“The Long, Hot Summer” is melodrama movie about the Varner family in Frenchman’s Bend, Mississippi, who are visited by an out-of-towner named Ben Quick. All sorts of sparks fly when Dad Varner, who owns most of the town, thinks about making Ben the head of his business over his son and tries to match him with his daughter. Excellent direction by Martin Ritt (“No Down Payment” 1957) made this a juicy soap opera from a well-written screenplay by Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank, adapted from several William Faulkner stories.
The entire cast deliver outstanding performances, including Paul Newman as Ben Quick, Orson Welles as Will Varner, Joanne Woodward as Clara Varner, Anthony Franciosa as Jody Varner, as well as Lee Remick, Angela Lansbury, Richard Anderson, Mabel Albertson, J. Pat O’Malley, Sarah Marshall, William Walker, and Frances Sibley.
The very watchable and entertaining “The Long, Hot Summer” was a modest hit in theatrical release for 20th Century Fox. An interesting footnote of the movie is the pairing of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, who were married shortly after the end of filming. They remained married for fifty years until Newman’s passing in 2008.
The Long, Hot Summer (1958)
cinema
My Review
“The Long, Hot Summer” is melodrama movie about the Varner family in Frenchman’s Bend, Mississippi, who are visited by an out-of-towner named Ben Quick. All sorts of sparks fly when Dad Varner, who owns most of the town, thinks about making Ben the head of his business over his son and tries to match him with his daughter. Excellent direction by Martin Ritt (“No Down Payment” 1957) made this a juicy soap opera from a well-written screenplay by Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank, adapted from several William Faulkner stories.
The entire cast deliver outstanding performances, including Paul Newman as Ben Quick, Orson Welles as Will Varner, Joanne Woodward as Clara Varner, Anthony Franciosa as Jody Varner, as well as Lee Remick, Angela Lansbury, Richard Anderson, Mabel Albertson, J. Pat O’Malley, Sarah Marshall, William Walker, and Frances Sibley.
The very watchable and entertaining “The Long, Hot Summer” was a modest hit in theatrical release for 20th Century Fox. An interesting footnote of the movie is the pairing of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, who were married shortly after the end of filming. They remained married for fifty years until Newman’s passing in 2008.