An alcoholic ex-football player drinks his days away, having failed to come to terms with his sexuality and his real feelings for his football buddy who died after an ambiguous accident. His wife is crucified by her desperation to make him desire her: but he resists the affections of his wife. His reunion with his father—who is dying of cancer—jogs a host of memories and revelations for both father and son.
Directed by Richard Brooks
dying and death
depression
individual
suicide
jealousy
husband wife relationship
southern usa
mississippi river
plantation
patriarch
based on play or musical
inheritance
sibling rivalry
brother against brother
cynical
alcoholic
dying father
family conflict
angry
father son conflict
southern gothic
anxious
daughter–in–law father–in–law relationship
star athlete
cotton plantation
mississippi
authoritarian
condescending
Rank
#8 in 1958·#1774 overall
Trailer
IMDB
N/A
Letterboxd
3.9 / 5
Where to Watch
Cast
Paul Newman
Brick
Elizabeth Taylor
Maggie
Burl Ives
Harvey 'Big Daddy' Pollitt
Judith Anderson
Big Momma
Jack Carson
Gooper
Madeleine Sherwood
Mae
Vaughn Taylor
Deacon Davis
Larry Gates
Dr. Baugh
Brian Corcoran
Boy
Robert 'Rusty' Stevens
Sonny Pollitt
Crew
Richard Brooks
Director
Richard Brooks
Screenplay
James Poe
Screenplay
William H. Daniels
Director of Photography
Lawrence Weingarten
Producer
William Tuttle
Makeup Artist
Tennessee Williams
Theatre Play
Dean Smith
Stunts
Helen Rose
Costume Design
Sydney Guilaroff
Hairstylist
Popular Reviews
314 reviews
Hendra Syahnanda
7.0★ · 04/03/26
I didn't expect a movie that centered on family dysfunction to make the word "Big Daddy" spoken voluminously feel this entrancing.
I didn't expect a movie that centered on family dysfunction to make the word "Big Daddy" spoken voluminously feel this entrancing.
1
carmen
7.0★ · 05/07/26
paul newman es bujarrilla y elizabeth taylor una arrastrada y un final sin ningún tipo de sentido
paul newman es bujarrilla y elizabeth taylor una arrastrada y un final sin ningún tipo de sentido
Kevin Pizano
9.0★ · 03/27/26
The Hays code will pay for its crimes (robbing us of a fully fleshed-out gay Paul Newman character)
The Hays code will pay for its crimes (robbing us of a fully fleshed-out gay Paul Newman character)
eva w
8.0★ · 03/01/26
brick gay as hell😭😭😭😭😭
brick gay as hell😭😭😭😭😭
kikidunst
my favorite parts are when elizabeth taylor yells at gooper and mae’s comically annoying and disgusting kids
everyone understandably talks about “big daddy” but i had never heard the words avarice and mendacity in my life until they were said 20 times each in one sentence here
my favorite parts are when elizabeth taylor yells at gooper and mae’s comically annoying and disgusting kids
everyone understandably talks about “big daddy” but i had never heard the words avarice and mendacity in my life until they were said 20 times each in one sentence here
