Monty @ 100: The absolutely bonkers "Suddenly, Last Summer"
Tuesday, October 13, 2020 at 7:30PM Team Experience is watching ever Montgomery Clift film for his Centennial
by Mark Brinkerhoff
Much has been written at The Film Experience about Tennessee William’s one-act play-turned-wild-ass movie (including again here, just last week), though with Elizabeth Taylor and Katherine Hepburn going head-to-head, how can you not? But generally un(der)discussed among the trio of stars of Joe Mankiewicz’s 1959 film, adapted by Gore Vidal of all writers, is the by-that-time uninsurable Montgomery Clift.
Reuniting onscreen for the third (and final) time with Taylor, his closest friend in real life (who, in fact, made it possible for him to appear alongside her by resolutely refusing to do the film otherwise), Clift gallantly cedes the floor to his co-star...
Clift spends a lot of time watching his co-stars monologue in Suddenly Last Summer
That there’s any floor at all is remarkable, considering the top-to-bottom scenery she, and most especially Hepburn, chew through over the course of 114 minutes. Yet a Southern gothic story like this, with scandalous thematic elements such as incest, homosexuality, coerced lobotomies, and cannibalism, calls for melodrama.
Clift’s doctor character—and visage—provides requisite grounding, an audience surrogate of sorts for the mayhem that is the twisted Venable clan.(Taylor plays Hepburn’s niece, her late son’s traveling companion and confidant, for those unfamiliar with the story. P.S. See it at once!)
“Life is a thief”
It’s hard to watch Clift in Suddenly Last Summer without thinking of “the accident,” that legendary episode from a couple of years before when Clift plowed his car into a telephone pole, moments after leaving a dinner party hosted by Taylor. To see Clift at the beginning of the ’50s in A Place in the Sun and then at the end, in this, can be a bit jarring. His beautiful, luminous face marred by the crash, and reconstructed in such a way that must’ve seemed medically unbelievable at the time, both appears off and remains a sight to behold.
But his subsequent addiction to alcohol and pills, no doubt in effort to quell the (literal and figurative) pain, also seemed to dull his screen presence and line delivery. Knowing that this stage of his career was referred to rather infamously, by his acting teacher no less, as the “longest suicide in Hollywood history” still hurts. The raw talent/natural ability that Clift had, my God, you couldn’t buy it.
The inescapable truth
That Suddenly Last Summer is the cinematic swan song for Clift and Taylor (together, onscreen) is as fitting as it is… kind of sad. Since accompanying him to the premier of The Heiress in 1949, Taylor had been a constant for Clift. And he, in turn, proudly stood by as her star ascended, then eclipsed his—from A Place in the Sun to Raintree County to this. Many say, with good reason, that Richard Burton was the love of Taylor’s life, but it’s easy to imagine (for me, anyway) that Clift was actually the most enduring love.
“I loved him deeply. He was my brother, my dearest friend.”— Elizabeth Taylor
Don’t we all, Liz. Don’t we all.
Reader Comments (21)
I like this film very much. I also thought Clift was lacking in line delivery, rather monotone, and looking un-well, poor guy, Taylor over-acts, but Hepburn is a gem, looking great, performing beautifully. For being cast as related, they have quite different body styles - Katharine, tall, athletic, lithe, statuesque to Elizabeth's petite voluptuousness.
From Patricia Bosworth's biography of Clift:
Throughout the filming of Suddenly Last Summer Monty was consistently late on
the set, and he had trouble remembering his lines. Katharine Hepburn became
concerned. “He used to have the most peculiar expression on his face. Whenever we'd
shoot a scene, big beads of sweat would pop out on his forehead.”
She became so worried about his health she took him with her to her country
place outside London on weekends and tried to convince him to get off liquor and pills.
“None of my arguments did any good. I thought he was weak. Simpatico but weak.”
His condition got so bad, director Joseph Mankiewicz threatened to cancel the
picture, but Elizabeth Taylor fought him on it. She was in a foul mood. The English
newspapers had been full of stories ridiculing her current marriage to Eddie Fisher.
If she was disappointed in Monty she never showed it. Instead she was unfailingly
loyal, affectionate, teasing. Producer Sam Spiegel wanted to get rid of him after seeing
some early rushes. Elizabeth snapped, “Over my dead body.” Monty stayed.
But Spiegel, who'd been extremely friendly before the picture started (they often
shared caviar) no longer would speak to Monty, and Mankiewicz, worried about going
over the budget, was short-tempered with Hepburn and baited Monty cruelly
whenever he was inaudible or had a memory lapse. He would often sit doing a
crossword puzzle while they struggled to rehearse a scene.
By the end of filming Hepburn was so furious at both men that as soon as she
completed her last take she spat—first in Mankiewicz’s face, then on the floor of Sam
Spiegel’s office.
She was incensed by their brutality, their lack of compassion for Monty.
(However, years later she told an interviewer, “I didn’t spit just for Monty Clift! I spit
at them for the way they treated me.”)
Monty, meanwhile, never appeared bothered by the verbal beatings he received
from both director and producer. The pills he was on relaxed his muscles, soothed his
nerves, and pushed back panic. “I'm fine,” he would mumbie, “fantastic.”
Between takes he would wander back to his portable dressing room which was
stocked with fresh shirts, orange juice, and books, and he would listen to his Ella
Fitzgerald tapes or answer his mail with Marge Stengel.
Mank did not seem like a great guy, no wonder Gary Oldman is playing him.
Oop LMAO that was another guy
but still, poor Monty
Even after Montgomery Clift drove into a telephone pole, he still performed better as 'SLS' doctor than Rob Lowe did in the mild '93 BBC remake.
Ooh, so true. LOL
Watched this film last night and realized I had actually seen it a few years ago due to my curiosity about Taylor’s nomination. Clift didn’t register to me at the time, and on this viewing I can see why. This was really the Taylor and Hepburn show with Clift providing ample support. I liked the film, and I really do wonder how scandalous this was back when with all those topics in one. However, Taylor ruled IMO while Hepburn created a memorable character but one I found too bizarre.
In this version of the material, Sebastian functions as a Monty surrogate—we never see Sebastian's face in the flashbacks, only a dark-haired man with a lanky frame like Clift's. The young, beautiful Monty died in the car crash, just as Sebastian perished "suddenly, last summer." Another martyr figure in the Clift oeuvre, quite literally a Saint Sebastian, albeit with a tarnished halo.
George P -- i agree. I think Liz is PERFECT in this movie. So many of her line readings are just etched into my brain and she seems legitimately haunted. It's my second favourite performance of hers but i'm basically a huge fan (I even love her performance in BUtterfield 8 which other people seem to object to)
Wonderful movie. One of the reasons, in addition to everything that has been said and written about It, is that the "most shocking" scenes are not explicit and the character of the story inside the story does not appear completely. The director rhymes poetry and savagery. If done at another time, the 1970s or 1980s, everything would be shown more and then part of the magic would be lost. Smart directors knew how to deal with restrictions imposed by the production code and even circumvent them when necessary. And we can see the producers exploring with pleasure and satisfaction Taylor’s transformation from child to teenager to finally an adult woman (and her scandalous love life), exposing her whole body in the posters. I think thanks to this film and the previous one - and not the tracheostomy - she put one of her hands with a diamond ring on the Oscar she would win for Butterfield 8. It was an one-two-three punch.
This was Hepburn's movie,so delicious and my 59 Best Actress winner.
What a waste of talent to cast Montgomery Clift in this role. Elizabeth has never been so good and appetizing as here. For those who think that beauty and talent don't match. I think she's very good in Butterfield 8 too - the movie is not as bad as it has become common to say. Not at all.
Vivien Leigh was originally cast as Mrs. Venable till ill health forced her to withdraw and brought Hepburn in as a replacement. I find it intriguing to imagine how the film would change with its original casting.
Best actress 1959 remains one of the best groups of nominees ever....minus one Doris Day, who was shockingly nominated for ''Pillow Talk," over Marilyn Monroe in "Some Like It Hot," Lee Remick in "Anatomy of a Murder," and Eva Marie Saint in "North By Northwest." The other 4 nominees were all superb, and while I love Taylor's and Hepburn's performances here, my vote would have gone to either Simone Signoret or more likely, Audrey Hepburn (her work in "The Nun's Story," seems mostly forgotten today but for me it remains luminous and a career best peak. And what a cast of ladies, too! Oscar favorites Hepburn, Evans, Ashcroft, Straight, Dunnock, Collinge, and never nominated Colleen Dewhurst....
His shrink role doesn't really require much of Monty since he's more of a reactor to the full blown theatrics of Liz and Kate. Considering his condition at the time that was probably for the best but he recedes whenever any of the women in the cast are on the screen, including Mercedes McCambridge. Even in what few moments of the film that he has to himself his impact is minimal. A pity but for him there was a few better showcases ahead.
joel6 -- it's true but i also am so glad he did this picture. It's yet another classic in his filmography. Despite all the tragedy for him personally the filmography is pretty damn impressive. Considering he only made 17 films the classic ratio is pretty strong.
An insane movie bolstered by Hepburn, who is fabulous. Liz is Liz, her commitment is undoubtable, but I don't find much to really love about her halting delivery in either of her 1950s Williams performances. Right type, right temperament, but the dialogue seems a bit beyond her frankly. There is a great deal of poetry in the lines and I don't think she has it. I always enjoy her and I do here but as a performance of the text it's not something I can really be enthusiastic about. Like her better here than Cat though.
Monty just kind of gets lost in the shuffle, although I guess his own issues do kind of come thru and adds another oddity to the proceedings and works in its way.
Nathaniel, I HATED Taylor in Butterfield 8 the first time I saw it but liked it so much more when I recently re-watched. I wouldn't have given her an Oscar but she used to be one of my least favorite wins and now she's quite a bit away from that (I'd give her something like 3/5 stars).
@ Peter
Totally agree, I think she's pretty awful in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof as well.
As a star, Taylor was the total package, but her (adult) acting left a lot to be desired. Her best work is in A Place in the Sun, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf and Giant. Hmm.
Working stiff, those are my favs as well! She would have certainly been on my ballot for Giant.
Just (re)watched Giant last night, and damn if Liz didn’t nail the progression of her character cross-country, over decades and through different eras. (James Dean, however, is clearly MVP.) Unlike, say, Jennifer Lawrence, she *can* believably play roles that are written for someone much older, and the results are, more often than not, something to behold.
@ Mareko
I think Taylor is MVP. Every time I watch the movie, I'm struck by how sorely in need of direction (and better makeup) Dean is as old Jett. It's just a mess.