The Long, Hot Summer
Encyclopedia
The Long, Hot Summer is a 1958 film directed by Martin Ritt
, starring Paul Newman
, Joanne Woodward
, Anthony Franciosa
, Lee Remick
, Angela Lansbury
and Orson Welles
. It is based on stories by William Faulkner
, primarily "The Hamlet
."
The film was entered into the 1958 Cannes Film Festival
, with Newman winning the award for Best Actor
.
) hitches a ride to Frenchman's Bend, Mississippi from two young women in a convertible, Clara Varner (Joanne Woodward
) and her sister-in-law Eula (Lee Remick
). Clara's father 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, lacking in his only son Jody (Anthony Franciosa
).
He is also disappointed with the choice of his daughter Clara, a schoolteacher. Clara's boyfriend Alan Stewart (Richard Anderson
), a genteel Southern "blue blood," 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 is (seemingly) unimpressed with the crude, if magnetic upstart. Ben at first is attracted by the wealth Will offers, but eventually comes to see something in Clara beyond that.
Meanwhile, Minnie Littlejohn (Angela Lansbury
), the widower Will's longtime mistress, is dissatisfied with her situation and wants to be married. The 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. Will hires Ben as a clerk in the general store
, then invites him 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. Ben talks his way out by telling 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. Later finding his father alone in their barn, Jody bolts the entrance and sets the barn on fire. He cannot go through with it and lets Will out. The incident brings about a reconciliation.
Meanwhile, the fire causes trouble for Ben, as people have learned of his barn-burning
father. Townspeople assume he is the culprit and start toward him with a rope for a lynching
. Clara drives up and rescues him. Will later claims responsibility for accidentally starting the fire.
The smell of fire brings 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. Thankful that she saved his life, he volunteers to leave town for good. Clara has other plans for him, much to her father's delight.
This was the first teaming of Newman and Woodward in film. They married after the completion of the movie and remained married until Newman's death.
, airing in 1965 and 1966, with Dan O'Herlihy
, Roy Thinnes
, Nancy Malone
, Lana Wood
, Ruth Roman
, and Edmond O'Brien
.
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.
Martin Ritt
Martin Ritt was an American director, actor, and playwright who worked in both film and theater. He was born in New York City.-Early career and influences:...
, starring Paul Newman
Paul Newman
Paul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...
, Joanne Woodward
Joanne Woodward
Joanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward is an American actress, television and theatrical producer, and widow of Paul Newman...
, Anthony Franciosa
Anthony Franciosa
Anthony Franciosa was an American actor, usually billed as Tony Franciosa during the height of his career.-Early life:...
, Lee Remick
Lee Remick
Lee Ann Remick was an American film and television actress. Among her best-known films are Anatomy of a Murder , Days of Wine and Roses , and The Omen .-Early life:...
, Angela Lansbury
Angela Lansbury
Angela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...
and Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
. It is based on stories by William Faulkner
William Faulkner
William Cuthbert Faulkner was an American writer from Oxford, Mississippi. Faulkner worked in a variety of media; he wrote novels, short stories, a play, poetry, essays and screenplays during his career...
, primarily "The Hamlet
The Hamlet
The Hamlet is a novel by the American author William Faulkner, published in 1940, about the fictional Snopes family of Mississippi.-Plot introduction:...
."
The film was entered into the 1958 Cannes Film Festival
1958 Cannes Film Festival
-Jury:*Marcel Achard * Tomiko Asabuki *Bernard Buffet *Jean De Baroncelli *Helmut Käutner *Dudley Leslie *Madeleine Robinson *Ladislao Vajda *Charles Vidor...
, with Newman winning the award for Best Actor
Best Actor Award (Cannes Film Festival)
The Best Actor Award is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival. It is chosen by the jury from the 'official section' of movies at the festival. It was first awarded in 1946.- Award Winners :-External links:* * ....
.
Plot
Ben Quick (Paul NewmanPaul Newman
Paul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...
) hitches a ride to Frenchman's Bend, Mississippi from two young women in a convertible, Clara Varner (Joanne Woodward
Joanne Woodward
Joanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward is an American actress, television and theatrical producer, and widow of Paul Newman...
) and her sister-in-law Eula (Lee Remick
Lee Remick
Lee Ann Remick was an American film and television actress. Among her best-known films are Anatomy of a Murder , Days of Wine and Roses , and The Omen .-Early life:...
). Clara's father is Will Varner (Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
), 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, lacking in his only son Jody (Anthony Franciosa
Anthony Franciosa
Anthony Franciosa was an American actor, usually billed as Tony Franciosa during the height of his career.-Early life:...
).
He is also disappointed with the choice of his daughter Clara, a schoolteacher. Clara's boyfriend Alan Stewart (Richard Anderson
Richard Anderson
Richard Norman Anderson is an American actor in film and television, known to TV audiences as Steve Austin's and Jaime Sommers' boss, Oscar Goldman, in both The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman TV series and their three subsequent TV movies: The Return of the Six-Million-Dollar Man...
), a genteel Southern "blue blood," is a mama's boy
Mother's boy
Mother's boy, also mummy's boy or mama's boy, is a term for a man who is excessively attached to his mother at an age when men are expected to be independent...
, 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 is (seemingly) unimpressed with the crude, if magnetic upstart. Ben at first is attracted by the wealth Will offers, but eventually comes to see something in Clara beyond that.
Meanwhile, Minnie Littlejohn (Angela Lansbury
Angela Lansbury
Angela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...
), the widower Will's longtime mistress, is dissatisfied with her situation and wants to be married. The 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. Will hires Ben as a clerk in the general store
General store
A general store, general merchandise store, or village shop is a rural or small town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, sometimes in a small space, where people from the town and surrounding rural areas come to purchase all their general...
, then invites him 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. Ben talks his way out by telling Jody about buried Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
-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. Later finding his father alone in their barn, Jody bolts the entrance and sets the barn on fire. He cannot go through with it and lets Will out. The incident brings about a reconciliation.
Meanwhile, the fire causes trouble for Ben, as people have learned of his barn-burning
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
father. Townspeople assume he is the culprit and start toward him with a rope for a lynching
Lynching
Lynching is an extrajudicial execution carried out by a mob, often by hanging, but also by burning at the stake or shooting, in order to punish an alleged transgressor, or to intimidate, control, or otherwise manipulate a population of people. It is related to other means of social control that...
. Clara drives up and rescues him. Will later claims responsibility for accidentally starting the fire.
The smell of fire brings 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. Thankful that she saved his life, he volunteers to leave town for good. Clara has other plans for him, much to her father's delight.
Cast
- Paul NewmanPaul NewmanPaul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...
as Ben Quick - Joanne WoodwardJoanne WoodwardJoanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward is an American actress, television and theatrical producer, and widow of Paul Newman...
as Clara Varner - Anthony FranciosaAnthony FranciosaAnthony Franciosa was an American actor, usually billed as Tony Franciosa during the height of his career.-Early life:...
as Jody Varner - Orson WellesOrson WellesGeorge Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
as Will Varner - Lee RemickLee RemickLee Ann Remick was an American film and television actress. Among her best-known films are Anatomy of a Murder , Days of Wine and Roses , and The Omen .-Early life:...
as Eula Varner - Angela LansburyAngela LansburyAngela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...
as Minnie Littlejohn - Richard AndersonRichard AndersonRichard Norman Anderson is an American actor in film and television, known to TV audiences as Steve Austin's and Jaime Sommers' boss, Oscar Goldman, in both The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman TV series and their three subsequent TV movies: The Return of the Six-Million-Dollar Man...
as Alan Stewart - Sarah MarshallSarah Marshall (British film actress)Sarah Marshall is a British stage, TV and film actress; the daughter of noted actors Herbert Marshall and Edna Best.She was nominated for the Tony Award in 1960 for her role in George Axelrod's play Goodbye, Charlie. During the 1960s, she appeared in several U.S...
as Agnes Stewart, Alan's sister and Clara's close friend - Mabel AlbertsonMabel AlbertsonMabel Albertson was an American actress.Albertson was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, the daughter of Russian-born Jewish immigrants Flora Craft and Leopold Albertson. Her brother was actor Jack Albertson...
as Mrs. Stewart - J. Pat O'MalleyJ. Pat O'MalleyJames Patrick O'Malley was an English singer and character actor, who appeared in many American films and television programs during the 1940s–1970s, using the stage name J. Pat O'Malley...
as Ratliff - Bill WalkerBill Walker-Australian rules football:* Bill A. Walker , former Essendon player* Bill J. Walker , former Fitzroy player* Bill J. V. Walker , former University player...
as Lucius, the Varners' head servant
This was the first teaming of Newman and Woodward in film. They married after the completion of the movie and remained married until Newman's death.
Production
It was filmed on location in Louisiana, though set in Mississippi. The film differs from Faulkner's story by removing the Snopes family as characters.Remakes
It was remade as a 26-part television series of the same nameThe Long Hot Summer (TV series)
The Long, Hot Summer is an American drama series that was broadcast on ABC-TV for one season from 1965-1966. Created by Dean Riesner, The Long, Hot Summer was based on the novel The Hamlet by William Faulkner, the short story "Barn Burning", and the 1958 film of the same name.-Synopsis:The series...
, airing in 1965 and 1966, with Dan O'Herlihy
Dan O'Herlihy
Daniel O'Herlihy was an Oscar nominated Irish film actor.-Early life:O'Herlihy was born in Wexford, Ireland in 1919. His family moved to Dublin at a young age...
, Roy Thinnes
Roy Thinnes
Roy Thinnes is an American television and film actor best known for his portrayal of lonely hero David Vincent in the ABC 1967-68 television series The Invaders. He also played Alfred Wentworth in the pilot episode of Law & Order...
, Nancy Malone
Nancy Malone
Nancy Malone is an American television actress, principally in guest roles from the 1950s to 1970s, who moved into producing and directing in the 1980s and 1990s....
, Lana Wood
Lana Wood
Lana Wood is an American actress and producer. She was born to Russian émigré parents, Nikolai and Maria Zakharenko, and is the younger sister of the late actress Natalie Wood. Her first major role was at age 9 in the John Wayne western The Searchers. She was a regular on the soap opera Peyton Place...
, Ruth Roman
Ruth Roman
Ruth Roman was an American actress. One of her most memorable roles was in the Alfred Hitchcock 1951 thriller Strangers on a Train....
, and Edmond O'Brien
Edmond O'Brien
Edmond O'Brien was an American actor who is perhaps best remembered for his role in D.O.A. and his Oscar winning role in The Barefoot Contessa...
.
It was remade again for TV in 1985, with Jason Robards
Jason Robards
Jason Nelson Robards, Jr. was an American actor on stage, and in film and television, and a winner of the Tony Award , two Academy Awards and the Emmy Award...
, Don Johnson
Don Johnson
Donnie Wayne "Don" Johnson is an American actor known for his work in television and film. He played the lead role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s TV cop series, Miami Vice, which led him to huge success. He also played the lead role in the 1990s cop series, Nash Bridges...
, and Cybill Shepherd
Cybill Shepherd
Cybill Lynne Shepherd is an American actress, singer and former model. Her best known roles include starring as Jacy in The Last Picture Show, as Betsy in Taxi Driver, as Madeleine Spencer in Psych, as Maddie Hayes on Moonlighting, as Cybill Sheridan on Cybill, and as Phyllis Kroll on The L...
(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.