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Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Play trailer Poster for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof 1958 1h 48m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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97% Tomatometer 37 Reviews 92% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
After Brick Pollitt (Paul Newman) injures himself while drunkenly revisiting his high school sports-star days, he and his tempestuous wife, Maggie (Elizabeth Taylor), visit his family's Mississippi plantation for the 65th birthday of his hot-tempered father, Big Daddy (Burl Ives). Cantankerous even with declining health, Big Daddy demands to know why Brick and Maggie haven't yet given him a grandchild, unlike Brick's brother Gooper (Jack Carson) and his fecund wife, Mae (Madeleine Sherwood).
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Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

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Critics Consensus

Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor are at the height of their glamor and performing prowess in this feverish adaptation of Tennessee Williams' play, with a subtext of sexual repression providing an electric undercurrent.

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Critics Reviews

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Nell Minow Common Sense Media Dec 22, 2010
4/5
Classics-loving teens will appreciate family melodrama. Go to Full Review
TIME Magazine Oct 1, 2008
A formaldehyded tabby that sits static while layer after layer of its skin is peeled off, life after life of its nine lives unsentimentally destroyed. Go to Full Review
Variety Staff Variety Apr 8, 2008
An intense, important motion picture. Go to Full Review
Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Nov 6, 2025
3.5/4
Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman, here both gorgeous beyond measure, strike sparks as the sexually unfulfilled Maggie and her tortured husband Brick. Go to Full Review
Moira Walsh The Catholic World Aug 24, 2023
The success of Cat On a Hot Tin Roof more probably rests on the straight-forward grounds that it is a strong, well-acted drama and more especially that its theme... has a tragic pertinence for many contemporary audiences. Go to Full Review
Keith Garlington Keith & the Movies Aug 19, 2022
4.5/5
Brimming with Southern personality, big but fitting performances, and a script with a bite, “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” is as mesmerizing today as it was over 50 years ago. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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AC C @Mon_Alisa 4 days ago This is a movie you need to watch & sit with to appreciate else it comes off an emotionally draining look at a toxic family. The leads are impressive—it takes serious skill to convince us any man could be off put by Elizabeth Taylor throwing herself at him & Liz Taylor meanwhile dials up & takes her performance down to a whisper at the drop of a dime. For such an unlikable family, I was surprised to come away liking all of them (with the obvious exception of Mae). See more Robert P @Superbad Sep 7, 2026 Cat on a Hot Tin Roof = a *5* star Movie! See more Daniel M @MazzaQuePasa Mar 13, 2026 Just watched it for the first time and it was a pleasure going back to the golden era of Hollywood. The movie was slow and all dialog, but with characters were interesting and kept me invested. Newman and Taylor were polarizing to watch, you ca really tell that they were superstars back in the day. See more Keith B @Okbullard Jan 28, 2026 It started out pretty interesting but got long, tedious and boring for me. Paul Newman and Liz Taylor were both exceptional though. I'd never bother to watch it again. See more Ed . @RT01276001 Aug 29, 2025 Meow mix. Imperfect people eloquently conveyed by an American master, despite interference by production code enforcers of virtue. Big Burl's reminiscing of his hobo travels with his big daddy is poignant. Groveling Gooper, though transparent in his ham-fisted efforts to curry favor with Dying Daddy and magnify his inheritance at the expense of Baby Brick, is portrayed by Jack Carson with a fundamental decency. This movie taught me mendacity, literally, as well as acceptance of people with serious flaws. To those half=wits who rated this film a 1/2 star solely due to failing an historical litmus test: you're missing out on a fine work that elicits anger and heartbreak along with human goodness. If you trade in cattiness for some compassion, you will be better for it. See more Farah R @Farah Apr 13, 2025 Newman's acting overshadows Taylor's, and despite the interesting premise, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a boring watch. See more Read all reviews
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

My Rating

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Movie Info

Synopsis After Brick Pollitt (Paul Newman) injures himself while drunkenly revisiting his high school sports-star days, he and his tempestuous wife, Maggie (Elizabeth Taylor), visit his family's Mississippi plantation for the 65th birthday of his hot-tempered father, Big Daddy (Burl Ives). Cantankerous even with declining health, Big Daddy demands to know why Brick and Maggie haven't yet given him a grandchild, unlike Brick's brother Gooper (Jack Carson) and his fecund wife, Mae (Madeleine Sherwood).
Director
Richard Brooks
Producer
Lawrence Weingarten
Screenwriter
Richard Brooks, James Poe
Distributor
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co
Metro Goldwyn Mayer
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 18, 1958, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 25, 2014
Runtime
1h 48m
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