Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a 1958 American drama film directed by Richard Brooks[3][4] (who co-wrote the screenplay with James Poe) based on the 1955 Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name by Tennessee Williams.

Well-received by both critics and audiences, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof was MGM's most successful release of 1958, and became the third highest-grossing film of that year.

Late one night, a drunken Brick Pollitt is on a track field trying to recapture his glory days of high school sports by leaping hurdles, reminiscing about his moments as a youthful athlete.

The next day, Brick and his wife Maggie ("the Cat") visit his family's plantation in the Mississippi Delta to celebrate Big Daddy's 65th birthday.

Depressed, Brick has spent the last few years drinking while resisting the affections of his wife, who shares with him her worries about the inheritance of Big Daddy's wealth.

Brick descends into the cellar, a labyrinth of antiques and family possessions, mostly bought by Big Mama, according to the decorative role typically reserved to a wealthy man's wife.

After Big Daddy tells Brick about his hobo father, a veteran of the Spanish-American War who, despite being a poor tramp, loved his young son and kept him with him always, the pair reaches a reconciliation of sorts.

The original stage production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof opened on Broadway on March 24, 1955, with Ives and Sherwood in the roles that they subsequently played in the film.

He saw the play and authorized the purchase of the film rights, intending for it to star Grace Kelly, be directed by Joshua Logan, and be produced by Sol Siegel.

He was an accomplished composer, having worked for Paul Whiteman, Benny Goodman, Rudy Vallee, and George Burns and Gracie Allen.

In 1950, he transferred to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Studios, where he became the general music director and composed the theme for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

The other songs on the soundtrack are by a variety of artists, including Andre Previn, Daniel Decatur Emmett and Ludwig van Beethoven.

Tennessee Williams was reportedly unhappy with the screenplay, which removed almost all homosexual themes and revised the third act section to include a lengthy scene of reconciliation between Brick and Big Daddy.

Williams so disliked the toned-down adaptation that he told people waiting in line to see the film, "This movie will set the industry back 50 years.

Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote that although "Mr. Williams' original stage play has been altered considerably, especially in offering explanation of why the son is as he is", he still found the film "a ferocious and fascinating show", and deemed Newman's performance "an ingratiating picture of a tortured and tested young man" and Taylor "terrific".

[4] Richard L. Coe of The Washington Post wrote, "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof has been transposed to the screen with almost astonishing skill...Paul Newman does his finest work in the rich role of Brick, catching that remarkable fact of film acting—the illusion of the first time.

John McCarten of The New Yorker wrote of the characters, "Although it is interesting for a while to listen to them letting off emotional steam, their caterwauling (boosted Lord knows how many decibels by stereophonic sound) eventually becomes severely monotonous."

Most of Williams's exhilarating dialogue has been left out or emasculated, and the screenplay fails to harmonise the revised characterisation of Brick with the author's original conception.

The film was successful with audiences, grossing more than $1 million over the Labor Day weekend, and was number-one at the US box-office for five consecutive weeks in September 1958,[20][21] before being knocked off the top spot by Damn Yankees.