Suddenly, Last Summer

Starring:Elizabeth Taylor, Katharine Hepburn, Montgomery Clift, Albert Dekker, Mercedes McCambridge, Gary Raymond, Mavis Villiers, Patricia Marmont, Joan Young, Maria Britneva, Sheila Robbins, David Cameron, Gore Vidal, Eddie Fisher, Beatrice Shaw, Rita Webb, Frank Marlo, Ian Wilson, Roberta Woolley
Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Studio: Sony Pictures
Product Type: DVD

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This black-and-white film adaptation of Tennessee Williams's Southern gothic play is perhaps more famous for the rumored off-screen shenanigans of its stars than for its over-the-top repressed sexuality (only Williams could pull off that paradox, and pull it off he does). Supposedly, stars Katharine Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor battled for screen time; Hepburn warred very publicly with director Joseph Mankiewicz; and a postaccident Montgomery Clift relied heavily on painkillers and support from friend Taylor during the grueling shoot. Even this, however, cannot top the events of the film itself, revolving around the unseen playboy Sebastian and his mysterious death, which has something to do with young boys, a decadent European vacation, and Taylor in a provocative wet, white bathing suit. To give away the plot would spoil the fun, but suffice it to say that what Taylor saw was so horrible it drove her nuts, and Sebastian's mother (Hepburn) wants her to have a lobotomy in order to keep it from coming out; Clift is brought in to do the procedure. It's all a hoot and a holler, but as played by the two leading ladies (both of whom nabbed Oscar nominations), it's also compelling, chilling, and utterly gothic. Taylor gives a fierce performance, as the climaxing monologue that reveals Sebastian's "secret" rests entirely on her shoulders, and Hepburn plays brilliantly against type as Sebastian's manipulating, overbearing mother. Only Clift, saddled with a dreary character in charge of plot exposition, fails to deliver. Adapted by Gore Vidal. --Mark Englehart

Customer Reviews:

Fine movie, but slow at the beginning..........2007-07-01

I like the movie and the acting is mostly great. My only problem is with Montgomery Clift, who is slightly stiff in this movie, yet I still like him. Elizabeth Taylor and Katherine Hepburn give stellar performances.

Basically, Cathy (Taylor) is locked up in a mental institution with Clift as her psychiatrist. He needs to find out the shocking truth of why her cousin died the summer before. Her aunt Violet (Hepburn) wants her to have a lobotomy so the truth cannot come out. I won't say what happens, but the end is satisfying. I'd watch this again.

Suddenly Last Summer.......2007-06-26

A lurid Southern Gothic tale adapted by Gore Vidal from a one-act Tennessee Williams play, Joseph L. Mankiewicz's "Suddenly, Last Summer" is a trifle campy and overheated, but rich with smart, biting dialogue. Hepburn is haughty and indomitable as an overprotective mother, while Taylor is rivetingly sensual even in apoplectic fits of distress-witness the climactic flashback scene. Mankiewicz handles themes of forbidden desire and depravity with consummate skill, making this a memorable "Summer" indeed.

really puts the "gothic" into Southern Gothic..........2007-06-10

SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER is one of the strongest Tennessee Williams film adaptations, and that is due in no small part to Gore Vidal's fiery screenplay and the first-rate main players of Taylor, Hepburn and Clift.

The story opens in 1937. Eccentric and wealthy Southern widow Mrs Violet Venable (Katharine Hepburn) enlists the services of prolific mental health surgeon Dr. Cukrowicz (Montgomery Clift). Cukrowicz specialises in performing the revolutionary frontal lobotomy procedure on those patients whose entire lives are consumed by their illnesses.

Mrs Venable introduces Cukrowicz to her troubled young niece, Catherine Holly (Elizabeth Taylor). Ever since Catherine accompanied Violet's dead son Sebastian on his last trip to Europe, Catherine has been plagued by fearful fits of insanity. In return for some important funding for his surgery, Mrs Venable wants Catherine to be the next patient for Cukrowicz.

But what exactly happened to Sebastian on that fateful final trip...and why does Mrs Venable desperately want Catherine to forget it...?

Here in SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER, a horrifying journey into sweat-stained asylums and heavily-veiled secrets, Elizabeth Taylor and Katharine Hepburn deliver tour-de-force performances. A lot of people still find Montgomery Clift somewhat lacking here, but a lot of that does come back to the character he plays, who is very much overshadowed by the two women. There is also some fine work from Mercedes McCambridge as Catherine's weak-willed mother.

Taylor was nominated for an Academy Award (in addition to Hepburn), but failed to win, partly because this was during the period when her tumultuous private life essentially got her blackballed; though she did manage to grab the Golden Globe for her performance--in direct competition with Hepburn.

SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER remains a searing and shocking movie experience. If you have never seen it, do yourself a favour and buy it today. You'll be riveted from beginning to end.

The DVD includes a bonus video montage of stills; talent profiles for the main players, and the trailer for "28 Days". (Single-sided, dual-layer disc).

Don't wish for this kind of summer vacation!.......2007-05-15

Suddenly, Last Summer starring Elizabeth Taylor, Montgomery Clift, and Katherine Hepburn was quite a provactive film for 1959. Themes of homosexuality, cannibalism, and implied incest makes this film interesting right up 'til the very end. You won't believe the shocking truth about the unseen and unheard Sebastian. Catherine (Taylor) and Sebastian were cousins, during a summer vacation, something horrific happened to Sebastian, and it traumatizes poor Catherine into a mental hospital. Catherine's aunt, Mrs. Venable (Hepburn) wants her lobotimzed, she is so desperate to hide the truth about her son, she'll do anything not to let her son's private life come out. Fascinating performance from Hepburn and while Clift is great to look at, his performance suffers due to the fact he was relying heavy on pills and booze to help through the shoot (he was in a car crash three years prior to filming this movie, he was in a lot of physical pain). Anyway, you'll either love or loathe this film but it's defintely gonna leave you shocked in your seat. Enjoy!

One of the Scariest Films I've seen.......2007-04-05

"Suddenly, Last Summer" - is one of the scariest films I've seen. Directed in 1959 by Joseph Mankievitz and based on one of Tennessee Williams' plays, it deals with very disturbing and uncomfortable subjects. Elizabeth Taylor is sensational, playing Catherine, the girl who may have lost her mind after having witnessed her cousin's bizarre death that occurred "suddenly, last summer" during the vacation. Katherine Hepburn is magnificent as his adoring mother who wants the disturbing memories been surgically removed from the girl's memory.

Production design, set decorations, and costumes are absolutely stunning. Both, Hepburn and Taylor received very deserving Oscar nominations for the best leading performance.

Average customer rating:

Fine movie, but slow at the beginning...
Suddenly Last Summer
really puts the "gothic" into Southern Gothic...
Don't wish for this kind of summer vacation!
One of the Scariest Films I've seen

Suddenly, Last Summer [Region 2]
Starring: Elizabeth Taylor , Katharine Hepburn , Montgomery Clift , Albert Dekker , and Mercedes McCambridge
Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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