Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

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Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Released Sep 18, 1958

1h 48m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

97%

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38 Reviews

92%

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2,500+ Ratings

After Brick Pollitt (Paul Newman) injures himself while drunkenly revisiting his high school sports-star days, he and his tempestuous wife, Maggie (Elizabeth Taylor), visit his family's Mississippi plantation for the 65th birthday of his hot-tempered father, Big Daddy (Burl Ives). Cantankerous even with declining health, Big Daddy demands to know why Brick and Maggie haven't yet given him a grandchild, unlike Brick's brother Gooper (Jack Carson) and his fecund wife, Mae (Madeleine Sherwood).

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Critics Consensus

Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor are at the height of their glamor and performing prowess in this feverish adaptation of Tennessee Williams' play, with a subtext of sexual repression providing an electric undercurrent.

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Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Classics-loving teens will appreciate family melodrama.

Rated: 4/5

Dec 22, 2010

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TIME Magazine

A formaldehyded tabby that sits static while layer after layer of its skin is peeled off, life after life of its nine lives unsentimentally destroyed.

Oct 1, 2008

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Variety Staff

Variety

An intense, important motion picture.

Apr 8, 2008

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Moira Walsh

The Catholic World

The success of Cat On a Hot Tin Roof more probably rests on the straight-forward grounds that it is a strong, well-acted drama and more especially that its theme... has a tragic pertinence for many contemporary audiences.

Aug 24, 2023

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Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

Brimming with Southern personality, big but fitting performances, and a script with a bite, “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” is as mesmerizing today as it was over 50 years ago.

Rated: 4.5/5

Aug 19, 2022

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Sue Heal

Radio Times

Tennessee Williams's overheated tale of familial strife in the Deep South comes alive in this atmospheric dramatisation - it's all steamy, fly-blown and shutters slammin'.

Rated: 4/5

Sep 9, 2020

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julie b

First thought I had- the portrayals of brick, maggie, and big daddy are pure craftsmanship!!! Second thought I had - what kind of a name is Gooper???? With a moody jazzy score, every scene is brimming with tension, right on the edge of the boiling point but never quite reaching it (until it does). This was emotional, tense, but still with truly funny moments and endlessly quotable.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

09/23/24

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Audience Member

the movie builds and builds with the dialogue and excellent performances. nothing like it today

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/02/24

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mg

Paul Newman's great performance

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

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Diane B

Two points for Liz Taylor at her peak and Two points for Paul Newman at his peak. And another point for the story because I hear it's a classic. Great film

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/13/22

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Audience Member

Either Elizabeth Taylor or Grace Kelly was the most beautiful woman to EVER walk this Earth, I couldn't argue with either choice. Liz positively smolders in this film, and she's the only reason to watch it. I'm told it's even more remarkable that she pulled this performance off since her husband had recently died in a plane crash. Paul Newman may or may NOT have been great in this but his character is such a loathsome individual it's hard to tell. Burl Ives is surprisingly good, although since he was best known as a singer, he may have been chosen for his outsized girth rather than his acting chops; Slim Pickins wasn't going to portray Big Daddy! Everyone else in the supporting cast is just annoying. Ten minutes into the movie I'm watching Liz undress in front of a disinterested husband and I'm screaming: "This guy is gay!" Word is that that aspect of the Tennessee Williams play was downplayed here due to the still active Hollywood Production Code, which cuts the heart out of this screenplay.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

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Audience Member

A wonderful and intense film. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof was an incredible film with the excellent acting from Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, and Burl Ives. Not only that, the costume designs were subtle and nuanced (especially for Elizabeth Taylor's character). Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is an extraordinary remarkable film that one will enjoy.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/18/23

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Richard Brooks

Director

Elizabeth Taylor

Maggie Pollitt

Paul Newman

Brick Pollitt

Burl Ives

Harvey "Big Daddy" Pollitt

Jack Carson

Gooper Pollitt

Judith Anderson

Ida "Big Momma" Pollitt

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Synopsis

After Brick Pollitt (Paul Newman) injures himself while drunkenly revisiting his high school sports-star days, he and his tempestuous wife, Maggie (Elizabeth Taylor), visit his family's Mississippi plantation for the 65th birthday of his hot-tempered father, Big Daddy (Burl Ives). Cantankerous even with declining health, Big Daddy demands to know why Brick and Maggie haven't yet given him a grandchild, unlike Brick's brother Gooper (Jack Carson) and his fecund wife, Mae (Madeleine Sherwood).

Director: Richard Brooks
Producer: Lawrence Weingarten
Screenwriter: Richard Brooks, James Poe
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co: Metro Goldwyn Mayer
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 18, 1958, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 25, 2014
Runtime: 1h 48m

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