Directed by:
Richard BrooksCinematography:
William H. DanielsComposer:
Charles WolcottCast:
Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Burl Ives, Jack Carson, Judith Anderson, Madeleine Sherwood, Larry Gates, Vaughn Taylor, Hugh Corcoran, Robert 'Rusty' Stevens (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
The film follows events which transpire one long, hot Southern evening when the family of plantation patriarch Big Daddy (Burl Ives) gathers in Mississippi to celebrate his 65th birthday, despite his ailing health. Both of the big man's sons are there for the party, but only one of them - lawyer Gooper (Jack Carson) - is keen to inherit the family fortune; the other, Brick (Paul Newman), a former high school athlete who now drinks constantly and refuses to sleep with his wife Maggie (Elizabeth Taylor), couldn't care less. Nevertheless, Maggie would like to see some of the money, believing that it might offer some recompense for the coldness of her marriage, and Big Mama (Judith Anderson), the boys' mother, has always favoured Brick out of the two. As the night wears on, the temperature rises, skeletons emerge from closets, and the family tensions get closer and closer to breaking point. (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment)
(more)Awards
- Winner
- Nominations
Academy Awards
- 1959 - Best Motion Picture of the Year
- 1959 - Richard Brooks (Best Achievement in Directing)
- 1959 - Paul Newman (Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role)
- 1959 - Elizabeth Taylor (Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role)
- 1959 - James Poe, Richard Brooks (Best Adapted Screenplay)
- 1959 - William H. Daniels (Best Cinematography (Color))
British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA)
- 1959 - Best Film
- 1959 - Paul Newman (Best Foreign Actor)
- 1959 - Elizabeth Taylor (Best Foreign Actress)
Golden Globes
- 1959 - Best Motion Picture – Drama
- 1959 - Richard Brooks (Best Director)
New York Film Critics Circle Awards
- 1958 - Richard Brooks (Best Director)