The Long, Hot Summer

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The Long, Hot Summer

Directed by	Martin Ritt
Produced by	Jerry Wald
Written by	William Faulkner, Irving Ravetch, Harriet Frank Jr.
Starring	Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Orson Welles
Release date(s)	1958
Running time	115 min.
Language	English
IMDb profile

The Long, Hot Summer is a 1958 film directed by Martin Ritt, starring Orson Welles, Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. The film is based on stories by William Faulkner, primarily "The Hamlet".

1 Synopsis
2 Remakes
3 Trivia
4 External links

[edit] Synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Ben Quick (Newman) hitches a ride to Frenchman's Bend, Mississippi, from Clara (Woodward) and Eula Varner (Lee Remick). Clara's father and Eula's father-in-law is Will Varner (Welles), the domineering owner of most of the town. Will sees in the brash newcomer a younger version of himself, ruthless and ambitious. These qualities are sadly lacking in his son Jody (Tony Franciosa).

He is also disappointed with his schoolteacher daughter; Clara's boyfriend, Alan Stewart (Richard Anderson), is a mamma's boy, not the kind of son-in-law Will wants. He schemes to push his daughter and Ben together, to try to bring fresh, virile blood into the family. She however is (seemingly) unimpressed with the crude, if magnetic upstart. On the other hand, he sees something in her beyond the money and power Will offers.

Meanwhile, widower Will's longtime mistress, Minnie Littlejohn (Angela Lansbury), is dissatisfied with her situation. All these strained relationships come to a boil during the long, hot summer.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Remakes

It was remade as a 26-part television series in 1965/66 with Dan O'Herlihy, Roy Thinnes, Nancy Malone, Lana Wood, Ruth Roman and Edmond O'Brien.
It was remade again for TV in 1985, with Jason Robards, Don Johnson and Cybill Shepherd (in the role of Eula). It received two Emmy nominations, for Outstanding Miniseries and Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries or a Special.