Having read several reviews of this film, I was disappointed that none of them even mentioned one of the most remarkable openings of any movie that I have seen recently. The congregants of Rev. Dr. T. Lawrence Shannon have braved a torrential rainstorm in order to seek spiritual fulfillment from the reverend's Sunday service, and, much to their horror, they witness a total nervous breakdown from the pulpit instead. Observe the shocked and disgusted expressions on their faces before they are forcibly driven from their holy sanctuary out into the cold, unforgiving rain. They may have grown suspicious of the respectability of their pastor, but they never expected anything like this. I'm surprised that he didn't strip naked during his very public and total psychological meltdown, but, hey, this was made in 1964. Just the mention of pot alone must have been considered risqué back then.The very powerful, carefully crafted opening and the ability to sustain the subsequent action, which could not have been easy, is to the credit of director John Huston. The director's success was assisted by a very intelligent original play from Tennessee Williams and a very able cast, most notably Richard Burton as Dr. Shannon and Grayson Hall, who deservedly gained an Oscar nomination as Judith Fellowes, the repressed and frustrated tour organizer. Deborah Kerr was very suitable for her role as the very reflective, articulate, and impoverished artist, and Ava Gardner was very entertaining as an emotionally volatile and vulnerable expatriate owner of a rustic hotel somewhere along the Mexican west coast near Puerto Vallarta. Sue Lyon looked great as Lolita, but this time her name was Charlotte. She still had no clue as to what she did to middle aged men, or did she? As good as Ms. Lyon looked, I found her acting flat and uninspiring, which is highly ironic when one considers her physical attributes.And how about Maxine's cabana boys and their unstoppable maracas? Once she finally abandoned them for Larry Shannon, I wonder if they ended up in MS-13 out of mere spite. That would be sad.

Such a terrific film. Acting superb. But one problem. I thought Ava Gardner was horrible. Miscast and always mugging for camera. A shame. Kerr, Burton, and others =super Gardner trying WAY too hard to be edgy southern woman.Cringe worthyDo you agree??

Another terrific Tennessee Williams cinematic presentation after the contently controversial SUDDENLY, LAST SUMMER (1959, 7/10), THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA is directed by the almighty John Huston, starring a trio of A-list names Burton, Gardner and Kerr, with a show- stealing supporting performance from the unknown Grayson Hall (who is the sole cast member reaps an Oscar nomination), and it also includes Sue Lyon's follow-up role after Kubrick's LOLITA (1962, 7/10), which foreshadows her career being typecast as a precocious siren with an ingénue disguise.Shot in standard Black & White, the opening scene is inside an episcopal church, we see Rev. Dr. T. Lawrence Shannon (Burton) normally preaches to his parishioners in a ceremony, but slowly he turns emotional and apoplectic-ally lashes out at them, we have no idea what has happened, then the opening credits jump in, and next thing we know, he is in Mexico and becomes the tour guide of a group of Baptist women, headed by a high-strung Miss Judith Fellowes (Hall). All the way, Lawrence is tantalized by an underage girl Charlotte Goodall (Lyon), who is under the supervision of Miss Fellows. Until one night, he succumbs to the temptation and is caught in the act by Miss Fellows. In order to keep his job and prohibit Miss Fellows from calling to his boss, Lawrence arbitrarily bring the group to a hotel, which is overlooking a sea view from the top of a hill and now run by a middle-age woman Maxine Faulk (Gardner), who is newly widowed. Meanwhile, a pair of uninvited guests arrive in the off-season, a spinster Hannah Jelkes (Kerr) who is peripatetic around the world with her ailing grandfather (Delevanti), who is a poet seeking the inspiration to finish his new poem. While Charlotte's caprice of carnal desires can be feasibly veered to another prey, and his job cannot avoid being sabotaged by Miss Fellowes' obduracy, Lawrence comes to term with the situation with the help from Maxine and Hannah, the growing attractions take the main stage, and it is a love triangle needs one to take the moral high ground, which is quite similar to John Ford's MOGAMBO (1953, 6/10), also stars Gardner with Clark Gable and Grace Kelly, in an exotic location (African safari). A decade later, Gardner remains and inherits her flair of being fierily passionate and emotionally unconstrained, more unadorned in her raw beauty, her Maxine is never afraid of betray her feelings, she will flip her lid immediately when witnessing the chemistry between Lawrence and Hannah. She is boldly spontaneous, she will not hesitate to enjoy a threesome with two young Mexican boys on the beach at night after being snubbed by the one she loves, but when she thinks it through, she will generously make the sacrifice to take the egress and fulfill others' happiness. Gardner is great, but Kerr is even more admirable in her refined mien and dignity, Hannah is altruistic, sensible and well-bred, she possesses a rare quality of being both sophisticated and naive, she embraces life in the direst situation (penniless, and scrapes a living by selling her scratch to hotel clientèle), her independence is super-modern at its time, and we will presumably fear she will fall into the victim of a dog-eat-dog world, but she is not the one who needs salvation, Kerr instills a steady crescendo of fortitude onto her character's eccentric life pattern, unlike Maxine, she doesn't need a man to compensate her sense of insecurity, she is fearless and awe-inspiring. Maxine and Hannah represent two sides of one mirror, a perfect woman for Burton's Lawrence, who is miserably lagging behind (being defrocked and jobless) to be the owner of his fate owing to his defects, there is no repulsive male-chauvinistic undertone which fatally tarnishes MOGAMBO. Burton's macho appearance may jar with Lawrence's innate vulnerability, but never judging a book by its cover, Burton sympathetically discloses his wounds with adequate pathos, eventually he will grow on you too like Gardner and Kerr, and their upshot considerably suffices our expectation and doesn't fall into stale cliché.Grayson Hall and Cyril Delevanti, both deliver indelible performances as well, the former completely overshadows Burton and Lyon in the first act, although one can argue, her character is basically one-noted, but she succeeds in setting off a fusillade of aggressiveness with her raspy squawk and acerbic accusations. As for the latter, great line- delivery of his last poem alone can neutralize the cringe-worthy disappointment of his prefigured destiny to consummate his life in the journey. It is a great showpiece with a brainy script, powerful acting and compassionate score, with one conspicuous slip-up, paraphrasing Lawrence earlier in the film, "(Mexico) It is a lost world of innocence", unfortunately, we fail to acknowledge that throughout the film and the native inhabitants are conveniently and consistently portrayed without any gusto apart from being pigeonholed as wacky exotica (catching iguana for food) or laughing stock (two Mexican guys persistently playing with maracas), so, why Mexico? It could be "The Night of Anywhere".

There is something really enigmatic and magical about American film "The night of the Iguana" as it captures the raw beauty of Mexico as a preferred destination for pleasure seeking American tourists.It is one of those acclaimed films directed by renowned American director John Huston which succeeds at almost all levels.It is quite a pleasure to watch such a mature,serious film full of intellect and wit based on a humanist play by acclaimed American playwright Tennessee Williams.This film has its own balanced share of comedy and drama as everything in it is a remarkable ode to human judgment."The night of the Iguana" is able to strike a chord in viewers' minds as it has been transformed into a great character study thanks to amazing acting performances by famous actors Richard Burton,Ava Gardner and Deborah Kerr.How can a moody man retain his sanity in an environment full of doubts and passion seems to be this film's core issue.It is an extremely complex issue for both men and women who have to deal with it using their limited resources.Both men and animals need to be freed from shackles to act and think freely appears to be this film's humane message.