45. Suddenly, Last Summer by Tennessee Williams

Category: 50 Books

45. Suddenly, Last Summer by Tennessee Williams

Yes, that’s right, I read a play. I can read plays. I don’t just read true crime schlock and hollywood biography trash.
It’s just that I prefer it.

I’ve probably seen this movie about 8 times. There was one summer when AMC showed the damn thing every morning for at least a month. And everytime it was on I just couldn’t seem to look away. I never thought it was a great movie, but there’s just something about it that makes it hard for me to watch something else. I guess it’s just so damn odd, the story I mean. So I thought I’d read the play to see if it would help me understand the movie better, or to see if it was more explicit than the movie.

It was not.

In fact, the movie follows the play pretty close except for the parts where Catharine is at St. Mary’s. The play takes place at the Venerable’s jungle garden. The movie takes place at the hospital and the jungle garden. One of the things that has always bothered me about the movie was Liz Taylor’s speaking parts. Especially when towards the end. when… all her… lines seemed to! be so broken! up! and… and… and stilted! with… the yelling!

Turns out, that’s the way it was written.

I think I liked the movie better. It made Mrs. Venerable seem even more evil than the play did. Kudos to Kate Hepburn.
She let’s me call her Kate.

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