SUDDENLY, LAST SUMMER (1959) 

• Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
• Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Katharine Hepburn, Montgomery Clift
• Film: 114mins | USA | Subtitles + Intermission
• Doors: 6pm | Intro + Film 6:30pm – 9:30pm [18+]

Cult film night BAR TRASH continues at Beer Merchants Tap with CELLULOID JAM!, an unofficial celebration of 50 years of THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975).

“THESE ARE POWERS AND PASSIONS WITHOUT PRECEDENT IN MOTION PICTURES!”

A surgeon is assigned the case of a young woman whose aunt wants her lobotomized to cover up a family secret.

Cannibalism is one of the least explored themes in THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, but who knows what constitutes a good meal on the planet of Transsexual in the galaxy of Transylvania? Adapted from Tennessee William’s 1958 one act play by fellow queer scribe, Gore Vidal, SUDDENLY, LAST SUMMER (1959) is a fantastically queer-coded mystery with a truly monstrous ending, Elizabeth Taylor approaching the absolute peak of her powers, and Katherine Hepburn grandiloquently descending in a gated lobby elevator that surely inspired Frank’s first appearance to the throbbing guitar stings of ‘Sweet Transvestite’?

This Southern Gothic melodrama also features troubled homosexual heartthrob Montgomery Clift who was battling alcoholism at the time of filming and purportedly struggled with shooting his long scenes. This resulted in director Joseph L. Mankiewicz making multiple appeals to producer Sam Spiegel to have Clift fired from the set. Katharine Hepburn found Mankiewicz’s conduct so unforgivable that as soon as he called the final “cut” of the film, she asked him to confirm that her services were no longer required, and when he did, she spat in his face.

The Hollywood Production Code prevented the on-screen representation of homosexuality, however, special dispensation was given by the Production Code Administration to depict the character of Sebastian Venable in this film (although we never actually see his face…), declaring: “Since the film illustrates the horrors of such a lifestyle, it can be considered moral in theme even though it deals with sexual perversion.” SUDDENLY, LAST SUMMER is a groundbreaking fever dream that was nominated for multiple Academy Awards. 

Polite notice: We are showing SUDDENLY, LAST SUMMER with subtitles from the best available digital source.

// Part of BAR TRASH: CELLULOID JAM, a fan-powered celebration of THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW. Hosted by queer film fanatic Token Homo (creator of BAR TRASH and QUEER HORROR NIGHTS), all films screen with an introduction, intermission, and subtitles/captions (where possible!). Tickets £6. Adults 18+ only. Follow @tokenhomo on Instagram for news and updates. //