These are powers and passions without precedent in motion pictures! -A tagline for the film

A wealthy/powerful widow in late 1930s New Orleans, Violet Venable (Katharine Hepburn), attempts to bribe Dr. John Cukrowicz (Montgomery Clift), a psycho-surgeon at a mental hospital (desperately in need of funds), into lobotomizing her young niece, Catherine Holly (Elizabeth Taylor). Violet wants to prevent Catherine (diagnosed w/ schizophrenia) from “babbling” re: her son, (Sebastian) who died of a heart attack in Spain the previous Summer. Tennessee Williams’ sister (Rose) underwent a lobotomy to “cure” her anxiety; he never forgave his mother for allowing that to happen. The play was performed off-Broadway; it was a great success. The screenplay was written by Gore Vidal, who expanded from the original one act structure. He lost his chance for an Oscar nom after the Catholic Church attacked the film for its implications of homosexuality.

As some of y’all know, you need to be in a certain mood to watch a work written by Williams. This is NOT your “typical” movie; there are long monologues performed by Hepburn and Taylor. Though it deals w/ V serious subjects w/in a dysfunctional family, the story (lesser-known) is compelling! There is a mix of the Gothic w/ psychodrama and horror elements, which director Joseph Mankiewicz puts together expertly. He was known for getting strong performances out of female actresses; Mankiewicz directed A Letter to Three Wives (1949) and All About Eve (1950). If there is a weak link here, it’d (sadly) be Clift; alcoholism and prescription drug abuse took their toll on his acting. Taylor (looking fab- as usual) saved his job, as she would NOT play her role w/o her closest friend. Wow, she was a real one!

[1] …the film only alludes to Sebastian’s homosexuality, using rather graphic symbolism to bring across the dramatic tension of the situation. In this case, it works because it’s consistent with the Baroque style of the entire movie.

[2] Katharine Hepburn plays Violet and manages to chew the scenery and spit it out, it’s an elegant performance, but you really want more than we actually get!

[3] …it is lush and lurid, with gorgeous dialogue that is totally unbelievable coming out of the character’s mouths. It is a fun and entertaining movie to watch, with emotions running high and emoting even higher. Kate Hepburn and Liz Taylor are both mesmerizing...

-Excerpts from IMDb reviews