Sweet Bird of Youth is a 1962 American drama film starring Paul Newman and Geraldine Page, with Shirley Knight, Madeleine Sherwood, Ed Begley, Rip Torn and Mildred Dunnock in support.

The ending was heavily altered from the explicit sexual mutilation scene depicted in the conclusion of the original stage version.

Cloud, Mississippi, a chauffeur and gigolo to a considerably older film star, Alexandra Del Lago.

Chance, once a waiter at the local country club, had gone to Hollywood to seek fame and fortune at the behest of St.

Cloud's most powerful and influential citizen, Tom "Boss" Finley, who had duped him into leaving town to pursue fame and fortune as a way of keeping him away from his beautiful daughter, Heavenly.

Just when Alexandra is at her most vulnerable, she learns from major syndicated gossip columnist Walter Winchell that her performance in her new movie is being raved as the best of her career, and the picture appears to be a certain success.

Repudiated by Alexandra, and obsessed with his fate, he stages a scene outside the Finley mansion, and is cornered there by Tom, Jr., and his gang of thugs.

Determined to ruin Chance's "meal ticket" once and for all, Tom, Jr., smashes his face in with the crook end of his father's cane.

"[9] According to Hank Moonjean, who was assistant director, a condition of Brooks' contract was that Tennessee Williams would have nothing to do with the screenplay.

However Williams did insist on a small role for actor Mike Stein, who Moonjean says was the original inspiration for the character of Chance (he played the police officer watching Heavenly).

Williams called Richard Brooks "a wonderful director except that at the end he cheats on the material, sweetens it up and makes it all hunky-dory.... [he] wrote a fabulous screenplay of Sweet Bird of Youth but he did the same fucking thing.

"[9] Hank Mojeen says an alternative ending was shot, at Long Beach, involving Geraldine Paige and Madeleine Sherwood, but was scrapped.

Another screen test was done, with a wig from Sydney Guilaroff, a gown from Orry Kelly and make up from William Tuttle.