Cat on a hot tin roof
Welcome to Screen Gems, our weekend delves into adjacent queer and queer headlines from the past that deserve a watch or re-watch.
Closest so far: a cat on a hot roof
Why is it so hard for us to get a great version of Tennessee Williams’ masterpiece, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof? The original version of the 1958 film starred movie icons Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman and won numerous Oscar nominations. It makes us laugh again: Williams despised the film adaptation, which doesn’t make sense (more on this in a moment). Fortunately, the 1984 remake of the play, which stars Jessica Lange and Tommy Lee Jones, makes a lot more sense. Unfortunately, he is suffering elsewhere.
Cat on a Hot Roof tells the story of the Pollitt family. Brick (Jones) and his wife Maggie (Lange) return to the southern estate of the parents of Brick, Big Daddy (Rip Torn) and Big Mamma (Kim Stanley). Brick heals a broken leg and mourns the suicide of his childhood friend Skipper, and hits hard alcohol to ease his pain. The family came to celebrate Big Daddy’s good health, or so they say. In reality, Big Daddy has terminal cancer, and the family has conspired to prevent him from learning of his own diagnosis. As Brick sinks deeper into depression and alcohol, his brother Gooper (David Dukes) plots to take control of Big Daddy’s family fortune, ousting Brick in the process.
Williams uses Cat to meditate on the poison of lies, even the well-meaning ones. The 1958 adaptation of the play completely missed that point by removing one of the text’s central revelations: Brick Skipper’s friend was gay, and a confrontation between the two resulted in his suicide. By removing this plot point, Brick’s motivation – and the whole story climax – crumbles. Fortunately, the 1984 version retains references to Skipper’s sexuality and the possible gay affair between him and The Brick. This version retains the power of the play’s statements about guilt, shame, lies and lies.
On the other hand, Lange and Jones both give oddly wooden performances, and the cinematography is sultry and claustrophobic – we never feel like we’re watching a movie, as much as a camera on stage. Thank goodness the 84 version has all of Williams’ poetic dialogue, as well as a wonderful performance by Kim Stanley, which looks like it came out of a different (and much better) movie.
We realize this all sounds like a far-fetched, self-defeating recommendation. This brings us back to our central thesis: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is one of the greatest works of American drama, but there isn’t a movie version yet that captures all of that power. Director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) is said to have planned a new adaptation of the play with an all-black cast. Hopefully he’ll finally grab the ripe opportunity to make a really great version.
For now, however, we recommend the 1984 version as an adaptation to watch. While it has its obvious flaws, it also has a plot that makes sense and retains all of the homoerotic power of the original. It also hints at the really great movie that awaits behind the scenes.
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