A surgeon is assigned the case of a young woman whose aunt wants her lobotomized to cover up a family secret.A surgeon is assigned the case of a young woman whose aunt wants her lobotomized to cover up a family secret.A surgeon is assigned the case of a young woman whose aunt wants her lobotomized to cover up a family secret.
- Nominated for 3 Oscars
- 4 wins & 7 nominations total
Sheila Robins
- Dr. Hockstader's Secretary
- (as Sheila Robbins)
Erik Chitty
- Asylum Inmate
- (uncredited)
Grace Denbeigh-Russell
- Asylum patient
- (uncredited)
Brenda Dunrich
- Nurse
- (uncredited)
Eddie Fisher
- Street Urchin
- (uncredited)
Anthony Lang
- Inmate
- (uncredited)
Aileen Lewis
- Nurse
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAfter years of alcoholism and prescription drug abuse, Montgomery Clift was considered uninsurable due to chronic ill health. Ordinarily, he would have been fired and replaced, but his good friend Dame Elizabeth Taylor saved his job by insisting she would not do this movie without him.
- GoofsAlthough set in 1937, costumes, hairstyles and makeup worn by Dame Elizabeth Taylor are all contemporary in 1959.
- Quotes
Catherine Holly: Is that what love is? Using people? And maybe that's what hate is - not being able to use people.
- ConnectionsEdited into This Is It (2009)
Featured review
The Name Tennessee Williams Says It All
In 1930's New Orleans, a wealthy and eccentric older woman named Mrs. Venable (Katharine Hepburn), wants a surgeon (Montgomery Clift) to perform a lobotomy on her niece (Elizabeth Taylor), for reasons that become clear toward the end of the film. This macabre Tennessee Williams story, with overlapping adult themes, must surely have been a shock to audiences in 1959. The film provides a great vehicle for the talents of both Hepburn whose acting is engaging, and Taylor whose performance is superb.
The Mankiewicz script is very talky. The characters of both Hepburn and Taylor engage in lengthy and at times tedious monologues. In all that talking, at least there are some really good lines. My favorite is near the beginning. In a nonchalant tone, Mrs. Venable tells us about the daily vicissitudes of Lady, the Venus flytrap that Mrs. Venable keeps in her garden. "Lady must be kept under glass, and while she is under glass, we have to provide her with flies, flown in at great expense." Priceless.
As one would expect for a film derived from a stage play, cinematography and music are less important than dialogue and acting. "Suddenly Last Summer" is worth viewing for its unusual story, and for the acting accomplishments of Hepburn and Taylor.
The Mankiewicz script is very talky. The characters of both Hepburn and Taylor engage in lengthy and at times tedious monologues. In all that talking, at least there are some really good lines. My favorite is near the beginning. In a nonchalant tone, Mrs. Venable tells us about the daily vicissitudes of Lady, the Venus flytrap that Mrs. Venable keeps in her garden. "Lady must be kept under glass, and while she is under glass, we have to provide her with flies, flown in at great expense." Priceless.
As one would expect for a film derived from a stage play, cinematography and music are less important than dialogue and acting. "Suddenly Last Summer" is worth viewing for its unusual story, and for the acting accomplishments of Hepburn and Taylor.
- Lechuguilla
- Oct 7, 2005
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Plötzlich im letzten Sommer
- Filming locations
- Begur, Girona, Catalonia, Spain(village and old castle scenes)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $3,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $9,830
- Runtime1 hour 54 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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