Acted with violent enthusiasm by Liz Taylor and Katharine Hepburn as the arch-rivals for the savagery poet, "Suddenly, Last Summer" is a steamy blend of venality and insanity, a truth and falsehood of a very high order
Her homosexual cousin used her as a procuress; her vindictive aunt demands that she be given a lobotomy: Liz is again the unappreciated beauty But she's also the abandoned innocent, a girl fighting to remember what happened to her cousin Sebastian Venable died suddenly, in North Africa, during the summer
Taylor's performance is like a melody, rising toward the end to an emotional crescendo of desperation and release And Taylor handles it expertly; she is ironical, self-deprecating, and self-aware For all that Catherine Holly starts out as a neurotic kid in the woods, she ends the film as a courageously woman set free by her confession
The film belongs to the women; even McCambridge, in her relatively small role, has a showier part than Clift's Clift is thoughtful, considering, and considerate Hepburn's performance is quite restrained Feeding insects to a carnivorous plant in a gesture that is a metaphor for the incestuous nature of the relationship with her son, Hepburn is all cool rationally and sweet reason Violet Venable is an expert at getting her own way and Hepburn makes her most outrageous actions seem those of a moderate and kind-hearted woman
Her homosexual cousin used her as a procuress; her vindictive aunt demands that she be given a lobotomy: Liz is again the unappreciated beauty But she's also the abandoned innocent, a girl fighting to remember what happened to her cousin Sebastian Venable died suddenly, in North Africa, during the summer
Taylor's performance is like a melody, rising toward the end to an emotional crescendo of desperation and release And Taylor handles it expertly; she is ironical, self-deprecating, and self-aware For all that Catherine Holly starts out as a neurotic kid in the woods, she ends the film as a courageously woman set free by her confession
The film belongs to the women; even McCambridge, in her relatively small role, has a showier part than Clift's Clift is thoughtful, considering, and considerate Hepburn's performance is quite restrained Feeding insects to a carnivorous plant in a gesture that is a metaphor for the incestuous nature of the relationship with her son, Hepburn is all cool rationally and sweet reason Violet Venable is an expert at getting her own way and Hepburn makes her most outrageous actions seem those of a moderate and kind-hearted woman