Suddenly, Last Summer

Variety by

It has some very effective moments, but on the whole it fails to move.

The New York Times by Bosley Crowther

Joseph L. Mankiewicz' direction is strained and sluggish, as is, indeed, the whole conceit of the drama. It should have been left to the off-Broadway stage.

Chicago Reader by Dave Kehr

The cast packs enough sexual ambiguity to satisfy the most rabid Williams fan (not to mention a screenplay by Gore Vidal), but Mankiewicz leaves much of the innuendo unexplored—thankfully, perhaps.

Empire by Kim Newman

Superbly adapted with blistering performances from Taylor and Hepburn.

Austin Chronicle by Marjorie Baumgarten

The battles between the imperious Hepburn and the presumed-mad Taylor are pure theatricality, while sensitive shrink Clift observes it all and emotes.

The New Yorker by Pauline Kael

They should never have allowed the audience so much time to think about what's going on: the short play turns into a ludicrous, lumbering horror movie.