The Night of the Iguana (VHS)

In this 1964 screen version of Tennessee Williams play, John Huston's masterful direction leads an all-star cast in some very dynamic performances, beginning with distinguished Richard Burton's intense role as the defrocked Episcopal clergyman-the Reverend T. Lawrence Shannon, the lovely and graceful Deborah Kerr as Hanna Jelkes, a wise, world-weary and extremely lonely middle-aged spinster, and the ravishing Ava Gardner in, arguably her finest performance as Maxine Faulk a recently-widowed woman, oversexed or unloved??? and yet vulnerable and somehow gentle all at the same time. The film also stars 1964 Academy Award nominee for best supporting actress- Grayson Hall (remember her from 'Dark Shadows'???), and the blonde, precociously sexy Sue Lyon as Charlotte, a cunning little vixen.
Tennessee Williams almost always set his plays in the Southern U.S., however in Night of the Iguana, he moves South Of the Border to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and the scenery is magnificent as are the performances all around. Burton, on the verge of a breakdown resulting in his being forced out of the clergy due to sex scandal with parishioner's wives, is now relegated to guiding bus tours in Mexico. He diverts the Baptist female college group of whom he is responsible to a lovely rustic inn, overlooking the cliffs of Puerto Vallarta, to avoid arrest in the main town, for yet another scandal involving a 16-year-old passenger. The Inn is operated by an old friend's recently widowed and quite sexy wife, played by Ava Gardner, with a North Carolina accent so thick, you could cut it with a knife (Ms. Gardner was a native North Carolinian in real life as well). Later on, Deborah Kerr wanders on the set with her elderly and ailing grandfather and the movie truly comes alive at that point because all 3 leads, Burton, Kerr and Gardner, generously take turns with some truly incredible ensemble acting, each in turn, reacting to one another's character's plight. There are some wounded people in this script, but Williams' brilliant writing allows his audience to see their strength and resourcefulness as well. The one, universal theme with which I came away from this film is that one should not judge one's fellow human beings by their lot in life, rather by the fruits of their efforts. I also concluded that we ALL must learn to live on a realistic, yet hopeful vision of a better way of life. I HIGHLY recommend this film. this is one of Hollywood's finest of all time. BUY THIS VIDEO OR DVD: YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED.