The Night of the Iguana

Director: John Huston John Huston

Overview

John Huston's adaptation of the Tennessee Williams play stars Richard Burton as the protagonist, Reverend T. Lawrence Shannon. An alcoholic, Shannon has been kicked out of his own church and is now working in Mexico as a bus tour guide. He takes a group of schoolteachers to a dilapidated hotel run by widowed Maxine Raulk (Ava Gardner), where they all are soon stranded. The youngest of the group, Charlotte Goodall (Sue Lyon), is attracted to Shannon, but Judith (Grayson Hall), the group's leader, is set against it. After catching Shannon and Charlotte together, Judith threatens to report Shannon's behavior to his employers to have him fired. Soon Hannah (Deborah Kerr), an idealistic young artist, and her poet grandfather (Cyril Delvanti) arrive at the hotel while Hannah and bus driver Hank (James Ward) begin to grow closer. As with many of Williams' works, Night of the Iguana explores sexual desire and repression between various characters while not disregarding a sense of underlying humanity and compassion. Oscar-nominated screenwriter Anthony Veiller skillfully adapted this drama to the screen--his last credited project before his death in 1965.

Product Details

Release Date:	05/02/2006
UPC:	0012569677425
Original Release:	1964
Rating:	NR
Source:	Warner Home Video
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[B&W]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	1:57:00
Sales rank:	25,161

Special Features

Closed Caption;New featurette Night of the Iguana: Huston's Gamble; Vintage featurette On the Trail of the Iguana; Theatrical trailers; Languages: English & Français; Subtitles: English, Français & Español (feature film only)

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Richard Burton	Rev. Dr. T. Lawrence Shannon
Ava Gardner	Maxine Faulk
Deborah Kerr	Hannah Jelkes
Sue Lyon	Charlotte Goodall
James Ward	Hank Prosner
Grayson Hall	Judith Fellowes
Cyril Delevanti	Nonno
Mary Boylan	Miss Peebles
Gladys Hill	Miss Dexter
Billie Matticks	Miss Throxton
Emilio Fernandez	Barkeeper
Eloise Hardt	Teacher
Thelda Victor	Teacher
Betty Proctor	Teacher
Dorothy Vance	Teacher
Liz Rubey	Teacher
Bernice Starr	Teacher
Barbara Joyce	Teacher
Roberto Leyva	Pedro
C.G. Kim	Chang
Fidelmar Duran	Pepe
Benjamin Frankel	Composer

Technical Credits

John Huston

Anthony Veiller

John Huston	Director,Screenwriter
Anthony Veiller	Screenwriter
Ray Stark	Producer
Tennessee Williams	Playwright
Raymond Stark	Producer
Basil Fenton-Smith	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Tennessee Williams' morality play is well adapted to the screen in writer-director John Huston's 1964 film version. Typically of a Williams effort, there's more than enough intense melodrama and sexuality to go around. This was one of the final films in the spate of screen adaptations of his work, which began with 1951's A Streetcar Named Desire. Changing sexual mores and an increase in sexual frankness may have made Williams' once-scandalous themes seem downright old-fashioned, but Huston's film has survived the test of time better than some others. In the hands of a lesser director, the movie might have become an aberrant sexual farce. All of the actors play their roles straight, and the film mostly benefits from their performances. The sultry Ava Gardner comes across well, though her career would slide into oblivion as the 1960s progressed. As the drunk and defrocked priest lusted after by three very different women, Richard Burton tends to go over-the-top. There was reportedly a great deal of tension on the set among the leads, who were stuck on location in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.