1958 Cat On A Hot Tin Roof Original Release Lobby Cards with Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman 
 
 
Based on the play on the same name by Tennessee Williams; homosexual subtext 
Tennessee Williams was reportedly unhappy with the screenplay, which removed almost all of the homosexual themes and revised the third act section to 
include a lengthy scene of reconciliation between Brick and Big Daddy. Paul Newman, the film's star, had also stated his disappointment with the 
adaptation. The Hays Code limited Brick's portrayal of sexual desire for Skipper, and diminished the original play's critique of homophobia and sexism. 
Williams so disliked the toned-down film adaptation of his play that he told people waiting in line to see the movie, "This movie will set the industry back 
50 years. Go home!"
  
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_on_a_Hot_Tin_Roof_(1958_film)  
Late one night, a drunken Brick Pollitt (Paul Newman) is out trying to recapture his glory days of high school sports by leaping hurdles on a track field, 
dreaming about his moments as a youthful athlete. Unexpectedly, he falls and breaks his ankle, leaving him dependent on a crutch. Brick, along with his 
wife, Maggie "the Cat" (Elizabeth Taylor), are seen the next day visiting his family's estate in eastern Mississippi, there to celebrate Big Daddy's (Burl Ives) 
65th birthday. 
Depressed, Brick has spent the last few years drinking, while resisting the affections of his wife, who taunts him about the inheritance of Big Daddy's 
wealth. This has resulted in an obviously tempestuous marriage—there are speculations as to why Maggie does not yet have a child while Brick's brother 
Gooper (Jack Carson) and his wife Mae (Madeleine Sherwood) have five children. 
Big Daddy and Big Mama (Judith Anderson) arrive home from the hospital via their private airplane and are greeted by Gooper and his wife—and all their 
kids—along with Maggie. Annoyed by the rehearsed welcoming display his grandchildren put on for him, Big Daddy ignores them in favour of driving home 
with Maggie. The news is that Big Daddy is not dying from cancer. However, the doctor later meets privately with first Gooper and then Brick where he 
divulges that it is a deception. Big Daddy has inoperable cancer and will likely be dead within a year, and the truth is being kept from him. Brick later 
reveals the truth about Big Daddy's health to Maggie and she is heartbroken. Maggie wants Brick to take an interest in his father—for both selfish and 
unselfish reasons, but Brick stubbornly refuses. 
As the party winds down for the night, Big Daddy meets with Brick in his room and reveals that he is fed up with his alcoholic son's behavior, demanding to 
know why he is so stubborn. At one point Maggie joins them and reveals what happened a few years ago on the night Brick's best friend and football 
teammate Skipper committed suicide. Maggie was jealous of Skipper because he had more of Brick's time, and says that Skip was lost without Brick at his 
side. She decided to ruin their relationship "by any means necessary", intending to seduce Skipper and use this information to make her husband question 
Skipper's loyalty. However, Maggie ran away without completing the plan. Brick had blamed Maggie for Skipper's death, but actually blames himself for 
not helping Skipper when he repeatedly phoned Brick in a hysterical state. 
After an argument, Brick lets it slip that Big Daddy will die from cancer and that this birthday will be his last. Shaken, Big Daddy retreats to the basement. 
Meanwhile, Gooper, who is a lawyer, and his wife argue with Big Mama about the family's cotton business and Big Daddy's will. Brick descends into the 
basement, a labyrinth of antiques and family possessions hidden away. He and Big Daddy confront each other before a large cut-out of Brick in his glory 
days as an athlete, and ultimately reach a reconciliation of sorts. 
The rest of the family begins to crumble under pressure, with Big Mama stepping up as a strong figure. Maggie says that she would like to give Big Daddy 
her birthday present: the announcement of her being pregnant. After the jealous Mae calls Maggie a liar, Big Daddy and Brick defend her, even though 
Brick knows the statement is untrue and Big Daddy thinks the statement may be untrue. Maggie and Brick reconcile, and the two kiss, with the implication 
that they will possibly make Maggie's "lie" become "truth". 
   