Main Cast: Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Anthony Franciosa, Orson Welles, Lee Remick
Release Year: 1958
Country: US
Run Time: 117 minutes
Plot
While often regarded as one of America's greatest novelists, William Faulkner produced work that did not always translate well to the screen; it's ironically appropriate that this movie, based on several of Faulkner's short stories, is often regarded as one of the best films based on his work, though not especially accurate to the original source material. Ben Quick (Paul Newman), a sullen but self-confident drifter, arrives in a small Mississippi town where his father had a bad reputation as a firebug. Will Varner (Orson Welles), the town's patriarch, still holds a grudge against Quick's dad, and when the young man decides to stay in town and sharecrop on Varner's land, Will goes out of his way to make his life difficult. However, Will develops a grudging respect for Quick's guts and determination, and he wishes that his weak-willed son Jody (Anthony Franciosa) could be more like him; Jody's wife Eula (Lee Remick) happens to agree. In time, Will gets the idea that Quick might be a good match for his daughter Clara (Joanne Woodward) and a better choice to take over his business dealings than Jody. However, neither Clara nor Quick care to be told what to do, and besides, Clara already has a beau -- though Alan Stewart (Richard Anderson) is even more of a milquetoast than Jody and is led by the nose by his mother (Mabel Albertson). However, sparks begin to fly between Clara and Quick, and when Jody fears he may lose his place as heir of Will's estate, he takes drastic action, trapping his father in a barn, setting it on fire, and planting evidence that would suggest that the blaze was Quick's doing. The Long, Hot Summer was the first film that Newman and Woodward made together, and they got married the same year. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
The Long, Hot Summer is best remembered for Paul Newman's stellar performance as the incendiary Ben Quick, and for the seamless way in which writers Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank, Jr. combined several William Faulkner stories into one compelling screenplay. It's great fun to watch the top-notch cast work together, particularly in the scenes that feature Newman and Orson Welles. Familiar faces dot the supporting cast, from Angela Lansbury to Lee Remick. It takes a while for the film to gain its footing, but, once it does, the energy level builds to a walloping climax. For much of the 1950s, director Martin Ritt was a victim of Hollywood's blacklist, and Summer helped re-establish his career, sparking a series of successful collaborations with Newman. This was also the first film to co-star Newman and wife Joanne Woodward. Though it received no Oscar nominations, Summer fared better in Europe, where Newman won Best Actor honors at the Cannes Film Festival. ~ Richard Gilliam, All Movie Guide
Angela Lansbury - Minnie Littlejohn; Richard Anderson - Alan Stewart; Sarah Marshall - Agnes Stewart; Mabel Albertson - Mrs. Stewart; William Walker - Lucius; George Dunn - Peabody; Jess Kirkpatrick - Armistead; Val Avery - Wilk; I. Stanford Jolley - Houstin; Nicholas King - John Fisher; Lee Erickson - Tom Shortly; Ralph Reed - J.V. Bookright; Jim Brandt - Linus Olds; Helen Wallace - Mrs. Houstin; Brian Corcoran - Harry Peabody; Eugene Jackson - Waiter; Byron Foulger - Harris; J. Pat O'Malley - Ratliff; Terry Rangno - Pete Armistead
Credit
Maurice Ransford - Art Director, Lyle Wheeler - Art Director, Adele Palmer - Costume Designer, Eli Dunn - First Assistant Director, Martin Ritt - Director, Louis Loeffler - Editor, Alex North - Composer (Music Score), Lionel Newman - Musical Direction/Supervision, Ben Nye, Sr. - Makeup, Joseph La Shelle - Cinematographer, Jerry Wald - Producer, Eli Benneche - Set Designer, Walter Scott - Set Designer, L.B. Abbott - Special Effects, Harry M. Leonard - Sound/Sound Designer, E. Clayton Ward - Sound/Sound Designer, Harriet Frank, Jr. - Screenwriter, Irving Ravetch - Screenwriter, William Faulkner - Book Author
Ben Quick (Paul Newman) hitches a ride to Frenchman's Bend, Mississippi, from Clara (Joanne Woodward) and Eula Varner (Lee Remick). Clara's father and Eula's father-in-law is Will Varner (Orson Welles), the domineering owner of most of the town. Will sees in the brash newcomer a younger version of himself, ruthless and ambitious. These qualities are, in Will's opinion, sadly lacking in his only son Jody (Anthony Franciosa).
He is also disappointed with his schoolteacher daughter. Clara's boyfriend, genteel Southern blue blood Alan Stewart (Richard Anderson), is a mama's boy, not the kind of son-in-law Will wants. He schemes to push his daughter and Ben together, to try to bring fresh, virile blood into the family. She, however, is (seemingly) unimpressed with the crude, if magnetic upstart. He at first is attracted by the wealth Will offers, but eventually comes to see something in her beyond that.
Meanwhile, widower Will's longtime mistress, Minnie Littlejohn (Angela Lansbury), is dissatisfied with her situation. All these strained relationships come to a boil during the long, hot summer.
Jody becomes increasingly alarmed when he sees his position in the family being undermined. Ben is first made a fellow clerk in the general store, then invited to live in the family mansion. When Jody finds Ben alone, he pulls a gun on him and tells him his body will be found downstream, but Ben talks his way out. He tells Jody about buried Civil War-era treasure he has found on some property that Will gave him, a down payment to seal their bargain over Clara. When the two men find a bag of coins, Jody is elated, thinking he might finally get out from under his father's thumb. He buys the land from Ben. Late that night, Will finds his son, still digging. After examining one of the coins, he notices that it was minted in 1910. Jody is crushed. When he later finds his father alone in their barn, he bolts the entrance and sets it on fire. However, he cannot go through with it and lets Will out. The incident brings about a reconciliation.
Meanwhile, the fire causes trouble for Ben, who has been smeared with the reputation of his barn-burning father. Some men assume he is the culprit and start toward him with a rope. Clara drives up and rescues him. Will later claims responsibility for accidentally starting the fire.
The smells bring back bad memories for Ben. He tells Clara how, at the age of ten, he had to sound the warning against his father as he was about to set another fire. Out of gratitude for her saving his life, he tells her he is leaving. However, she has other plans for him, much to her father's delight.
It was remade again for TV in 1985, with Jason Robards, Don Johnson, and Cybill Shepherd (in the role of Eula). It received two Emmy nominations, for Outstanding Miniseries and Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries or a Special. The remake was filmed in Louisiana and Texas.
