Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
At a wealthy Mississippi plantation, a dying patriarch's birthday gathering forces his alcoholic son and estranged family to confront lies, desire, and inheritance.
Overview
A tense family drama unfolds as hidden truths emerge during a final gathering.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- brooding
- intense
- claustrophobic
- classic cinema night
- literary adaptation viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film as a powerful, intensely acted Tennessee Williams adaptation despite its censorship-driven changes and altered reconciliation-focused screenplay.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Big Daddy's terminal illness turns the Pollitt family's gathering into an emotionally charged confrontation.
Brick's relationship with Skipper and the screenplay's suppression of homosexual themes reflect Hays Code-era censorship.
Gooper, Mae, Maggie, Brick, and Big Daddy maneuver around the patriarch's illness and the family's future.
Most of the drama unfolds during an intense family gathering at the Pollitt plantation home, emphasizing dialogue and performance.
Films like Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and why
The Little Foxes
shared southern gothic family conflict, theatrical intensity, buried secrets, and corrosive inheritance politics
A Streetcar Named Desire
shared Tennessee williams adaptation, domestic repression, sexual subtext, and emotionally volatile marriage
The Celebration
shared claustrophobic family gathering, patriarchal authority, illness, and escalating revelations
Movie Details
- Director
- Richard Brooks
- Release Date
- 1958-08-29
- Runtime
- 108 min
- Rating
- 7.6 / 10 (869)
Cast
- Elizabeth Taylor
- Paul Newman
- Burl Ives
- Judith Anderson
- Jack Carson
- Madeleine Sherwood
- Vaughn Taylor
- Larry Gates
- Brian Corcoran
- Zelda Cleaver
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- TCM
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Cat on a Hot Tin Roof about?
- At a wealthy Mississippi plantation, a dying patriarch's birthday gathering forces his alcoholic son and estranged family to confront lies, desire, and inheritance.
- What is Cat on a Hot Tin Roof like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Cat on a Hot Tin Roof violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof as mild.
- What did critics think of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof?
- Critics broadly praised the film as a powerful, intensely acted Tennessee Williams adaptation despite its censorship-driven changes and altered reconciliation-focused screenplay.
- Which films are like Cat on a Hot Tin Roof?
- Films with a similar feel include The Little Foxes, A Streetcar Named Desire, and The Celebration.
- How long is Cat on a Hot Tin Roof?
- Cat on a Hot Tin Roof runs 108 minutes.
- Where can I watch Cat on a Hot Tin Roof?
- In United States, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof streams on TCM.
