Sweet Bird of Youth

Released Mar 21, 1962

2 hr. 0 min.

Drama

List

74%

19 Reviews

Tomatometer

72%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

After unsuccessfully trying his luck in Hollywood, charming gigolo Chance Wayne (Paul Newman) wanders back to his hometown, accompanied by Alexandra Del Lago (Geraldine Page), a movie star on the wane. Chance quickly falls back into his old rut -- he's still smitten with his former sweetheart, Heavenly Finley (Shirley Knight), but her thuggish brother (Rip Torn) and her crooked politician father (Ed Begley) both hate him. When Alexandra leaves town, Chance is left with little more than trouble.

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Jeff S

Covers some profound themes and yet is hilarious at times.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/21/24

Full Review

CodyZamboni

Movie was not what I thought it would be. Set in Florida in the early 60s, it's a tale of gettting old, missing your big chance in life, trying to regain lost fame and love, and political corruption. Terrific performances by Paul Newman, Shirley Knight, and Geraldine Page as a faded movie star. I liked how the story points were emphasized through the visual themes of birds and a lighthouse.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

07/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Very dramatic, the story is ok. The aesthetics are peak WASP so I love it. Great background movie.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/25/23

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Audience Member

Tennessee Williams goodness!

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

04/28/21

Full Review

Audience Member

this is easily one of Paul Newman's Best Performances EVER! he honestly should've won The Oscar here! such a Dramatically-Entertaining yet Emtionally-Draining film! i'd LOVE To see what they could do with a remake!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

Full Review

steve d

An uncomfortable story but the acting is great.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Richard Brooks

Director

Paul Newman

Chance Wayne

Geraldine Page

Alexandra Del Lago (Princess Cosmonopolous)

Ed Begley

Tom 'Boss' Finley

Rip Torn

Thomas 'Tom' J. Finley, Jr.

Shirley Knight

Heavenly Finley

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Empire Magazine

Page and Newman are fantastic.

Apr 8, 2008

Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

It's a glossy, engrossing hunk of motion picture entertainment, slickly produced by Berman.

Apr 8, 2008

Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

Offers little indication of what made the original play interesting (especially in Elia Kazan's stage production), despite the fact that Paul Newman and Geraldine Page are called on to reprise their original roles.

Apr 8, 2008

Full Review

Janet Graves

Photoplay

Here are Paul and Shirley playing true love gone wrong (in the shape of two pretty stupid types), while Geraldine portrays fallen grandeur with superb dash.

Dec 15, 2020

Full Review

Otis Stuart

OutWeek

The play is all broad strokes, and even worse, the film does its damndest to sanitize them.

May 20, 2020

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Once again, Hollywood proved to be more constrictive than Broadway -- a shocking castration gets replaced by a savage beating -- but the Southern discomfort of its characters keeps this torrid melodrama humming.

Rated: 3/4

May 16, 2020

Full Review

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Synopsis

After unsuccessfully trying his luck in Hollywood, charming gigolo Chance Wayne (Paul Newman) wanders back to his hometown, accompanied by Alexandra Del Lago (Geraldine Page), a movie star on the wane. Chance quickly falls back into his old rut -- he's still smitten with his former sweetheart, Heavenly Finley (Shirley Knight), but her thuggish brother (Rip Torn) and her crooked politician father (Ed Begley) both hate him. When Alexandra leaves town, Chance is left with little more than trouble.

Director: Richard Brooks
Screenwriter: Tennessee Williams, Richard Brooks
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co: Roxbury Productions
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 21, 1962, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 21, 2016
Sound Mix: Mono

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