''Hot Spell'' is a 1958 American
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...
directed by
Daniel Mann
Daniel Chugerman (August 8, 1912 – November 21, 1991), known professionally as Daniel Mann, was an American stage, film and television director.
Originally trained as an actor by Sanford Meisner, between 1952 and 1987 he directed over 31 feat ...
, starring
Shirley Booth and
Anthony Quinn
Manuel Antonio Rodolfo Quinn Oaxaca (April 21, 1915 – June 3, 2001), known professionally as Anthony Quinn, was a Mexican-American actor. He was known for his portrayal of earthy, passionate characters "marked by a brutal and elemental v ...
, and released by
Paramount Pictures.
[
]
Plot
Alma Duval is a Louisiana housewife planning a 45th birthday celebration for her husband John Henry, known to all as Jack, who is carrying on with a much younger woman named Ruby behind her back. Her adult children try to tell her this but she refuses to face reality and denies their claims.
During the birthday dinner, Jack picks an argument with eldest son, Buddy, mocking him about his business ideas and daring him to show some backbone. No one touches the birthday cake Alma made. After the dinner breaks up, he takes teenaged son Billy out to play pool and drink beer, trying to demonstrate to him how a man ought to behave. Jack confides in Billy that he is not content with his life and makes Billy cry. Jack tells Billy to stop crying and to act like a man.
Later in the evening, Alma shares some of the cake with her neighbor, Fan, while Fan tries to convince her to take up smoking and casual drinking to impress Jack.
While her father dallies with Ruby, his 19-year-old mistress, Virginia Duval becomes lovers for the first time with boyfriend Wyatt, a medical student, who then says he cannot marry her because he needs to be with someone of greater position and wealth.
Throughout the movie, Alma has been holding onto a belief that if she can move the family back to New Paris where she and Jack started out, everything will be all right. But Jack refuses to return to New Paris after admitting he never truly loved her. Alma slaps Jack after discovering his affair. He decides to leave her and move to Florida, but while enroute Ruby forces him to drive the car too quickly. As it crashes into construction signs Jack yells Alma's name and he and Ruby are promptly killed in the crash.
Alma and her children return to New Paris to bury Jack and she realizes that people and places have changed and there is no happiness to be found there anymore. The family goes home, with Alma still denying reality by deciding to travel to Florida, stating it will bring her happiness as it is the "land of eternal sunshine".
Cast
* Shirley Booth as Alma Duval
*Anthony Quinn
Manuel Antonio Rodolfo Quinn Oaxaca (April 21, 1915 – June 3, 2001), known professionally as Anthony Quinn, was a Mexican-American actor. He was known for his portrayal of earthy, passionate characters "marked by a brutal and elemental v ...
as John Henry "Jack" Duval
* Shirley MacLaine as Virginia Duval
*Earl Holliman
Henry Earl Holliman (born September 11, 1928) is an American actor, animal-rights activist, and singer known for his many character roles in films, mostly Westerns and dramas, in the 1950s and 1960s. He won a Golden Globe Award for the film ' ...
as John Henry "Buddy" Duval Jr.
*Eileen Heckart
Anna Eileen Heckart ( Herbert; March 29, 1919 – December 31, 2001) was an American stage and screen actress whose career spanned nearly 60 years.
Early life
Heckart was born Anna Eileen Herbert in Columbus, Ohio. The daughter of Esther (), ...
as Alma's friend Fan
*Clint Kimbrough
Louis Lacy Clinton Kimbrough (March 8, 1933 – April 9, 1996) was an actor from the United States.
Early life
Kimbrough was born in Oklahoma City, to parents Fred and Lucinda (Yoakum) Kimbrough. After his birth, his family moved to Allen, Oklah ...
as Billy Duval
* Warren Albert Stevens as Virginia's boyfriend Wyatt
*Jody Lawrance
Jody Lawrance (born Nona Josephine Goddard; October 19, 1930 – July 10, 1986) was an American actress who starred in many Hollywood films during the 1950s through the early 1960s.
Biography
She was born October 19, 1930 as Nona Josephi ...
as Dora May
*Harlan Warde
Harlan Warde (born Harlan Ward Lufkin; November 6, 1917 – March 13, 1980) was a character actor active in television and movies.
Career
Warde showed up in supporting roles as detectives, doctors, and ministers. Warde made five guest appearan ...
as Harry
* Valerie Allen as Ruby
Production
The screenplay for ''Hot Spell'' was developed from an unproduced play by Lonnie Coleman
William Lawrence "Lonnie" Coleman (1920–1982) was an American novelist and playwright best known for writing the Beulah Land trilogy. He was born on August 2, 1920 in Bartow, Georgia. He attended grade and high schools in various cities in Geor ...
, ''Next of Kin'', purchased by producer Hal Wallis
Harold Brent Wallis (born Aaron Blum Wolowicz; October 19, 1898 – October 5, 1986) was an American film producer. He is best known for producing ''Casablanca'' (1942), ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1938), and '' True Grit'' (1969), along wi ...
in June 1956.[ Production occurred from January 23 to early March 1957, with filming in ]Pasadena
Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district.
...
and Chatsworth, California
Chatsworth is a suburban neighborhood in the City of Los Angeles, California, in the San Fernando Valley.
The area was home to Native Americans, some of whom left caves containing rock art. Chatsworth was explored and colonized by the Spanish b ...
.[
]
Release
''Hot Spell'' had its premiere in New Orleans on May 21, 1958, and went into wide release in June.[
]Bosley Crowther
Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...
of ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' gave it a moderately good review, singling out Booth, Quinn, and MacLaine for their portrayals.[
]
In pop culture
During the 2010 film ''Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, thr ...
'', Estelle and Edgar Paddington (played by MacLaine and Héctor Elizondo
Héctor Elizondo (born December 22, 1936) is an American character actor. He is known for playing Phillip Watters in the television series ''Chicago Hope'' (1994–2000) and Ed Alzate in the television series '' Last Man Standing'' (2011–2021) ...
) reunite at a showing of ''Hot Spell'' at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Hollywood Forever Cemetery is a full-service cemetery, funeral home, crematory, and cultural events center which regularly hosts community events such as live music and summer movie screenings. It is one of the oldest cemeteries in Los Angel ...
. Edgar points to MacLaine on the screen and tells Jason Morris (played by Topher Grace
Christopher John Grace ( ; born July 12, 1978) is an American actor. He is known for portraying Eric Forman in the Fox sitcom ''That '70s Show'', Eddie Brock / Venom in Sam Raimi's film ''Spider-Man 3'', Pete Monash in '' Win a Date with Tad H ...
), "that's my trifecta
file:Trifecta.svg, Trifecta
A trifecta is a parimutuel betting, parimutuel bet placed on a horse race in which the bettor must predict which horses will finish first, second, and third, in the exact order. Known as a trifecta in the US and Austra ...
".
See also
* List of American films of 1958
A list of American films released in 1958. The musical romantic comedy film '' Gigi'' won Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
A-B
C-F
G-K
L-R
S-Z
See also
* 1958 in the United States
References
External links
1958 filmsat the Inter ...
References
External links
*
{{Daniel Mann
1958 films
1958 drama films
Adultery in films
American black-and-white films
American drama films
American films based on plays
Films directed by Daniel Mann
Films produced by Hal B. Wallis
Films scored by Alex North
Films set in New Orleans
Films with screenplays by James Poe
Paramount Pictures films
1950s English-language films
1950s American films