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from
Heavenly and leave town immediately, refuses to do both. Repudiated by Alexandra, and obsessed with his fate, he stages a scene outside the Finley mansion, and is cornered there by Tom, Jr., and his gang of thugs. Determined to ruin Chance's "meal ticket" once and for all, Tom, Jr., smashes his face in with the crook end of his father's cane. When Heavenly returns home and discovers Chance lying in a heap in their driveway, she defies her father and runs off together with Chance.
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town on the same ferry and see Chance on a garbage scow. According to Brooks MGM executives said "We’ll let you shoot it after we’ve had the preview, and, of course, they never did." Hank Mojeen says an alternative ending was shot, at Long Beach, involving
Geraldine Paige and Madeleine Sherwood, but was scrapped.
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The film was produced by
Roxbury Productions, a company established by Pandro Berman to make two films for MGM. Berman bought the film rights to the stage play a year and a half before it debuted on Broadway, for $ 400,000. (Richard Brooks, who wrote and directed, said the cost of the play rights was
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that her performance in her new movie is being raved as the best of her career, and the picture appears to be a certain success. Meanwhile, Finley's discarded mistress, Miss Lucy, exposes Finley's underhanded tactics to the government authorities. Chance, who has been repeatedly warned to stay away
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Desperate to have
Alexandra further his fantasy of becoming a star, Chance has become her lover. He goes so far as to blackmail her with a tape recording, on which she speaks openly of a dependence on drugs. Alexandra defies him, becoming irate at the realization that Chance's romantic interests in
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but she turned it down (which Garner later regretted). Paul Newman requested another screen test with Page and offered to appear in it with her; Berman says the issue was not Page's acting but with her looks. Anothe screen test was done, with a wig from Sydney
Guilaroff, a gown from Orry Kelly and
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Brooks says he wanted to shoot a different ending. He felt "no man waits to be castrated" so he wanted Chance "to do something more: to go and look for the trouble. But M.G.M. felt it was bad enough they were doing the picture. " He wanted Chance to be beaten up and for
Princess and Lucy to leave
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went through several drafts, with Brooks unsure how to film the play's controversial ending in which Chance is castrated by Finley's hoods. The castration was cut from the film and replaced by Finley's son clubbing Chance in the face with a cane, followed by Chance and
Heavenly escaping together.
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According to Hank
Moonjean, who was assistant director, a condition of Brooks' contract was that Tennessee Williams would have nothing to do with the screenplay. However Williams did insist on a small role for actor Mike Stein, who Moonjean says was the original inspiration for the character of
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Chance, once a waiter at the local country club, had gone to
Hollywood to seek fame and fortune at the behest of St. Cloud's most powerful and influential citizen, Tom "Boss" Finley, who had duped him into leaving town to pursue fame and fortune as a way of keeping him away from his beautiful
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Geraldine Page had played the lead female role on
Broadway but producer Pandro Berman was unsure about using her in a film, worried she was insufficiently glamorous to play a movie star. Page did a screen test with an MGM contract actor which was not well received. Berman offered the role to
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Handsome, young Chance Wayne returns to his hometown of St. Cloud, Mississippi, a chauffeur and gigolo to a considerably older film star, Alexandra Del Lago. Needy and feeling discouraged after completing filming of her latest film, she is considering retiring from the acting world.
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I didn’t want to do," he said. "While I thought it was a very good play, I felt that time had passed, that there were too many imitations of his work. So many of his pieces had been done and were even being brought back and were playing at the same time."
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323:(Shirley Knight). The film version was sanitized, although Chance was still gigolo for hire. The ending was heavily altered from the explicit sexual mutilation scene depicted in the conclusion of the original stage version.
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A political kingpin, Finley enjoys putting Heavenly on display as a model of purity and chastity. His ruthless son, Tom Jr., aids his father's ambitions in any way he can. He, too, is unhappy to have Chance back in town.
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Williams called Richard Brooks "a wonderful director except that at the end he cheats on the material, sweetens it up and makes it all hunky-dory.... wrote a fabulous screenplay of
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estimated the film earned $ 2.7 million in the US and Canada in rentals in 1962. Market analysts thought the film might have done better had it been released a few years earlier.
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Filming started 6 July 1961 and went until October. Brooks said "It’s a very harsh picture, and I didn’t see why the photography had to be as harsh as the content."
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but he did the same fucking thing. He had a happy end to it. He had Heavenly and Chance go on together, which is a contradiction to the meaning of the play."
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According to Brooks, the cost was $ 2.8 million including $ 600,000 for the play rights, $ 700,000 for the cast and $ 1.6 million for overhead.
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The film reunited Berman with Paul Newman, MGM, and Richard Brooks, who had previously made a very successful version of
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by Tennessee Williams, also for MGM. Brooks later said he only did the film because Paul Newman asked him to do it. "
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Just when Alexandra is at her most vulnerable, she learns from major syndicated gossip columnist
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478:$ 600,000 but there may have been an extra fee payable after the play had been on Broadway.)
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982:"Tragic play ending transformed into happier film version in "Sweet Bird of Youth""
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Paul Newman was paid $ 350,000 plus 10% of the profits to play the lead role.
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This article is about the 1962 theatrical film. For the 1989 TV film, see
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Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award-winning performance
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1055:, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study
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make up from William Tuttle. This test was successful and she was cast.
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Films featuring a Best Drama Actress Golden Globe-winning performance
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Backstory 2: Interviews with Screenwriters of the 1940's and 1950's
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Bring in the peacocks--, or, Memoirs of a Hollywood producer
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called it "a glossy hunk of motion picture entertainment."
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Chance (he played the police officer watching Heavenly).
575:'s top films of the decade, and held a score of 74% on
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Heavenly are more important to him than her own needs.
904:"Is movie maturity hurting Hollywood at box office?".
1085:"The 35th Academy Awards (1963) Nominees and Winners"
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Please note these are rentals and not gross figures
557:According to MGM records, the film lost $ 627,000.
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1140:"Winners & Nominees 1963 – Golden Globes"
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1504:Films based on works by Tennessee Williams
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579:based on a total of 19 surveyed critics.
1529:Films with screenplays by Richard Brooks
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734:Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture
708:Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama
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841:film review; February 28, 1962, page 6.
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497:The adaptation of the original play by
300:, the film was adapted and directed by
1115:"BAFTA Film – Foreign Actress in 1963"
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721:Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture
693:Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama
1002:Conversations with Tennessee Williams
858:film review; March 10, 1962, page 34.
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1095:from the original on 2 February 2018
249:$ 2,700,000 (North American rentals)
315:(Ed Begley), and was nominated for
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321:Best Actress in a Supporting Role
1509:Films directed by Richard Brooks
801:. 13 September 1961. p. 24.
751:Top Male Supporting Performance
1035:"Fun sex plays, 'sick' slowing"
313:Best Actor in a Supporting Role
21:Sweet Bird of Youth (1989 film)
1073:. 28 February 1962. p. 6.
1023:. 6 September 1961. p. 3.
908:. 1 April 1962. p. EL 11.
770:List of American films of 1962
317:Best Actress in a Leading Role
294:the 1959 play of the same name
1:
1499:American films based on plays
816:"Big Rental Pictures of 1962"
389:as Thomas "Tom" J. Finley Jr.
1544:1960s English-language films
1208:AFI Catalog of Feature Films
1041:. 8 August 1962. p. 11.
999:Williams, Tennessee (1986).
919:McGilligan, Patrick (1991).
893:. 13 March 1961. p. 13.
655:British Academy Film Awards
467:as Trailer Narrator (voice)
16:1962 film by Richard Brooks
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1534:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
1325:The Last Time I Saw Paris
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946:. Spring 1965. p. 8.
822:. 9 Jan 1963. p. 13.
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673:David di Donatello Awards
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571:The film also was one of
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197:March 21, 1962
1445:Looking for Mr. Goodbar
1053:The Eddie Mannix Ledger
964:Moonjean, Hank (2004).
640:Best Supporting Actress
1365:The Brothers Karamazov
583:Awards and nominations
1539:Southern Gothic films
1373:Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
1309:Take the High Ground!
1067:"Sweet Bird of Youth"
1017:"Newman's sweet deal"
887:"New York soundtrack"
625:Best Supporting Actor
483:Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
407:as Dr. George Scudder
371:as Alexandra Del Lago
319:(Geraldine Page) and
292:in support. Based on
40:original movie poster
1549:1960s American films
1524:Films set in Florida
1494:American drama films
678:Best Foreign Actress
660:Best Foreign Actress
532:who turned it down.
383:as Tom "Boss" Finley
336:daughter, Heavenly.
1389:Sweet Bird of Youth
1317:Flame and the Flesh
1226:Sweet Bird of Youth
1215:Sweet Bird of Youth
1202:Sweet Bird of Youth
1191:Sweet Bird of Youth
1180:Sweet Bird of Youth
1169:Sweet Bird of Youth
688:Golden Globe Awards
507:Sweet Bird of Youth
260:is a 1962 American
257:Sweet Bird of Youth
183:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
69:Sweet Bird of Youth
29:Sweet Bird of Youth
1357:Something of Value
1349:The Catered Affair
1263:Films directed by
1196:TCM Movie Database
970:. p. 144-152.
855:Harrison's Reports
499:Tennessee Williams
399:Madeleine Sherwood
377:as Heavenly Finley
298:Tennessee Williams
278:Madeleine Sherwood
130:Madeleine Sherwood
77:Tennessee Williams
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1405:The Professionals
1333:Blackboard Jungle
1293:Deadline – U.S.A.
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455:as Bennie Taubman
443:as Mayor Henricks
307:The film won the
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1489:1962 drama films
1421:The Happy Ending
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393:Mildred Dunnock
365:as Chance Wayne
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1005:. p. 275.
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241:$ 2.8 million
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698:Paul Newman
596:Nominee(s)
573:Roger Ebert
522:Ava Gardner
411:Corey Allen
363:Paul Newman
266:Paul Newman
217:120 minutes
100:Paul Newman
83:Produced by
46:Directed by
1484:1962 films
1478:Categories
1089:oscars.org
776:References
757:Nominated
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547:Box office
487:Sweet Bird
473:Production
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423:Dub Taylor
246:Box office
201:1962-03-21
166:Production
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1119:bafta.org
1099:23 August
875:317647354
630:Ed Begley
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413:as Scotty
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149:Edited by
115:Ed Begley
73:1959 play
1397:Lord Jim
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431:as Leroy
387:Rip Torn
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230:Language
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599:Result
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715:Won
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