The Night of the Iguana (1964) was directed by John Huston. It's adapted from the play by Tennessee Williams. It features Richard Burton, Ava Gardner, and Deborah Kerr in the lead roles.
We have a play written by one of the greatest playwrights of the 20th Century, directed by one of the greatest directors of the 20th Century, and starring three of the greatest actors of the 20th Century. Is it surprising that it's a winner? (Well, it also stars Sue Lyon, considered a star because she had just played Lolita. She wasn't a great actor, but she's typecast as a spoiled, sexually needy adolescent.)
As the movie begins, the The Rev. Dr. T. Lawrence Shannon (Burton) is giving a sermon in his Episcopal church. He throws aside his prepared text and announces that he could no longer conduct services in worship of a God that he called an "angry, petulant old man" and a "cruel, senile delinquent." He's forced out of the church--although not defrocked--and ends up making a living as a tour guide in Mexico. The group ends up in a shabby hotel in Puerto Vallarta, which is run by a widow, Maxine Faulk (Gardner). They are joined there by Hannah Jelkes (Kerr), a self-proclaimed "old Nantucket spinster."
The plot of the film revolves around the relationships of the three main characters. In the beginning of the movie, director Huston opens up the film by taking us along bumpy roads in an aged tour bus. However, once the action moves to Puerto Vallarta, it stays there, and the film became more like the original play.
There's a powerful scene near the end between Burton and Kerr, which is better suited for the stage than the screen. However, these two actors manage to make it seem real. (Kerr and Burton's character may be soul mates, but the real sexual chemistry is between Burton and Gardner.)
I hadn't previously known about Grayson Hall, who portrayed the thankless role of Judith Fellowes, a sexually repressed woman who is Sue Lyon's chaperone. She's called a witch, and she acts like one. (However, when you think about it, Sue Lyon did, indeed, need a chaperone.) Hall was so good in the part that she was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
We saw this movie at the excellent Dryden Theatre at the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, NY. It was wonderful to see the original nitrate film version on the large screen, but it will work well enough on the small screen. (It's readily available on DVD.)
This film carries a very high IMDb rating of 7.8. It's a classic. If you're a film buff, you need to see it. If you're casual about movies, you still need to see it. It's great.
We have a play written by one of the greatest playwrights of the 20th Century, directed by one of the greatest directors of the 20th Century, and starring three of the greatest actors of the 20th Century. Is it surprising that it's a winner? (Well, it also stars Sue Lyon, considered a star because she had just played Lolita. She wasn't a great actor, but she's typecast as a spoiled, sexually needy adolescent.)
As the movie begins, the The Rev. Dr. T. Lawrence Shannon (Burton) is giving a sermon in his Episcopal church. He throws aside his prepared text and announces that he could no longer conduct services in worship of a God that he called an "angry, petulant old man" and a "cruel, senile delinquent." He's forced out of the church--although not defrocked--and ends up making a living as a tour guide in Mexico. The group ends up in a shabby hotel in Puerto Vallarta, which is run by a widow, Maxine Faulk (Gardner). They are joined there by Hannah Jelkes (Kerr), a self-proclaimed "old Nantucket spinster."
The plot of the film revolves around the relationships of the three main characters. In the beginning of the movie, director Huston opens up the film by taking us along bumpy roads in an aged tour bus. However, once the action moves to Puerto Vallarta, it stays there, and the film became more like the original play.
There's a powerful scene near the end between Burton and Kerr, which is better suited for the stage than the screen. However, these two actors manage to make it seem real. (Kerr and Burton's character may be soul mates, but the real sexual chemistry is between Burton and Gardner.)
I hadn't previously known about Grayson Hall, who portrayed the thankless role of Judith Fellowes, a sexually repressed woman who is Sue Lyon's chaperone. She's called a witch, and she acts like one. (However, when you think about it, Sue Lyon did, indeed, need a chaperone.) Hall was so good in the part that she was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
We saw this movie at the excellent Dryden Theatre at the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, NY. It was wonderful to see the original nitrate film version on the large screen, but it will work well enough on the small screen. (It's readily available on DVD.)
This film carries a very high IMDb rating of 7.8. It's a classic. If you're a film buff, you need to see it. If you're casual about movies, you still need to see it. It's great.