sweet bird of youth movie review

Sweet Bird of Youth

Sweet Bird of Youth is a tamer and tidied but arresting version of Tennessee Williams' Broadway play. It's a glossy, engrossing hunk of motion picture entertainment, slickly produced by Berman.

By Variety Staff

Variety Staff

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Sweet Bird of Youth is a tamer and tidied but arresting version of Tennessee Williams’ Broadway play. It’s a glossy, engrossing hunk of motion picture entertainment, slickly produced by Berman.

In altering the playwright’s Dixie climax (castration of the hero) Brooks has slightly weakened the story by damaging character consistency and emotional momentum. But he has accomplished this revision as if winking his creative eye at the ‘in’ audience.

Four members of the original Broadway cast re-create their roles: Newman, Page, Torn and Sherwood. Newman brings thrust and vitality to the role, but has some overly-mannered moments that distract.

But this is Page’s picture. She draws the best, wittiest and most acid lines and the most colorful character and what she does with this parley is a lesson in the art of acting. Her portrayal of the fading actress seeking substitute reality in drink, sex and what have you to offer is a histrionic classic. Shirley Knight is sympathetic and attractive as the distraught daughter of a corrupt political boss, and Ed Begley is outstanding in a perceptive portrayal of the latter.

1962: Best Supp. Actor (Ed Begley).

Nominations: Best Actress (Geraldine Page), Supp. Actress (Shirley Knight)

• Production: M-G-M. Director Richard Brooks; Producer Pandro S. Berman; Screenplay Richard Brooks; Camera Milton Krasner; Editor Henry Berman; Music Harold Gelman (sup.); Art Director George W. Davis, Urie McCleary
• Crew: (Color) Widescreen. Available on VHS, DVD. Extract of a review from 1962. Running time: 120 MIN.
• With: Paul Newman Geraldine Page Shirley Knight Ed Begley Rip Torn Mildred Dunnock

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