Elizabeth Taylor
Paul Newman
Burl Ives
Jack Carson
Judith Anderson
Directed by: Richard Brooks
Long before "dysfunctional family" became a familiar catch phrase, Tennessee Williams was dramatizing variations on the theme.
“Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” for instance has the conflicts exposed within the story which centers on a dying Southern patriarch and his family's greed.
The word “mendacity” refers to all the characters hidden agenda. Maggie (Elizabeth Taylor) “the cat” refers to her feline-like resolve to get what she wants at any cost.
Maggie's husband, Brick (Paul Newman) as the ex-athlete grieving over the recent suicide of his best friend and tormented by his own “mendacity” namely his closeted homosexuality. Their tentative relationship is aggravated by Big Daddy, Brick's terminally ill father, who is being courted by his other son for his estate and inheritance.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof earned Williams his second Pulitzer Prize and, under Elia Kazan's direction, was a smash success on Broadway, with Ben Gazzara, Barbara Bel Geddes, Burl Ives, and Mildred Dunnock in the key roles. For the film version, only Ives returned to essay the part of Big Daddy.
It was rumored that Grace Kelly was considered for Maggie. The role went to Elizabeth Taylor, at the just beginning of her dramatic range in films. (During filming, Liz got the news that third husband Mike Todd had was killed in a plane crash. According to Newman that experience put the edge to her performance.) Paul Newman was cast as Brick and Judith Anderson won the part of Big Mama.
George Cukor was originally the first choice for director but backed out when faced with the prospect of battling the censors over the possible deletion of certain crucial scenes. Instead, Richard Brooks was brought in to direct which led to Sweet Bird of Youth (1962) Brooks did what he was told and deleted dialogue and most of the sexual topics much to Tennessee chagrin. Tennessee did offer his praise of the entire cast
Newman, a Method actor from New York's Actors Studio, had reservations about working with Taylor whose approach to acting was entirely different. Yet, despite their different backgrounds, the two actors had a potent on-screen chemistry.
Nominated for six Academy Awards including; Best Picture, Best Actor (Newman), and Best Actress (Taylor) “ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” didn't win any Oscars.
Ironically, Burl Ives, who gave a dynamic performance in the film as Big Daddy but wasn't nominated, took home the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in The Big Country (1958) another film in which he featured that same year.
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