Sweet Bird of Youth (1962)

Sweet Bird of Youth has the Tennessee Williams penchant for provocation and Southern depravity--although at this point, the bloom is somewhat off the hothouse flower. Paul Newman is a cad who dreams of glory; he's returned to his hometown towing a dissolute, over-the-hill Hollywood star (Geraldine Page re-creates her Broadway role), certain she'll be his meal ticket. He's ruined the only girl he really loved (day-dreamy Shirley Knight), who just happens to be the daughter of the town's boss (Ed Begley, in an Oscar^®-winning role). The play's more shocking elements have been euphemized, in the custom of the era's Williams movie adaptations. Director Richard Brooks handles it with intensity, and Rip Torn (who was married to Page) has some wicked moments, but the movie is bound to its theatrical roots and its inability to mention racism, syphilis, or castration. And that's Tennessee Williams without the hot sauce. --Robert Horton Amazon.com essential video

TENNESSEE WROTE THIS WITH TALLULAH BANKHEAD IN MIND...

THIS MOVIE, DISAPPOINTED TENNESSEE WILLIAMS, BECAUSE OF THE CHANGES MADE BY THE CENSORS. THE FILM DOES CONVEY THE ACTUAL PERSONALITY OF THIS POSSIBLY GREATEST OF ALL AMERICAN PLAYWRIGHTS. A REAL INSIGHT INTO THE INNER PSYCHE OF MR. WILLIAMS, OFTEN REFERRED TO AS A "POET OF THE EMOTIONS".

THE CHARACTER OF ALEXANDRA DE LAGO MIRRORED THE PERSONALITY OF MR. WILLIAMS, IN THAT HE HAD EXPERIENCED A BRILLIANT CAREER, AND WAS GETTING OLDER, AND SUFFERING MORE HEALTH PROBLEMS. THE CHANCE WAYNE CHARACTER PLAYED BY PAUL NEWMAN, ILLUSTRATES THE TYPE OF MAN MR. WILLIAMS WAS MOST EMOTIONALLY ATTRACTED TO IN LIFE. GERALDINE PAGE GIVES AN INTERESTING PERFORMANCE, BUT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A MUCH BETTER FILM, IF INDEED TALLULAH BANKHEAD COUD HAVE PLAYED THIS PART, ESPECIALLY WRITTEN FOR HER BY MR. WILLIAMS, AND ONE HE WANTED HER TO PLAY.

TALLULAH BANKHEAD TURNED THE PART DOWN BECAUSE SHE FELT IT WAS THE STORY OF ANOTHER DEGRADED SOUTHERN WOMAN. ED BEGLEY STEALS THE SHOW IN THIS FILM, AND DESERVEDLY WON AN OSCAR FOR HIS PERFORMANCE. August 15, 2008

Another Good Tennessee Williams Film Adaptation

Tennessee Williams' plays often adapt well to the cinema; "Sweet Bird of Youth" is no exception. Starring Geraldine Page as Alexandra Del Lago and Paul Newman as Chance Wayne in the role they created on Broadway, the film is chock full of what we expect from Mr. Williams: fragile beautiful women, handsome flawed men and a story fraught with more Southern gothicism than a lesser writer could have handled. Alexandra is a fading actress in the company of Wayne, her gigolo/driver, as they return to the Southern town that Wayne has left where his old girlfriend Heavenly's-- do you believe that name?-- father is the mayor. Even though the censors sacked the veneral disease and castration in the original Williams play and added a Hollywood happy ending, there are still enough kinks remaining to go around.

While all the actors give decent performances-- Ed Begley won a supporting actor Oscar for his portrayal as the mayor-- Geraldine Page is simply magnificent as the over-the-hill substance abusing actress. Newman plays well the role he has done over and over, the handsome brooding stud who cannot keep his shirt on.

If we ever doubted that the sweet bird of youth flies away quickly, we need look no further than the interviews with some of the actors included with the DVD. Shirley Knight who plays the peaches-and-cream beauty Heavenly had aged so much that I didn't recognize her at first.

Williams' cast of characters are as memorable and American as Willie Loman and the characters in "Our Town." We will still be watching his works years from now as they have long been American classics.
July 14, 2008

You haven't seen anything yet...

What performances, what a cast, what a movie! And what a play!

A truly sadistic interwoven story about "owners" and "owned" people, with a pinch of good old prejudice and bigotry in all the right places.

This is a long awaited DVD with as said, powerful performances throughout. The image is crisp, colors are vivid and the sound couldn't be more polished than this.

This is no action movie, but the story flows so smoothly that it will grip you nevertheless.

Highly recommended for all those who love a good transliteration of a master play into an explosive movie. June 21, 2008

What a treat!

Watching the young and electrifying Paul Newman and the mesmerizing Geraldine Page in this adaptation of the Tennessee Williams play is a real treat. It's a pity they had to change the ending of the original play (among other things) to be "safer" for Hollywood standards in the 60's. Still it's a great story and we keep wanting more and more and more of Newman and Page together.
The short documentary on the film is also nice, with Shirley Knight, Rip Torn and Madeleine Sherwood sharing memories from the film set.
The widescreen transfer is fine even if the image is not as clear as it should be. March 10, 2008

Sweet Bird of Youth

Dealing with faded looks and broken dreams, all of it stewing in a cauldron of ugly family conflict, "Bird" is as much about the cruel rotisserie of Hollywood fame as it is a dark observation of damaged relationships. Newman is virile and intense as loner-loser Chance, while Oscar-winner Begley and Torn each turn in solid performances as Knight's menacing, vengeful male kin. The other true star of the film is Page, a real-life fading beauty whose boozy, down-and-out Alexandra epitomizes the kind of exaggerated egomania Williams set out to skewer. Don't let this "Sweet Bird" fly away. June 28, 2007

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