The Long, Hot Summer

"The people of Faulkner...the language of Faulkner...the world of Faulkner!"

1958 1h 55m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 234

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Accused barn burner and conman Ben Quick arrives in a small Mississippi town and quickly ingratiates himself with its richest family, the Varners.

“The people of Faulkner...the language of Faulkner...the world of Faulkner!”

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Cast

Paul Newman
Ben Quick
Joanne Woodward
Clara Varner
Anthony Franciosa
Jody Varner
Orson Welles
Will Varner
Lee Remick
Eula Varner
Angela Lansbury
Minnie Littlejohn
Richard Anderson
Alan Stewart
Sarah Marshall
Agnes Stewart

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Martin Ritt
Writers: William Faulkner, Irving Ravetch, Harriet Frank Jr.
Languages: English, Spanish
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.6M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

68 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Martin Ritt, shot by Joseph LaShelle. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Alex North. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Louis R. Loeffler shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward and Anthony Franciosa carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The people of Faulkner...the language of Faulkner...the world of Faulkner!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Martin Ritt directs. Joseph LaShelle behind the camera. Alex North scores. Louis R. Loeffler cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.6M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
268 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.
4Directed by Martin Ritt, shot by Joseph LaShelle. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Alex North. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Louis R. Loeffler shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward and Anthony Franciosa carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "The people of Faulkner...the language of Faulkner...the world of Faulkner!".
9IMDB entry: tt0051878 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 23 themes, including "small town", "based on novel or book", "arranged marriage", "host family".
11Released under 11 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Joseph LaShelle
Original score: Alex North
Editing: Louis R. Loeffler
Costume design: Adele Palmer
Makeup / hair: Helen Turpin
Runtime: 115 min · 1h 55m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,600,000
Box office: $3,500,000
Return: 219% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Long, Hot Summer (1958)

Awards

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Martin Ritt

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-09-29
★ 7/10
This reminded me a little of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (1954) with Paul Newman playing the roguish "Quick" who arrives in a small town, dominated by the "Varner" family and quickly tries to ingratiate himself into their wealthy ways. They, indeed the whole town, are dominated by the patriarchal "Will" (Orson Welles) who seems determined that his daughter "Clara" (Joanne Woodward) will marry local dullard "Stewart" (Richard Anderson). She, on the other hand, takes an instant shine to the newcomer and when brother, and general loafer, "Jody" (Anthony Franciosa) starts to feel a little threatened by this man who is seemingly of much more interest to his father than he is, things start to become a little tense around the place - to say the least. It's a small point, but the audio from Welles isn't the best and sometimes its quite difficult to make out what he's saying, but as the family dynamic becomes more strained and the backstory fills in a tale of a group of people for whom it's really only money that has become the thing that matters now - we end up with a characterful study of avarice and ambition tempered with some dark humour and an increasingly engaging effort from Welles and a smouldering - if maybe a little too predictable - chemistry from Woodward and Newman. It can be a bit wordy at times, but Martin Ritt keeps the pace even and taut as these folks evolve before us. It's not as intense as it might be, but it's still an easy two hours looking at the less salubrious side of human nature.

Production companies