Period of Adjustment

I was totally charmed by this film particularly by the performances of Jane Fonda and Lois Nettleton. Then I thought the style sounded familiar and I saw that it really was a Tennessee Williams play. It was not anything like his great dark masterpieces "Glass Menagerie", "Streetcar Named Desire" etc., and yet i saw a theme consistent with his other works. Although Williams' sexual orientation was famously opposite, he never ceased to explore the power of heterosexuality and its strength as the source of creation. Even in "Streetcar" it is apparent that Stanley Kowalski and Stella really love each other. In the play (but not the movie) they are eventually reconciled as the baby asserts it's presence. Submission to that strong urge is really the theme of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof". The performances are top notch. Tony Franciosa from my old Italian neighborhood of East Harlem was quite adept at playing Southerners as was my fellow Fordham University alumnus John MciIver. Serious issues are confronted and us poor males, trying to live up to the demands of machismo are shown sympathy by the truly admirable young women characters who reveal that love and understanding are what they truly expect.

... because it is just so doggone depressing! Only Williams can take Christmas Eve and turn it into a dysfunctional family fest that makes me want to throw myself out of a window, and definitely not have good will towards mankind! I didn't see the opening credits, so at the end it was no surprise who wrote the source material.

Jane Fonda and Jim Hutton play newlyweds Isabel and George Haverstick. And they apparently did not spend enough time together beforehand to see if they were compatible before hastily marrying. George is an inconsiderate jerk towards Isabel. Isabel is whiny and scolding. And each just ratchets up the unpleasantness in the other. They visit George's old Korean War army buddy, Ralph (Tony Franciosa), on Christmas Eve on their honeymoon. But in the meantime Ralph is having his own problems because he married his wife without love or physical attraction five years before, because of her father's money and position and him pushing the union, and she realizes this and has just left him.

So George seems more in love with Ralph and the idea of them running a dude ranch together than with this woman he just married, and the whole thing just turns into a shrill production. Humor is attempted with a bunch of drunken carolers who get more drunken with every house they visit, but by the end of the film they have just worn out their welcome. You can't convince me that there is going to be a happy ending for any of these people any more than you can convince me that there is deep snow in the deep south at Christmas, which in this film apparently there is.

I'd recommend it only for the players - Hutton, Fonda, and Franciosa, - who always turn in good performances like the troopers that they are.

A young Jane Fonda, plays an incredibly naive, but good hearted nurse in a military hospital, who meets a Korean war combat pilot and marries (Jim Hutton)with the belief that he is "recovering" from "nervous" condition caused by his combat service. Hutton's actual problem is that he is in denial that he is still a virgin.

The movie based on a Tennesse Williams play is set in a suburban home around Christmas time. Hutton and Fonda arrive unannounced on their still unconsummated honeymoon. Hutton is seeking answers to his marital situation from his old buddy (Anthony Frcanciosa) who is in the middle of a marital problems of his own making. It seems Franciosa's wife suspects that he was influenced to marry her because of her Father's business. A not too difficult assumption to make, since her Father had married her maternal grandmother for the same reason.

The incorrect assumption that Fonda is Franciosa's girl friend makes some funny scenes for an actress not known for comedy.

Jim Hutton is perfect in this role. On the surface he is the all American poster boy of the Air Force pilot. He brings out the serious side of this movie when he finally comes face to face with his own real problem. That being the combat between the sexes which requires a "period of adjustment" whether the relationship is casual,or a life long marriage.

This movie has great acting, its funny yet serious, and it has a plausible yet happy ending. Its B & W without any special effects, about sex, without sex scenes, and does not have a message, other than people do imperfect things because they are imperfect. Their actions are not caused by some failure of the government or their education.

This movie will stand the test of time, because it is about people living in their time, with their customs.

That's my message.

Nurse Isabel Crane (Jane Fonda) rushes to marry her patient, Korean War veteran George Haverstick (Jim Hutton). She's not happy that he had recently purchased a black hearse and they're driving away from their wedding in it. He quitted his job without telling her. His hands still shake from unknown afflictions. It's Christmas time. They're on their way to their Miami honeymoon but he's stopping in Tennessee to visit his war buddy Ralph Bates (Anthony Franciosa). Meanwhile, Ralph also his own problem within his marriage.

I don't know how this is a comedy. The music cues and the directions keep trying to drive it into the comedic arena. I don't see how this can be a comedy. Non of these people are appealing. There is too much anger for that. Their problems are serious. Their dysfunctions are terribly unfunny unless getting your young son burnt is hilarious to you. Getting yourself burnt can be lots of hilarity but this is not that. This seems to be a lot closer to Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. I would be interested in treating this Tennessee Williams play as a much darker drama.

I fell in love with this movie the first time I saw it on TCM. I've always liked Jane Fonda, she is great in this picture. Its well acted and filmed. Its a beautiful movie. I liked the realistic look of the film. In digital it looked brand new, it looked as if it was modern film shot in B&W. Basically its about a couple having marriage problems. Its mostly a one scene shoot with a lot of dialogue. I really enjoyed it, like all Tennessee Williams play adaptations. This is a great movie for repeat viewing.