henryhertzhobbit For those of you with sore heads who cannot figure it out let me see if I can help you. This movie is supposedly about a defrocked minister coming to terms with his values with a touring group of Baptists. So far so good but even as a teenager, like the Grinch, I puzzled until my puzzler was sore. Eventually I moved on with other things like getting a degree in Psychology along with my degrees in Mathematics and Computer Science.My degrees in Mathematics and Computer Science didn't help me understand this movie but with the one in Psychology I went from a state of puzzling to enlightment. I finally understood that one of the ladies was a flaming lesbian. The other one played by Deborah Kerr is what I call a pseudo-lesbian. Frequently they become more religious and don't even realize themselves what is happening. If they say something like "I hate the Vienna Choir Boys because they sound like a bunch of Screech Owls" or other statements like that they are revealing their hatred for men. So watch for the segments that reveal that and this movie will finally start to make sense. I will not take the fun away from you finding the episodes that reveal this for yourselves.After that, you will have to decide whether or not you like the movie. Personally I like it because it does such a good job of showing what a pseudo-lesbian is like. What do I do when I encounter pseudo-lesbians? I avoid them! But then I am male, not a female.

Antonius Block "Night of the Iguana" is based on the play by Tennessee Williams, so you know it's going to include darkness and push boundaries, and it does. Richard Burton plays a clergyman with a predilection for young women, and thus finds himself kicked out of his church and employed as a tour guide in Mexico. On a tour to Puerto Vallarta, it seems he has sex with an underage girl (Sue Lyon), and afterwards can't get rid of her. She continues to pursue him, much to the chagrin of her aunt and leader of the group (Grayson Hall). Burton finds himself in hot water again, and out of desperation takes control of the bus and the group to a different hotel, one now owned by the playful and bawdy widow of an old friend (Ava Gardner). There they meet an altruistic and spiritual painter (Deborah Kerr) and her elderly grandfather, a poet.Richard Burton's performance was a little hit-and-miss for me, at times being a bit hammy, but at other times really delivering. In any event he is certainly upstaged by Ava Gardner, who turns in a fantastic performance. She is smooth, natural, and authentic in this role. Sue Lyon is a little too wide-eyed and Deborah Kerr is a little too-pious for my taste, though those are the characters. And I have to say, the scene where Lyon cuts loose and dances around a beach bar is mesmerizing, and Kerr (the "spinster who is pushing forty") is compelling when she recounts her limited experiences with the opposite sex, and how she endures her urges and demons, things that have helped make her deeply empathetic to others.The film can be a bit heavy-handed in places, e.g. the comparison of Burton while trussed up in a hammock to Christ being crucified, but it's profound in others, e.g. the poem the old man comes up with (search for "How Calmly Does the Olive Branch"). It is edgy in places and refreshingly at the vanguard of the sexual liberation of the 60's, e.g. Ava Gardner's character making it clear that she enjoys sex with two young men (the scene on the beach, while nothing ultimately happens, still surprised me). It's retrograde in others, most notably stereotyping lesbians in Grayson Hall's character, whose sexuality the others make insulting comments about. All in all, while it had unevenness in the performances and script, there was a range of interesting emotions, some great moments, and it was entertaining.

HotToastyRag Alright, this movie was based off a Tennessee Williams play; you know what you're getting into, right? It's going to be set in the South, the weather's going to be hot, and sexual perversions will abound. Now that that's settled, let's get to The Night of the Iguana.Richard Burton plays an ex-priest, who was defrocked because he violated his celibacy vows. He lives in Mexico trying to waste away and forget his past. There's a busload of tourists from Texas (see, the South!) and underage bombshell Sue Lyon develops a crush on Richard. How can the middle-aged man resist Lolita? No, literally, Sue Lyon starred in Lolita two years before this movie.This isn't my favorite Tennessee Williams story, but the acting is really good. Ava Gardner, a little used and haggard looking, plays the hash-slinging hotel owner, Deborah Kerr plays a sensitive, kind soul. Both women try to help Richard face his demons, so you can only imagine the acting talents captured on the screen during the dramatic scenes! If you like dark, strange movies, you might actually like the story. But, most likely, you'll watch it for the acting.

classicsoncall If this film were made in the Thirties, it might have been one of those exploitation films delving into taboo subjects like repressed sexuality, homo eroticism and substance abuse. But by 1964, actors of considerable name recognition lent their services to this Tennessee Williams play and put it on the big screen. It's an odd name for a film, but the symbolism involved with the freeing of a creature at the end of it's rope does much to explain the characters of Rev. T. Lawrence Shannon (Richard Burton), hotel proprietress Maxine Faulk (Ava Gardner) and itinerant sketch artist Hannah Jelkes (Deborah Kerr). All three appear to be at the end of their rope in one way or another, the script deftly exploring their inner fears and motivations as they come together in the Mexican coastal village of Puerto Vallarta.The film brought to mind the oddest of connections for me, such as Maxine's reference to her 'beach boys' and the way she picked up on those 'vibrations' between Shannon and Hannah. So a couple of years later in 1966, The Beach Boys released 'Good Vibrations', written by Brian Wilson in response to his mother's explanation of dogs barking at people who give off bad vibrations. It would all be just a little too surreal to draw a connection between these two instances, but you know what they say about life imitating art.This is probably one of those movies one needs to watch more than once to pick up all the innuendo and nuance in the characters. A sit up and take notice moment for me was when Maxine offered the shrewish Judith Fellowes (Grayson Hall) some pot to mellow her out (see earlier comment). And didn't the choice of 'Happy Days are Here Again' strike anyone else as the last thing that would be on anyone's mind as the 'Tour of God's World' bus made it's way along the Mexican Coast with a band of female Baptist sight seers? With all that, the film is rich in dialog and the manner in which Hannah bares her soul to Shannon is truly heart rending. Definitely recommended for fans of character driven films.