Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)

Maggie (Elizabeth Taylor, great) has an issue. Her husband, Brick (Paul Newman), just broke his ankle trying to jump hurdles while drunk. He won't sleep with her anymore and, in the play at least, he could possibly be homosexual, though that isn't hinted at in the film because this is during the Hays Code and couldn't.
Yes, that is how the film starts out. But there is so much more. Brick's father, Big Daddy (Burl Ives) has cancer and is dying but this is kept hidden from him and his wife, but Brick is told along with his older brother, Goober (Jack Carson). There is the huge issue of who will inheritance Big Daddy's vast estate? He was a self-made man, coming from nothing to having one of the biggest businesses and 28,000 acres of land. Brick could care less about the land and money, though it is of a concern to Maggie who grew up with an alcoholic father and hand-me-down clothes. She wants the security, but what she really wants is a child. It's embarrassing to her that they don't have one. Goober and his annoying Lady Macbeth wife, Mae (Madeleine Sherwood) have five brats and another on the way. The one daughter even screams at her aunt about not having a child. That is the same daughter who played with the ice cream without washing her hands. Gross. Mae also calls Maggie out when giving Big Daddy his present from Brick.
Goober is a lawyer and believes himself to be respectable because he has children and a job while Brick has neither and drinks his life away, but Brick is the favorite of both his parents. Big Daddy also especially hates Mae. Big Mama even asks Maggie if she is making him happy. Maggie says that works both ways. Apparently, the rocks in their marriage start in the bed as Big Mama points out so vividly. The most telling sign is when Maggie kisses Brick and he immediately wipes it off. This works well in the play, not so much in the film.
Finally, all is revealed, with Brick telling Big Daddy the truth while Mae and Goober try and get Big Mama (Judith Anderson) to sign away the land to them, but she refuses to do anything without Big Daddy's approval. Then, Maggie tells all that she is pregnant. This makes Big Daddy terribly happy, but it is a lie and though Brick hates liars, he helps her keep her secret. Maybe that will happen for real now. Brick actually seems willing now.
The performances in this film is what makes it worth watching. Both Taylor and Newman were Oscar-nominated as they deserved to be. However, the film has not aged all that well, and I mean, seriously, who wouldn't want to sleep with Elizabeth Taylor, she is absolutely beautiful. Still, it is interesting as the audience knows more than the characters which always leads to a good time. The kids are also great birth control. Grade: B+