Cat On A Hot Tin Roof (1976)

As a Mississippi family celebrates the birthday of Big Daddy (Laurence Olivier), a wealthy cotton tycoon, secrets and lies slowly give way to truth as the night wears on. At the core of this feuding dynasty is Big Daddy's alcoholic son (Robert Wagner) and his wife, Maggie the Cat (Natalie Wood). Directed by Robert Moore (MURDER BY DEATH), unlike the 1958 film, this is not an adaptation of Tennessee Williams' Pulitzer Prize winning play, it is the original text. Williams play which many consider his best (I'd give that honor to A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE) is an examination of how lives inundated by secrets and lies are destructive to a healthy and honest relationship(s). Director Moore does nicely by Williams play which is so perfectly constructed that it seems almost indestructible (though I'm sure there have been terrible productions of it). A lot of the play's effectiveness however is dependent on the performances. Wood's Maggie the Cat is uneven. Sometimes she just seems to be reciting lines, other times she nails it perfectly. Olivier seems miscast. Wagner is surprisingly good and Maureen Stapleton as Big Mama hits it every time. An uneven production to be sure but worth checking out. With Mary Peach as Mae and Jack Hedley as Gooper.