A wealthy local tyrant in the deep South runs roughshod over his son and daughter until an equally sharp stranger drifts into town. For better or worse, this 2-hour movie has about all the earmarks of a 1950's A-production. Consider the following: wide-screen Technicolor, (no little b&w TV here); strong acting, (the New York Method has invaded Hollywood); a sex suffused plot, (just don't go beyond kissing); a contrived happy ending, (send the audience home feeling good); and no thought-provoking politics (there's a Cold War going on). All of these are present in spades in this slick production, marking results very much a creature of the time.I can see why the devilish Ben Quick amounts to Newman's breakout part. I expect girls were swooning in the aisles. That combination of manly chest, deep blue eyes, and tricky smile must have struck deep from Maine to California. I like the way the screenplay builds Ben's battle of wits with old man Varner (Welles) into mutual respect. They're like two circling foxes that may not like each other, but a mutual shrewdness commands respect. On the other hand, Woodward's Clara presents an apt contrast to both Dad and Ben. Woodward's excellent as the proudly self-contained Varner daughter. The actress makes her resistance to the assured Ben not only believable but compelling. Considering what must have been going on off-camera between the soon-to-be-marrieds, makes Woodward's on-camera distance a real accomplishment. All in all, Clara's may not a glamorous role, but it is a pivotal one.Then there's Welles as the obnoxious paterfamilias and local tyrant. To say he over-does his role would understate the result. But, according to IMDb's trivia, he's not about to let this bevy of Method graduates overshadow the great man. (Contrast his version of a big daddy with Burl Ives' calibrated version in the thematically similar Cat on a Hot Tin Roof {1958}). Frankly, I thought Franciosa miscast as the weakling son, Jody. The actor's natural forte is a strong personality. To me, his efforts here strike a sometimes hollow note. There's no really cohesive plot. Instead the narrative is more like an album of how a dysfunctional family finally comes together. The production does a good job of providing authentic southern background, filming extensively in Louisiana. Those dirt roads the horses escape on are both revealing and atmospheric. Then there's Richard Anderson's enigmatic Alan Stewart. His stiffly proper bearing remains an interesting wild card in the mix. It's not clear, to say the least, why he rejects marriage to the willing Clara (Woodward) and life on easy street. The screenplay sort of implies he's a mama's boy, but that doesn't come through in the dramatics. My guess is that he's, oh my gosh, gay, a topic that 50's Hollywood could not safely broach, but would explain his behavior with Clara. On the other side of the coin, is Lee Remick's wanton little Eula. With her low-cut frocks, I was hoping director Ritt would find more reasons for her to lean over before the camera. Oh well, the teasing titillation is also very much indicative of the time.Anyway, the movie's generally over-heated but still entertaining, with colorful characters, and sometimes sharp dialog. Maybe most importantly, it's the first of Newman's rascally characters that he would later raise to a near art form.

Plot: A dangerous drifter becomes friends with the richest family in a town in Mississippi More of a play than a film, this garish monstrosity combines most of the worst features of 1950s American film-making. There is simply too much music, too much make-up, too much studio shooting, too many static shots, too much of everything. Orson Welles in particular doesn't so much as chew the carpet as eat the whole darned house, in a dementedly florid performance. The two genres that age worst tend to be teen rebel and sex films, because what is provocative to one generation is tepid to another; which is exactly what happens here. The film also makes the mistake of thinking itself positively Shakespearian because it has broad Southern accents. It isn't. It's a fairly run of the mill family melodrama as daddy tries to arrange his brood to provide him with grand-kids, whilst the nice school teacher rejects Paul Newman's tough drifter in such a way that you know that they will inevitably end up together. As indeed they do.

An excellent movie. Considered very racy at the time of its release, today it is the excellent performances that stand out. Welles, Newman and Woodward are superb. There's one scene where Welles breaks a table (not in the script), and it's fantastic. All the other actors are very good. Plus Lee Remick is a wet dream come true for heterosexual young men. And how can you go wrong with William Faulkner providing the source material?Well written; stylish; and clever, simmering dialog. This film deserves its classic status.

Yes, this is another trip to "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" territory. Orson Welles is Will Varner, William Faulkner's version of Big Daddy, but this time, he has the rather frigid Joanne Woodward as his daughter, and Paul Newman (here much more sexually alive as Ben Quick than he was as Brick in that Tennessee Williams classic). Secondary couple Anthony Franciosa and Lee Remick play the Jack Carson/Madeline Sherwood parts, but are MUCH more likable. Drifter Newman arrives in town, having been accused of burning a barn nearby. Already, his name is known. He takes on Welles, who actually seems to like him in spite of his mistrust. Welles is desperate for a grandchild, and Newman seems to be a better studly match for Woodward than mama's boy Richard Anderson. There seems to be some homosexual undertones for Anderson's character who still lives with the seemingly overbearing Mabel Albertson (yes, Darrin's "Bewitched" mother, oh, those sick headaches). Of course, in 1958, it is not mentioned outright (as it wasn't as well in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"), but it's fairly obvious that there's something the handsome but closeted Anderson isn't revealing. While there isn't great chemistry on screen here consistently between Woodward and Newman (married in real life, and partners in quite a few films), they do heat up in a few moments. It is much more interesting to see the work between Newman and Welles. The heavyset patriarch seems at first that he'd never like someone like Ben Quick, but when Quick immediately stands up to him, he begins to consider him like the son he wish he had instead of weak Anthony Franciosa. Quick is soon working in his store, then moves into the Varner house, and finally is ordered by Will to marry his daughter. It seems that this Southern patriarch has no class dividers; He thinks that a studly man like Newman would keep his daughter satisfied and under his thumb as long as babies are being born. What he doesn't count on are two thing's: Franciosa's sudden twist of hate, and Newman's determination not to be controlled by a man he does admire, but would never let dominate him in the way he so obviously wants to. That makes for great drama.Unfortunately, the beautiful Angela Lansbury is wasted as Welles' gal pal; She has a few nice scenes in which she is excellent as always. She is also quite beautiful here, not the harpy of some of her MGM films and certainly not the monster mama of "Manchurian Candidate". Eight years later, she would win Broadway immortality as "Mame", and there are some hints of what she would do in that part here. The beautiful Joanne Woodward had come off her Oscar Winning work in "The Three Faces of Eve", and does fine, but her screen presence as a romantic heroine wasn't established yet. She seems to be one of those actresses more comfortable on stage than screen. She is also one of the few who seemed to get more beautiful as she got older, but it appears that she was being bred to be a new Grace Kelly since that actress had gone and left Hollywood to live with a man of some means in Monaco. When Woodward got films like "Rachel, Rachel" and "Summer Wishes, Summer Dreams", where she could really show her acting chops and not just be another beautiful Ice Princess, she was fantastic. She would have to wait until the studio years were fully done in Hollywood before she could command such roles.Newman, Welles, and Lee Remick get the most outstanding parts. Remick is another one who seemed to be another Grace Kelly on the rise, but here, she gets to be flirtatious even though married to Franciosa, who can't seem to tame her. A scene where local boys call for Remick while her entire family is present is very revealing of what this family is all about. The film is beautifully photographed and a lush musical score (including a lovely title song) adds to the luster of the movie.