The Fugitive Kind

"With a guitar and a snake skin jacket he drifted out of the rain...and into the lives of these two women..."

1960 2h 1m EN

👍

6.9

SOLID

🥫

56%

ROTTEN

⭐

IMDB

★6.9TMDB · 123🥫56%Rotten Tomatoes★7IMDB · 8,401

RomanceDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Val Xavier, a drifter of obscure origins, arrives at a small town and gets a job in a store run by Lady Torrence. Her husband, Jabe M. Torrance, is dying of cancer. Val is pursued by Carol Cutere, the enigmatic local tramp-of-good-family.

“With a guitar and a snake skin jacket he drifted out of the rain...and into the lives of these two women...”

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Cast

Marlon Brando
Valentine 'Snakeskin' Xavier
Anna Magnani
Lady Torrance
Joanne Woodward
Carol Cutrere
Victor Jory
Jabe Torrance
Maureen Stapleton
Vee Talbot
R.G. Armstrong
Sheriff Jordan Talbott
Emory Richardson
Uncle Pleasant, the Conjure Man
Madame Spivy
Ruby Lightfoot

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Sidney Lumet
Writers: Tennessee Williams, Meade Roberts
Languages: English
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 $2.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 91% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

66 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Sidney Lumet, shot by Boris Kaufman. 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 Kenyon Hopkins. 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 Carl Lerner 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

Marlon Brando and Anna Magnani and Joanne Woodward carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "With a guitar and a snake skin jacket he drifted out of the rain...and into the lives of these two women...".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Sidney Lumet directs. Boris Kaufman behind the camera. Kenyon Hopkins scores. Carl Lerner cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $2.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Earned back only 91% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
366 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Directed by Sidney Lumet, shot by Boris Kaufman. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Kenyon Hopkins. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Carl Lerner shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Marlon Brando and Anna Magnani and Joanne Woodward carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "With a guitar and a snake skin jacket he drifted out of the rain...and into the lives of these two women...".
9IMDB entry: tt0052832 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Boris Kaufman
Original score: Kenyon Hopkins
Editing: Carl Lerner
Costume design: Frank L. Thompson
Makeup / hair: Robert Jiras
Runtime: 121 min · 2h 1m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $2,300,000
Box office: $2,100,000
Return: 91% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Fugitive Kind (1960)
Rotten Tomatoes: 56% 🥫 Rotten
IMDB rating: 7/10 · 8,401 votes
MPAA: Approved

Awards

2 wins total

Also by

Sidney Lumet

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

jake982019-10-30
Val is a young "party gigalo" that is sick of his life after having to pawn his most prized possession. His guitar given him by the "great blues player "Lead Belly". The movies opening scene is showing Val in jail going before a judge that's just not pleased to see his type. After Val promises to leave town imeadietly the judge releases him. He drives until his car quits in a rainstorm. He pushes the car to a place with the only light on in town, it being really late in the night. A jail. There he's befriended by the local sherrif's wife.A woman who has been abused by her husband. He is not pleased to see " Val's kind" in his house/ jail. The nice wife introduces Val to the local general store owner. She offers him a job while her husband is in the hospital. Against Val's better judgement he takes the job. They fall in love and that's when the movie gets heated up. Don't miss this gem.One of Marlon's best. A Tennessee Williams story. Joanne Woodward is excellent as a easy going barfly/flirt.
r96sk2025-02-09
★ 6/10
<em>'The Fugitive Kind'</em> is just a bit too slow for me, I almost did enjoy it mind you. Marlon Brando and Anna Magnani are the stars and I did buy into their relationship by the conclusion; which, by the way, goes from 0 to 60 real quick! It is a solid ending though. What precedes just meanders a little too much, for my liking at least. There were periods where I was locked on to events onscreen, though the down moments were quite noticeable too, unfortunately, and when all is said and done the latter probably outweighs the former.

Production companies