals. Martin Ritt directed.
Rachel Rachel marked Newman’s feature-film debut as a director. He doesn’t appear in front of the camera, but his wife, Joanne Woodward, delivers one of the greatest film performances ever as a lonely, small-town schoolteacher who feels time is passing her by. Falling for the wrong man (James Olson) doesn’t help matters any.
Managing to avoid the trap of cheesy melodrama, Rachel Rachel was deservedly nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. Surprisingly – especially considering how much the Academy loves movie stars – Newman was left out of the running for Best Director.
Directed by Mark Robson, the fast-paced The Prize at times almost feels like a remake of North by Northwest. Newman is good as the man on the run, while Elke Sommer and Edward G. Robinson are just as enjoyable. The prize in question is the Nobel Prize, which may go to Robinson or to the other Robinson. Newman wants the right one to get it.
Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956) is a sentimental biopic about boxer Ricky Graziano – it’s also a far cry from the harsh The Set-Up (1949), which TCM showed a week or so ago. Robert Wise directed both films.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) has its fans, but I’m not one of them. I don’t think Tennessee Williams’ play is very good to begin with, and most of the performances in Richard Brooks’ adaptation (co-written by James Poe) are very theatrical. Worse yet was the bowdlerization of the story, as the homosexual inclinations of the ex-football player (Newman) have been so whitewashed as to become nearly nonexistent.
The drama is more complex and less strident in another Richard Brooks adaptation of a Tennessee Williams tale, Sweet Bird of Youth (1962). The problem is that you have to believe Geraldine Page is a movie star à la Ava Gardner.
Overlong and dramatically flat, Paris Blues (1961) is one of Martin Ritt’s weakest efforts, while the only redeeming feature in Stuart Rosenberg’s Cool Hand Luke (1967) is Jo Van Fleet’s cameo. One is supposed to root for the rebellious underdogs, but after 15 minutes this viewer felt inclined to cheer for the fascist cops.
The Sting (1973)
Set in the early 1930s, Universal Pictures’ George Roy Hill-directed The Sting stars Paul Newman and Robert Redford as con men attempting to con another con man (Robert Shaw). Those expecting a reboot of Warner Bros.’ witty, raunchy, socially conscious comedies of that era were (or will be) sorely disappointed. Those expecting an elaborate light comedy with unexpected (and not-so-unexpected) twists and turns may enjoy the ride.
One of the biggest blockbusters in film history, The Sting was also a Best Picture and Best Director Oscar winner. Keep in mind that Ingmar Bergman’s Cries and Whispers was in the running that year in both categories.
Harper (1966)
The neo-noir Harper is a flawed but intriguing all-star (Janet Leigh, Lauren Bacall, Julie Harris, etc.) mystery drama that, like the Howard Hawsk–Humphrey Bogart 1946 classic The Big Sleep, remains mysterious all the way to the end. Really, see if you can make head or tails of the various goings-on. Jack Smight directed.
As an aside: Newman felt movies beginning with the letter “H” brought him luck, e.g., The Hustler, Hud, Hombre, Harper. Hence, his 1984 directorial effort Harry & Son, in which he also starred opposite Robby Benson and Joanne Woodward. Unluckily, however, the father-son melodrama turned out to be a critical and box office disappointment. Yet, Harry & Son is a must for it features one of Newman’s very best performances.
Paul Newman films: TCM schedule (PDT)
3:00 AM The Rack (1956)
Director: Arnold Laven.
Cast: Paul Newman, Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, Edmond O’Brien.
100m4:45 AM Until They Sail (1957)
Director: Robert Wise.
Cast: Jean Simmons, Joan Fontaine, Paul Newman, Piper Laurie, Sandra Dee, Charles Drake, Alan Napier, Dean Jones, Wally Cassell, John Wilder, Adam Kennedy.
95m6:30 AM The Prize (1963)
Director: Mark Robson.
Cast: Paul Newman, Elke Sommer, Edward G. Robinson.
135m8:45 AM Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956)
Director: Robert Wise.
Cast: Paul Newman, Pier Angeli, Everett Sloane, Eileen Heckart, Sal Mineo, Sammy White, Arch Johnson, Theodore Newton, Steve McQueen, Dean Jones, George C. Scott, Robert Loggia, Frank Campanella.
114m10:45 AM Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)
Director: Richard Brooks.
Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Burl Ives, Jack Carson, Judith Anderson, Madeleine Sherwood, Larry Gates.
108m12:45 PM Hud (1963)
Director: Martin Ritt.
Cast: Paul Newman, Melvyn Douglas, Patricia Neal, Brandon De Wilde, Whit Bissell, John Ashley, Crahan Denton, Val Avery, George Petrie, Curt Conway, Sheldon Allman, Robert Hinkle, Yvette Vickers.
112m2:45 PM Harper (1966)
Director: Jack Smight.
Cast: Paul Newman, Janet Leigh, Lauren Bacall, Julie Harris.
121m5:00 PM The Sting (1973)
Director: George Roy Hill.
Cast: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Robert Shaw, Charles Durning, Ray Walston, Eileen Brennan, Harold Gould, Sally Kirkland.
127m7:15 PM Cool Hand Luke (1967)
Director: Stuart Rosenberg.
Cast: Paul Newman, George Kennedy, Strother Martin, Jo Van Fleet, Joy Harmon, Luke Askew, Morgan Woodward, Richard Davalos, Wayne Rogers, Dennis Hopper, Ralph Waite, Harry Dean Stanton.
126m9:30 PM Rachel, Rachel (1968)
Director: Paul Newman.
Cast: Joanne Woodward, James Olson, Estelle Parsons, Kate Harrington.
101m11:15 PM Paris Blues (1961)
Director: Martin Ritt.
Cast: Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Sidney Poitier, Diahann Carroll.
99m1:00 AM Sweet Bird of Youth (1962)
Director: Richard Brooks.
Cast: Paul Newman, Geraldine Page, Shirley Knight, Ed Begley, Rip Torn, Mildred Dunnock, Madeleine Sherwood, Philip Abbott, Corey Allen, Barry Cahill, Dub Taylor, James Douglas, Barry Atwater.
120m
“Paul Newman Films” notes
TCM website.