Sweet Bird Of Youth

DVD Features:

Audio:

• Mono 1.0 French

Additional Release Material:

• Featurette - New Featurette Sweet Bird of Youth: Chasing Time
• Vintage Geraldine Page and Rip Torn Screen Test

Major Awards:

Academy Awards - Best Supporting Actor (1962)

Description by OLDIES.com:

Handsome Chance Wayne (Paul Newman) never found the Hollywood stardom he craved, but he's always been a star with the ladies. Now, back in his sleepy, sweaty Gulf Coast hometown, he's involved with two of them: a washed-up, drug-and-vodka-addled movie queen. And the girl he left behind...and in trouble.

Paul Newman, Best Actress Oscar nominee Geraldine Page, Rip Torn and Madeleine Sherwood recreate their stage roles and Ed Begley gives an Oscar-winning portrayal as the town's corrupt political boss in a bravura film version of Tennessee Williams' Broadway hit. Sex, money, hypocrisy, and financial and emotional blackmail are all familiar elements in Williams' literary realm and combine powerfully in Sweet Bird Of Youth as Chance battles his private demons in a desperate bid to redeem his wasted life and recapture his lost Sweet Bird Of Youth.

Product Description:

Paul Newman and Geraldine Page re-created their Broadway roles in Tennessee Williams's SWEET BIRD OF YOUTH for this stylish film adaptation. Newman stars as Chance Wayne, a Hollywood gigolo determined to become a star, who teams up with Alexandra Del Lago (Geraldine Page), a washed-up Hollywood actress, on his way back to his small-town home. The town clamors at the reappearance of the charismatic Chance, who claims to have found fame and fortune in Hollywood, while the mysterious Alexandra lies in a drunken stupor in their hotel room. Alexandra convinces Chance she can make him a star, so he protects her reputation while rediscovering his love for his hometown sweetheart, Heavenly (Shirley Knight), whose heart he broke when he disappeared to find fame. Chance's attempts to reignite his passion for the naive Heavenly deeply angers her vengeful father, the cruel town "boss" (Ed Begley) who will stop at nothing to see his daughter's lost innocence avenged. Williams's hard-hitting themes of betrayal, mob violence, and deceit are fully examined in this fine adaptation. Geraldine Page ignites the screen as she seductively manipulates Chance and languishes alone in her prisonlike hotel room, terrified of losing her star status.

Plot Synopsis:

Paul Newman and Geraldine Page star in this sizzling screen adaptation of Tennessee Williams's play. Chance Wayne, a Hollywood gigolo, returns home with his washed-up starlet girlfriend, pretending to have found fame. He gradually realizes that he still has feelings for the woman whose heart he broke when he left town--and that her father, a cold, sadistic political boss, has neither forgotten nor forgiven his betrayal.

Plot Keywords:

Deception | Drama | Racy | Romance | Theatrical Release

Production Notes:

• Geraldine Page, Paul Newman, Madeleine Sherwood, and Rip Torn all re-created their roles from the original Broadway production.

Cast and Crew: