Suddenly, Last Summer (film)

Suddenly, Last Summer
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Screenplay by	Gore Vidal Tennessee Williams
Based on	Suddenly, Last Summer 1958 play by Tennessee Williams
Produced by	Sam Spiegel
Starring	Elizabeth Taylor Montgomery Clift Katharine Hepburn
Cinematography	Jack Hildyard
Edited by	William Hornbeck Thomas Stanford
Music by	Buxton Orr Malcolm Arnold (Themes)
Color process	Black and white
Production companies	Horizon Pictures Academy Pictures Corporation Camp Films
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release dates	December 20, 1959 (1959-12-20) (Los Angeles)[1] January 1960 (1960-01) (United States)
Running time	114 minutes
Countries	United Kingdom United States
Language	English
Budget	$2.5 million[2]
Box office	$9 million (rentals)[2]

Suddenly, Last Summer is a 1959 Southern Gothic mystery film based on the 1958 play of the same name by Tennessee Williams. The film was shot in England, Spain and the Balearic Islands. It was directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and produced by Sam Spiegel from a screenplay by Gore Vidal and Williams with cinematography by Jack Hildyard and production design by Oliver Messel. The musical score was composed by Buxton Orr, using themes by Malcolm Arnold.

The plot centers on Catherine Holly, a young woman who, at the insistence of her wealthy aunt, is being evaluated by a psychiatric doctor to receive a lobotomy after witnessing the death of her cousin Sebastian Venable while traveling with him in the (fictional) island of Cabeza de Lobo the previous summer.

The film stars Katharine Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift with Albert Dekker, Mercedes McCambridge, and Gary Raymond.