Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
This is an article about the play. For the movie adaptions, see Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (film)Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a
play by
Tennessee Williams. The play won the
Pulitzer Prize for Drama in
1955.
It is the story of a Southern family in crisis, focusing on the turbulent relationship of a wife and husband, Maggie "The Cat" and Brick Pollitt, and their interaction with Brick's family over the course of one evening gathering at the family estate in
Mississippi, ostensibly to celebrate the birthday of patriarch and tycoon "Big Daddy" Pollitt. Maggie, through wit and beauty, has escaped a childhood of desperate poverty to marry into the wealthy Pollitt family, but finds herself suffering in an unfulfilling marriage. Brick, an aging football hero, has neglected his wife and further infuriates her by ignoring his brother's attempts to gain control of the family fortune. Brick's indifference, and his nearly continuous drinking, date back to the recent suicide of his friend Skipper. Although Big Daddy has cancer and will not celebrate another birthday, his doctors and his family have conspired to keep this information from him and his wife. His relatives are in attendance and attempt to present themselves in the best possible light, hoping to receive the definitive share of Big Daddy's enormous wealth.
The central theme of the play is
mendacity, a word Brick uses to describe his disgust with the world. Moreover it revolves around the lies in the aging and decaying
Southern society. With one exception, the entire family lies to Big Daddy and Big Momma, as do the doctors. Big Daddy lies to his wife. Will Maggie be willing to lie to her father-in-law in order to gain his favor? Brick will not lie to his father, but is he lying about the nature of his relationship with or his feelings for his deceased friend?
The play alludes to the presence of homosexuality in Southern society and examines the complicated rules of social conduct in this culture. The
Hays Code required that the film could not be clear that Brick had sexual desire for his buddy, and thus toned down the original play's critique of
homophobia and
sexism.
Tennessee Williams himself was unclear about the nature of Brick's feelings for his friend Skipper while developing different versions of the play.
There are two versions of the play, one of which was influenced by director
Elia Kazan, who directed the play on
Broadway, and another which was performed for the first time in
London, England.
The big-screen version of the play was made in
1958 by
MGM, and starred
Paul Newman,
Elizabeth Taylor, and
Burl Ives reprising his stage role as Big Daddy. Although it was very discreet in referring to the supposed homosexual themes, and although it had a somewhat revised "third act", it was highly acclaimed and was nominated for several
Academy Awards, including
Best Picture.
Elizabeth Taylor and
Paul Newman both received
Oscar nominations for their performances, and most critics agreed that the the film provided both them and Burl Ives with their finest screen roles up to that time. Curiously,
Burl Ives was nominated for an
Oscar for
Best Supporting Actor that year, and won, but not for
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. He won it for his role in the
epic Western The Big Country, featuring an all-star cast. It is possible that
Cat may have been too controversial for the Academy voters - the film won no Oscars, and the Best Picture award went to
Gigi that year.
In
1976, a television version of
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof was produced, starring the then husband-and-wife team of
Natalie Wood and
Robert Wagner, and featuring
Laurence Olivier as Big Daddy. It was largely panned by the critics.
Another television version was produced in
1985, starring
Jessica Lange,
Tommy Lee Jones, and
Rip Torn. This version brought back all the sexual innuendoes that the 1958 film had muted.
What's that smell in this room? Didn't you notice it, Brick? Didn't you notice the powerful and obnoxious odor of mendacity in this room?*Maggie:
I'll win, alright.Brick:
Win what? What is the victory of a cat on a hot tin roof?
Maggie:
Just staying on it, I guess. As long as she can.I'm not living with you! We occupy the same cage, that's all.The only thing Brick can carry is a football and a highball.Maggie, you are ruinin' my liquor.
