The Long, Hot Summer

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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".

Contents

[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

[edit] Trivia

  • It was filmed on location in Louisiana.
  • Newman and Woodward married after the completion of the movie.
  • Welles wore a fake nose throughout the movie, which fell off several times during filming because of the heat

[edit] External links

This 1950s drama film-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
In other languages