When Paul Newman agreed to play the role of Brick Pollitt, he was under the impression this movie would simply adapt the original script into a screenplay. When the screenplay deviated wildly from the stage text over Tennessee Williams's objections, Newman expressed his disappointment.
Despite being really affected by her husband Mike Todd's death, Elizabeth Taylor resumed her job in a very professional way, without any delay on the set. Everyone was astonished by her determination.
This movie was originally to be filmed in black-and-white, as was the standard practice with "artistic" movies in the 1950s. (Virtually all movie adaptations of the plays of Tennessee Williams had been in black-and-white up to that time.) However, once Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor were cast in the leads, writer and director Richard Brooks insisted on shooting in color, in deference to the public's well-known enthusiasm for Taylor's violet and Newman's strikingly blue eyes.
Burl Ives was only one year older than Jack Carson, who played his eldest son, and sixteen years older than Paul Newman, who played his youngest.
Tennessee Williams wrote the role of "Big Daddy" Pollitt with Burl Ives in mind. Prior to the original stage production, Ives was known primarily as a folk singer, and many within the theatre community questioned Williams' decision. Ives won rave reviews in the role on stage and screen, and went on to a long and prestigious acting career.
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