Sweet Bird of Youth (1962)

Director:

Richard Brooks

Writers:

Tennessee Williams (play)
Richard Brooks (screenplay)

Release Date:

21 March 1962 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Provocative Adult Entertainment

Plot:

Drifter Chance Wayne returns to his hometown after many years of trying to make it in the movies. With...

Plot Keywords:

Mistress | Revenge | Political Boss | Hustler | Motion Picture

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Paul Newman	...	Chance Wayne
Geraldine Page	...	Alexandra Del Lago
Shirley Knight	...	Heavenly Finley
Ed Begley	...	Tom 'Boss' Finley
Rip Torn	...	Thomas 'Tom' J. Finley, Jr.
Mildred Dunnock	...	Aunt Nonnie
Madeleine Sherwood	...	Miss Lucy
Philip Abbott	...	Dr. George Scudder
Corey Allen	...	Scotty
Barry Cahill	...	Bud
Dub Taylor	...	Dan Hatcher
James B. Douglas	...	Leroy (as James Douglas)
Barry Atwater	...	Ben Jackson
Charles Arnt	...	Mayor Henricks
Dorothy Konrad	...	Mrs. Maribelle Norris

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

UK:X (original rating) | UK:15 (re-rating) (1996) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-18 | Sweden:15

Company:

Roxbury Productions Inc.

Trivia:

Was given a pre-rating advisory of "Restricted" by the MPAA, disallowing any persons under the age of 18 from attending (the pre-rating equivalent of an R or X (later NC-17) rating).

Quotes:

Boss Finley: A lot of folks say they like what I did but they don't like the way I did it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Death Becomes Her (1992)

Soundtrack:

It's a Big, Wide, Wonderful World

Deliciously Overwrought

Highflying melodrama permeates this Tennessee Williams play converted to film by Director Richard Brooks. What makes this Southern soap opera fascinating is the cast of tawdry characters, beginning with Chance Wayne (Paul Newman), a charming, ambitious gigolo who, despite his best efforts, can't quite make his worldly dreams come true.

But this time he's got a real plan for success. Chance returns to his hometown on the Gulf Coast, bringing with him a boozed-out, high-strung movie star named Alexandra Del Lago (Geraldine Page). Chance hopes to grab his hometown girlfriend, Heavenly (Shirley Knight), and the three of them skedaddle off to Hollywood, so that Chance can make it big in the movies, with the help of Alexandra, of course. Thing is ... Alexandra is so spaced out, she can't remember who Chance is, or where she met him.

Chance's homecoming is anything but cordial, mostly because of the influence of Heavenly's dad, 'Boss' Finley (Ed Begley) who, along with Finley, Jr. (Rip Torn), has it in for Chance. Complicating matters even more is Miss Lucy (Madeleine Sherwood), 'Boss' Finley's mistress whom Heavenly can't stand.

Having originated as a stage play, the film takes place mostly indoors, and is very talky. But the Tennessee Williams dialogue is predictably incisive, with commentary both on the whims of success and on the fleeting nature of youth.

By far, my favorite element of the film is the deliciously overwrought performance of Geraldine Page. With her distinctive voice, her mannerisms, and her stunning acting ability, she chews up the scenery and then some, overpowering everyone and everything else. No actress could have been more credible in the role of Alexandra, an almost comical character, whose firmness, vanity, self-centeredness, and dramatic flair make her both weak and strong at the same time.

Although flashbacks tend to disrupt the flow, the film's screen story is otherwise very good. With great performances from multiple actors, excellent color cinematography, and an appropriately jazzy/blues score, "Sweet Bird Of Youth" is a film treat, in the grand tradition of cinematic melodrama.