Paul Newman as a drifter stud, Joanne Woodward as a 23-year-old spinster (!), and Orson Welles as a rich blow-hard are the main treats of this adaptation of two William Faulkner short stories concerning boyish troublemaker who arrives in small river-front town and immediately moves up the ladder to success (he ain't named Ben Quick for nothing!). Newman attempts to woo "old maid" Woodward while working for her wealthy father, who has the entire town under his thumb. Welles, looking like Jackie Gleason and enjoyably hamming it up, is a lot of fun, yet the most interesting relationship in the film is between Newman and Welles' son, Anthony Franciosa, who feels his position in the family is being usurped by an outsider (it is!). Some of the writing is unnecessarily flowery, particularly with Lee Remick in the beginning, but the characters do become stronger in the second act, although the plot never thickens beyond your standard radio play of the day. **1/2 from ****
Review of The Long, Hot Summer
