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It tells 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 a weekend 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 about 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 his deceased friend or his feelings for him?
The play alludes to the presence of homosexuality in Southern society and examines the complicated rules of social conduct in this culture. It is not clear if Brick is homosexual but even if not, his childless marriage and his friend's suicide raise serious questions about his behavior.
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.
A 1958 film based on the play stars Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Burl Ives, Jack Carson , Judith Anderson and Madeleine Sherwood . The movie was adapted by Richard Brooks and James Poe , and directed by Brooks.
It was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Leading RoleThe Academy Award for Best Actor is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; nominations are made by Academy members who are actors and actresses. The winners are chosen b, (Paul Newman), Best Actress in a Leading RoleThe Academy Award for Best Actress is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; nominations are made by Academy members who are actors and actresses. The winners are chosen, (Elizabeth Taylor), Best Cinematography, ColorThe Academy Award for Best Cinematography is awarded each year to a cinematographer for his or her work in one particular motion picture. 1920s 1928 Sunrise 1929 White Shadows in the South Seas 1930s 1930 With Byrd at the South Pole 1931 Tabu: A Story of, Best DirectorThe Academy Award for Directing is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; the awards are voted on by other people within the industry. As is the customary practice in Wi, Best PictureThe Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; the awards are voted on by other people within the industry. As is the customary practice in and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another MediumThe Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. It is awarded each year to the writer of a screenplay adapted from another source (usually a novel or play). See also the A.
Tennessee Williams detested this bowdlerized adaptation and advised people not to see it. Bowing to the tenor of the times, the suggestion of Brick's homosexuality and the circumstances of Skipper's suicide were changed.
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