If you're a Tennessee Williams fan, you probably know a little bit about his personal life. Tennessee's sister was mentally ill and underwent a lobotomy in the 1940s. The procedure's aftermath was devastating, and she was institutionalized for the remainder of her life. Knowing this, and knowing the persona of his overbearing mother, it's easy to see Suddenly, Last Summer as a partially autobiographical work, as were most of his plays. In this story, a strong, domineering mother tries to convince a young doctor to perform a lobotomy on her unstable niece.Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift became lifelong friends in real life after their pairing in A Place in the Sun, and not only do audiences see them reunited for a third time in this film, but it's interesting and entertaining to see the reversed dynamic. Before, Monty was striving for the upper-class Liz, and in this one, he's the classy doctor she keeps trying to shock and flirt with. They both give excellent, Tennessee Williams-esque performances; it sometimes seems like Monty was born to act in his plays.Katharine Hepburn plays the mother. She was known for her forceful characterizations in her later years, and when you watch Suddenly, Last Summer, it's easy to see why. Kate and Liz were pinned against each other in the Best Actress category during the 1960 Oscar ceremony, but neither one took home the gold. The following year, Liz won a make-up Oscar for BUtterfield 8, so if you watch this movie and think she was robbed, you can relax knowing she was honored for her next film.

I've never been one to try and directly connect behind the scenes issues to the content of a film, but it's difficult to imagine the two not having a significant impact on each other with Suddenly, Last Summer. With the controversial subject matter, undertones of homosexuality and incest, and a crew that didn't necessarily get along with each other, the result should be nothing short of fascinating. That's exactly what you get with this adaptation. With that said, anytime you have an adaptation of a Tennessee Williams play, you know the dialogue will be extremely well written. Tack on the likes of Katharine Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, and Montgomery Clift, and you have the group of actors who can effectively monologue for scene after scene. The actors may not have gotten along with the director and vice versa, but they produced one heck of team nonetheless. At the same time, I think the film is only as interesting as the behind the scenes troubles. It's a unique story on its own sure, but it's instantly more intriguing once you hear about how poorly Clift was treated on set, the film's trouble with the production code, and how Katharine Hepburn apparently spat on director Joseph L. Mankiewicz's face after shooting had included. In that sense, the film grows in your mind as a tale of the sad realities of Hollywood filmmaking, especially at that time. It's not completely unheard of to have such production issues now in days, but this certainly wasn't the norm back in 1959. The movie itself is an okay thriller, with a more than cautionary (but dated) tale attached, but I can't help but keep my mind on the behind the scenes issues.7.3/10

Elizabeth Taylor is gorgeous. Montgomery Clift a very talented actor.Elizabeth Taylor plays a very embarrassing role (goodness, what actresses were put through during those days...) and strangely enough does alternatively well at it. It's a very difficult and totally central role, and she acts both superbly at times, and then unconvincingly during other scenes.Ultimately, the film attempts to be subtle in many different ways, summoning philosophical dialog between the Clift and the tortured Katherine Hepburn characters, a sense of plot and evil vs truth and purity (Taylor vs Hepburn), but really there's too much talking, it's a film that is more "theoretical" than anything else where the viewer is almost being spoonfed plot, overwhelmed with script, rather than discovering a story. Of course it is a psychological film, and such is the nature of such productions, but it's still really rather slow and the ending is just way over-the-top dramatic and the revelation seems too graphic, gratuitously, like there's no need for that much shock and it just doesn't come round well enough.Lots of time spent building something up that's just not worth it.

Violet Venable had a very close relationship with her son Sebastian. Too close. Then suddenly, last summer, Sebastian died while vacationing in Europe with his cousin Catherine. How exactly did Sebastian die? A heart attack says Violet. But Catherine said something different. Her obscene babbling, as Violet puts it, about the events of last summer landed Catherine in a mental institution. And Violet wants that obscene babbling stopped. She wants Catherine lobotomized, wants those thoughts cut out of her brain. And with the wealthy Violet willing to make a large donation to the local mental hospital, financing a whole new surgical wing, hospital administrator Dr. Hockstader is all too ready and willing to have a chunk of Catherine's brain cut out. But young Dr. Cukrowicz, the man who's actually going to be doing the cutting, has serious reservations. Catherine doesn't seem particularly insane to him. She now can't remember what happened last summer. But she wants to. Why is her aunt so desperate to see this surgery performed? Is Violet looking to have insane thoughts cut out of Catherine's brain? Or is she looking to remove some horrible, unspeakable truth about Sebastian before Catherine can remember it? From the moment we, and Dr. Cukrowicz, meet Violet it is obvious there is something off about this woman. It really doesn't seem like she's all there. Her relationship with her son, as she herself describes it, was rather bizarre. It's all a mystery, everything is unclear. Well, one thing is clear actually. Violet wants Catherine lobotomized and she wants it done now. Why? Dr. Cukrowicz would sure love to find out. When he goes to meet Catherine he doesn't find her to be insane. She's a young woman who went through a traumatic event who now must deal with an aunt who would like to see her turned into a mindless zombie. If only she could remember what really happened last summer. But Violet is not going to let that happen. She's putting the pressure on Dr. Hockstader and the administrator wants his new surgical wing. He wants Dr. Cukrowicz to slice that girl's brain open right now. Time is running out.Tension really builds as the knife hangs above Catherine's head. Dr. Cukrowicz is a good man who wants to help Catherine. He wants to find the truth. As things progress it becomes more and more obvious that Violet is quite the villain. She wants that truth hidden away forever. If Catherine's brain must be destroyed to accomplish that so be it. It will all come to a head in a gripping, dramatic conclusion. Who will be able to handle the truth? The film is very well performed. Katharine Hepburn creates that air of bizarre mystery around Violet and is suitably cold and villainous as needed. Elizabeth Taylor is excellent as Catherine. She may seem a little over-the-top at times, a bit hysterical. But with Catherine confronted with a lobotomy, and trying to face up to the horrors of what happened with Sebastian, a little hysteria seems appropriate. It's a very strong, powerful performance. And it had to be to match up with Hepburn who, as always, has such a presence about her. Montgomery Clift, in playing Dr. Cukrowicz, has a much less showy part than either of the leading ladies. He has to ground the film a bit and he does so quite well. A desperately needed cool head. The film is a bit talky, there is nothing very cinematic about it. The story's origins as a stage play show up in lengthy monologues which work less well on screen than on stage. But at least those monologues are in capable hands, performed by a pair of legendary actresses who can make the most of the material. Give Clift credit for his contribution but it is clearly Hepburn and Taylor who make the film. Violet or Catherine. Which, if either of them, is truly mad? To know this we must get to the truth of what happened suddenly, last summer. The truth shall set you free? We shall see. This film's journey towards the truth is a very compelling one.