Suddenly, Last Summer

Suddenly, Last Summer (1959) is Joseph L. Mankiewicz's psychological drama you can watch online on iFILM. Elizabeth Taylor, Katharine Hepburn, and Montgomery Clift star in this adaptation of Tennessee Williams's one-act play, produced by Sam Spiegel.

Neurosurgeon Dr. Cukrowicz runs an underfunded clinic and needs a benefactor. Wealthy widow Violet Venable offers to fund the entire wing — on one condition. He must perform a lobotomy on her niece Catherine. Last summer, Catherine witnessed the death of Violet's son Sebastian in a coastal Mexican town. What she describes sounds like madness. Her aunt wants it buried. The doctor starts listening — and begins to wonder whether Catherine's version of events is far closer to the truth than anyone wants to admit.

Mankiewicz kept the film deliberately enclosed, almost theatrical. Hepburn had played Mrs. Venable on Broadway and brought that stage precision to the screen; Taylor earned an Academy Award nomination for Catherine. Watch Suddenly, Last Summer (1959) online on iFILM.