Which is the best adapation of cat on a hot tin roof

[random person 112]

Posted: 4/24/12 at 5:50pm

I'm trying to decide which to watch after finishing the play and can't decide. I've seen bits and pieces of the Natalie Wood version and the Jessica Lange Version but between those and the original which movie is better.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 4/24/12 at 6:42pm

The Natalie Wood one has a LOT of edits, largely for time. It's 100 minutes. The Lange one is nearly 150.

I'd go with the Lange hands down myself, as much as I like many of the actors in the Wood. I do find Tommy Lee Jones, while not awful, miscast for some reason I can't quite place, but Lange ius in her element. The direction is kinda slow and uninspired though (I assume this was based on a stage direction and they may as well have just filmed it on a stage IMHO). BTW the text used reflects the last edit of the script Williams made I believe in the early 70s, which sorta combines the original Williams written third act, and the third act (with Big Daddy) that Elia Kazan asked him to write for the premier (I know most published versions print both acts). There are other minor changes too, which I can't recall.

The original movie is really a must see for the performances--Ives recreating his original stage Big Daddy, Paul Newman in maybe his best role (he was of course the original Brick understudy) and Liz Taylor at her peak. But it is so watered down dialogue/thematic wise that I'm always annoyed--if you have the opportunity and like the play as much as I do, I'd recommend watching both the original film and then the Lange version.

[random person 112]

Posted: 4/24/12 at 6:56pm

Thank you i too thought Lange seemed pretty good in bit i saw, so thank you for the recommendation.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 4/24/12 at 8:08pm

Too bad the Elizabeth Ashley stage version was never taped for television. It was extraordinary in every way!

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 5/28/12 at 8:12pm

The whole shebang with Lange

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 5/28/12 at 9:51pm

and Miss Wood

[nobodyhome]

Posted: 5/29/12 at 1:48am

"The direction is kinda slow and uninspired though (I assume this was based on a stage direction and they may as well have just filmed it on a stage IMHO)."

Not based on a stage production, if that's what you meant.

"Paul Newman in maybe his best role (he was of course the original Brick understudy)"

I don't think so. He was playing one of the two leading roles in The Desperate Hours, which opened six weeks before Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

[Popular]

Posted: 5/29/12 at 2:01am

I'm aging myself here, but I was one of the little "no neck monsters" in the Lange/Jones version.

[best12bars]

Posted: 5/29/12 at 8:23am

^ Very cool, Popular! Do you have good (or bad) memories of being on the set?

I'm always surprised to see "Larry Mondello" from Leave It to Beaver with his hair dyed red as one of the "no neck monsters" in the movie with Taylor and Newman. It sort of takes me out of the moment. When worlds collide!

[Popular]

Posted: 5/29/12 at 9:22am

I have mostly great memories. Especially of the audition, and of playing with Ami Foster (the other "no neck" who later went on to be Margaux on Punky Brewster) and Jessica's daughter. Rip Torn, in the other hand, scared me half to death with a diva fit he threw!

[AC126748]

Posted: 5/29/12 at 9:51am

The Lange version is the most complete adaptation available. The performances are all quite good. Kim Stanley won an Emmy for her performance as Big Mama. If you are looking for a version that reflects the text of the play, this is the one for you.

As Eric said, the Natalie Wood/Robert Wagner version is quite heavily edited. However, I found Wood's performance as Maggie to be much better than it's often given credit. Wagner is pretty weak as Brick. Laurence Olivier and Maureen Stapleton are both quite good as Big Daddy and Big Mama, but if you're looking for a version that's representative of the text, this isn't the one. (The same can be said, of course, about the original, which was a product of its time)

The Elizabeth Ashley/Keir Dullea production was recorded and is available at TOFT. If you ever get the chance to watch it, you should. Ashley is pretty much everything you could want as Maggie.