The Fugitive Kind
Directed by Sidney Lumet
Written by Tennessee Williams and Meade Roberts based on the play “Orpheus Descending”by Williams
1960/USA
Pennebaker Productions
First viewing/Netflix rental
[box] Carol Cutrere: Juking? Oh! Well, that’s when you get in a car, which is preferably open in any kind of weather. And then you drink a little bit and you drive a little bit, and then you stop and you dance a little bit with a jukebox. And then you drink a little bit more and you drive a little bit more, you stop and you dance a little bit more to another juke box! And then you stop dancing and you just drink and you drive. And then, you stop driving.[/box]
With this cast, there is a lot to like.
As the movie begins, Valentine “Snakeskin” Xavier (Marlon Brando) tells a New Orleans judge about the events leading up to his arrest. These start with hocking his beloved guitar. He then gets a job at a “party” which does not require his guitar playing prowess. Evidently, Val has worked many such “parties”. He has become disgusted with his life and ends up busting up the place. The judge lets him off on the condition that he leave town.
He arrives in a red-neck Mississippi town which is definitely not ready for him. A kindly soul (Maureen Stapleton) tells him of work that can be had at the local general store. The owner (Victory Jory) has just been released from hospital, probably never to recover, and his wife Lady (Anna Magnani) could use a hand.
Val goes to the store to ask for work and promptly meets up with Carol Cutrere (Joanne Woodward), a hard-drinking haunted soul who has also been instructed to stay out of town. She falls for Val in a big way. But Val, who gets his job, develops an emotional relationship with Lady that turns into a love affair. Lady’s husband may be down but he’s not out, paving the way for a spectacular climax.
The acting in this is wonderful and there is some beautiful poetic dialogue. It’s second-rate Williams, though. The themes all been better explored elsewhere.
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