Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a American drama film directed by Richard Brooks. The movie was released in 1958 and it’s starred by Elizabeth Taylor (as Margaret ”Maggie”), Paul Newman (as Brick) and Burl Ives (as Harvey ”Big Daddy”).
The film starts when a drunken Brick Pollit brakes his leg by leaping hurdles on a trackfield, dreaming of his glory days in high school sports. He is an ex-football player, who had later switched the ball to alcohol and who’s marriage with gorgeous Maggie is cold and indifferent from his case. Big Daddy is dying for cancer, although he doesn’t know that yet himself. He arrives home from the hospital just in time for his 65th birthday and his both sons, Brick and Garson, with their families had gathered together to celebrate this big day. Everybody knows about Big Daddy’s dying but they wants him to remain happy, so nobody tells the truth to him. But in the evening of his birthday he finds out the real side of his illness. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a great story of self-loathing, growing, falsehood and living in it and ofcourse love.
Characters are all very professional. Margaret’s ”The Cat” loneliness and Brick’s refusal to make her his desire, has made her hard, nervous, and bitchy. Brick is the favorite son and mourned lover. Brick embodies an almost archetypal masculinity. At the same time, the Brick before us is also an obviously broken man because of his repressed homosexual desire for his dead friend Skipper. Big Daddy is Brick’s father a large, brash, and vulgar plantation millionaire who believes he has returned from the grave, though he is very ill. Deep in his heart, he’s still a loving old man despite the brash appearance.
I have watched this film about five times and I never get bored to it. Film represent old-fashioned but wealthy life of a big family, with it’s sorrow, hate and love. I recommend this film to all who has an interest in old classic dramafilms.
