Director
Richard Brooks
Leading Actors/Actresses
Paul Newman, Elizabeth Taylor
Supporting Actors/Actresses
Burl Ives, Jack Carson, Judith Anderson, Madeleine Sherwood
Genre
Drama
Language
English
Awards
Nominated for 6 Academy Awards: Best Actress in a Leading Role, Best Cinematography-Color, Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Director, Best Writing-Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium
Date of Release
1958
Producer
Lawrence Weingarten
Setting and Context
Pollitt Plantation Estate in Mississippi
Narrator and Point of View
POV is that of Brick
Tone and Mood
Dramatic and Serious
Protagonist and Antagonist
Protagonist is Brick. Antagonist is Maggie
Major Conflict
Maggie wants to inherit Big Daddy's wealth, but needs to have a baby in order to get the money but Brick wants nothing to do with her.
Climax
After Big Daddy's cancer diagnosis Maggie announces to everyone that she is pregnant. We are not told if this is true or not.
Foreshadowing
Brick breaking his leg foreshadows the pain that is to come.
Understatement
It is understated as to whether or not Maggie is actually pregnant, and it is understated that Brick is in love with his best friend, Skipper.
Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques
N/A
Allusions
The film is an allusion to the Old South clinging to its need to hold on to its power and influence.
Paradox
Gooper and his wife Mae want to be the ones to inherit Big Daddy's money, but paradoxically Gooper even admits that Maggie has life her at the end of the film which means he is seceding.
Parallelism
Mae's need to get the money from her father parallels Maggie's desire to as well get the money from her father-in-law, Big Daddy.
