May 3 - Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), 108 minutes, directed by Richard Brooks, starring Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, and Burl Ives.
Tennessee Williams’ incendiary family drama Cat on a Hot Tin Roof was a Broadway sensation in 1955. Its homosexual subtext was diluted to appease Hollywood squeamishness, but the film version is explosive nonetheless. Neurotic southern families have rarely been this fun to watch. As sexually frustrated Maggie the Cat and her emotionally damaged husband, Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman are two of the most beautiful people to walk in front of a camera. Taylor had never been better, taking possession of her character and the screen with a commanding sensuality. And both are aided by a pitch-perfect ensemble including Burl Ives, Judith Anderson, Madeleine Sherwood, and Jack Carson.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof will be accompanied by an interview by Michael Fox with CinemaLit host and curator Matthew Kennedy, author of On Elizabeth Taylor: An Opinionated Guide.
May 2024 CinemaLit - Elizabeth Taylor: Actress and Superstar
Very few embodied the twentieth century invention of the movie star more than Elizabeth Taylor. From her breakthrough role in National Velvet in 1944 at age 12, to her death in 2011 at 79, she was the subject of public and media fascination like no one else. The great fuss made over her beauty, marriages, health crises, jet setting, dazzling jewels, and late life dedication to people with AIDS often eclipsed her very real talent and artistry as an actress. CinemaLit curator and host Matthew Kennedy’s new book, On Elizabeth Taylor: An Opinionated Guide from Oxford University Press, examines and appreciates her epic film career up close. In May, we will be screening four of her most consequential films, each capturing her extraordinary star charisma and powerhouse acting at different phases of her career: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), A Place in the Sun (1951), National Velvet (1944), and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966).
Acclaimed film critic and historian David Thomson (The New Biographical Dictionary of Film) will join us on May 10 as guest co-host for A Place in The Sun.
Matthew Kennedy, CinemaLit’s curator, has written biographies of Marie Dressler, Joan Blondell, and Edmund Goulding. His book Roadshow! The Fall of Film Musicals in the 1960s, was the basis of a film series on Turner Classic Movies. His most recent book, On Elizabeth Taylor: An Opinionated Guide, examines the screen legend's entire career.
“I don't have a favorite film,” Matthew says. "I find that my relationships to films, actors, genres, and directors change as I change over the years. Some don't hold up. Some look more profound, as though I've caught up with their artistry. I feel that way about Garbo, Cary Grant, director John Cassavetes, and others."
“Classic films have historical context, something only time can provide,” Matt observes. “They become these great cultural artifacts, so revealing of tastes, attitudes, and assumptions.”
Mechanics' Institute Members Free
Non-Members $10
Cafe opens at 5:30 pm with wine, beer, sparkling water, juice, and fresh-popped popcorn for sale.
Register with Eventbrite below.
Please note: Photos and/or video may be taken during this event.
CinemaLit Films
