The Long Hot Summer (1958) -
Unbelievably I had somehow forgotten how gorgeous Paul Newman was until I saw him stood there all sweaty in his dirty white vest and with those blue eyes twinkling in this film. Playing Ben Quick, the man just oozed sex and that's mostly what I've liked about his appearances, because he did tend to make rough and tough Americana stories, that have never really been my type of thing. Yet somehow his presence has always been a pleasure to watch. I'm almost tempted to buy a huge supply of his salad dressing just to show how much I love him.
I actually liked Orson Welles in his part of Will Varner too. He had never fully impressed me with 'Citizen Kane' (1941), 'The Third Man' (1949), or 'The Magnificent Ambersons' (1942), but I have started to see some of his worth as a result of this film and 'Touch Of Evil' (1958). Perhaps he got better with age, although his appearance in 'The Muppet Movie' (1979) didn't exactly scream Oscar worthy.
I was pretty sure that Alan (Richard Stewart) was playing a gay man, which would explain his issues at committing to a relationship with Joanne Woodward as Clara Varner and his Mother being his best friend, so it was fairly easy to see how that part of the story would go. I was actually surprised that they didn't all throw themselves at Ben including Alan.
The romance wasn't entirely obvious throughout, because of Ben and the ladies interactions, that suggested animosity in a lot of ways and Mr Quick's innocence regarding barn burning was never exactly verified either, but I thought that deliberate omission was clever.
Some of the language of the dialogue was charming and very witty too and overall the film and story did have something to it that I could enjoy.
It seemed to have the old fashioned values of 'Oklahoma!' (1955), but in a twentieth century setting, suggesting that the town of Frenchman's Bend in Mississippi was a tad behind the times.
I don't think that I could put this film as one of my 1001 Top Films, but I could appreciate that it had appealed to Stephen Schneider and why. I was glad that I watched it on his recommendation and would advise others to take the chance too.
639.09/1000.
Unbelievably I had somehow forgotten how gorgeous Paul Newman was until I saw him stood there all sweaty in his dirty white vest and with those blue eyes twinkling in this film. Playing Ben Quick, the man just oozed sex and that's mostly what I've liked about his appearances, because he did tend to make rough and tough Americana stories, that have never really been my type of thing. Yet somehow his presence has always been a pleasure to watch. I'm almost tempted to buy a huge supply of his salad dressing just to show how much I love him.
I actually liked Orson Welles in his part of Will Varner too. He had never fully impressed me with 'Citizen Kane' (1941), 'The Third Man' (1949), or 'The Magnificent Ambersons' (1942), but I have started to see some of his worth as a result of this film and 'Touch Of Evil' (1958). Perhaps he got better with age, although his appearance in 'The Muppet Movie' (1979) didn't exactly scream Oscar worthy.
I was pretty sure that Alan (Richard Stewart) was playing a gay man, which would explain his issues at committing to a relationship with Joanne Woodward as Clara Varner and his Mother being his best friend, so it was fairly easy to see how that part of the story would go. I was actually surprised that they didn't all throw themselves at Ben including Alan.
The romance wasn't entirely obvious throughout, because of Ben and the ladies interactions, that suggested animosity in a lot of ways and Mr Quick's innocence regarding barn burning was never exactly verified either, but I thought that deliberate omission was clever.
Some of the language of the dialogue was charming and very witty too and overall the film and story did have something to it that I could enjoy.
It seemed to have the old fashioned values of 'Oklahoma!' (1955), but in a twentieth century setting, suggesting that the town of Frenchman's Bend in Mississippi was a tad behind the times.
I don't think that I could put this film as one of my 1001 Top Films, but I could appreciate that it had appealed to Stephen Schneider and why. I was glad that I watched it on his recommendation and would advise others to take the chance too.
639.09/1000.