Fifty Years of Film in 50 Weeks, #44: The Night of the Iguana, 1964

 "He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls."
Proverbs 25:28(KJV)
-from a sermon by the Rev. T. Lawrence Shannon in The Night of the Iguana

The Night of the Iguana, 1964

Director: John Huston
Writers: Anthony Veiller and John Huston from the play by Tennessee Williams
Cinematographer: Gabriel Figueroa
Music: Benjamin Frankel
Producer: Ray Stark for Seven Arts Productions, distributed by MGM
Starring: Richard Burton, Ava Gardner, Deborah Kerr, Sue Lyon, Skip Ward, Grayson Hall

Why I chose it
Life inserted itself with a vengeance over the past several weeks and my series went on hiatus. I needed to come back with a blockbuster, and this one fit the bill - a star-studded production with one of the centuries' best directors at the helm, based on a work by one of the centuries' most-celebrated playwrights. 

'No-spoiler' plot overview 
The Episcopal priest Rev. T. Lawrence Shannon (Burton) has a problem - he's been booted out of his congregation after a sex scandal and struggles to hold down his job as a tour guide employed to take a group of teachers from a Baptist college to see sights in Mexico. A combination of the temptations of a young seductress, Charlotte (Sue Lyon), and precarious mental health prompt him to take refuge at a remote inn in Puerta Vallarta with his unhappy tourists in tow. He's greeted warmly by earthy widow Maxine, who runs the inn. Shortly after, a prim but penniless single woman, Hannah Jelkes (Deborah Kerr), and her grandfather arrive looking for shelter. Over a single night, Maxine, Shannon, and Jelkes confront their life choices and bounce ideas off of one another. All three are changed by morning.

Charlotte (Sue Lyon in foreground) captures the attention of the Rev. 
Shannon (Burton) as her concerned chaperone Mrs. Fellowes (Grayson Hall) looks on.

Production Background

The production of The Night of the Iguana has entered the orbit of legend. First, without John Huston's decision to film in Puerta Vallarta, the remote town would most likely not have become the popular resort it is today. In fact, Huston, who favored on-location shoots, chose that location because of its remoteness, as the particular village was only accessible by boat. (Williams' play was set in Acapulco.) Williams himself apparently relished the opportunity to be an on-site advisor. Once the stars began arriving, the locals and the international press took notice. 

Of particular interest was Elizabeth Taylor, who accompanied her new boyfriend Burton to Mexico. The two stars were the talk of the universe after wrapping Cleopatra (1963), where their love story ignited. Ava Gardner was reported cavorting with local young men, similar to her character, Maxine. And Deborah Kerr was all too aware that her husband, writer Peter Viertel, was previously involved with Gardner. Yet by all accounts peace was maintained and everyone enjoyed the experience.

The film won one Oscar, for costume design (Dorothy Jeakins), but had been nominated for Best Supporting Actress (Grayson Hall), Best Cinematography, and Best Art Direction.

John Huston (back to camera) presents his cast
gold plated Derringer pistols on the set of 
The Night of the Iguana

Some other notable film-related events in 1964 (from Filmsite.org):

• The mockumentary A Hard Day's Night (1964), the first Beatles film, premiered. The behind-the-scenes lives of the Fab Four were highlighted as Beatlemania erupted worldwide. The Beatles had made their first live TV appearance in the US on "The Ed Sullivan Show" on February 9, 1964.
• To obtain film rights to the intellectual property My Fair Lady (1964), to be directed by George Cukor and starring Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison, Warners paid a record sum of $5.5 million in February 1962. (See Annie (1982) when the record was broken.)
• Ronald Reagan's last feature film appearance before his retiring from the screen was in director Don Siegel's post-noir crime thriller The Killers (1964) in which he played 'heavy' or bad-guy crime boss Jack Browning - the first time he had ever played a villain. Two years later, he would be elected governor of California.
• The first feature-length made-for-TV movie, an action film titled See How They Run (1964) and starring John Forsythe and Senta Berger, was broadcast on NBC-TV for its world premiere. It was the first broadcast of Project 120, an innovative deal between Universal and NBC.

My Random Observations

• Wow, were most of the characters in this annoying or just plain odd! The film opened with a flashback to the moment that the Rev. Shannon lost his congregation, by having a breakdown on the pulpit and yelling angry nonsense. His agitated state persists for most of the movie. His nemesis, Mrs. Fellowes (the aunt of young sexpot Charlotte) is close behind him in the hysterics department. The eccentric Miss Jelkes and her grandfather are on the other side of the spectrum, poised, relaxed, and calm, despite their precarious circumstances. 

  

  Rev. Shannon loses it in the pulpit.

  

  Bus tour passengers wonder where their guide
  is taking them.

• As I was watching this, I was getting distinct Mogambo vibes. That 1953 film shared so many elements with this one: an exotic setting (on safari in Kenya); a love triangle between a middle-aged man (Clark Gable), an earthy hostess (a very similar role for Ava Gardner), a prim newcomer (Grace Kelly), and life and career choices that must be made. Instead of iguanas, there were tigers in Mogambo. That story was based on the 1928 play Red Dust (also made into a movie) by Wilson Collison.

Maxine and Rev. Shannon negotiate the price of hospitality for his
tour group and the terms of their relationship.

Ava Gardner, Grace Kelly, and Clark Gable in Mogambo

• There were so many visually interesting shots, thanks to director Huston and his cinematographer Figueroa. When I began to lose interest in the story or the characters because of the absurdity of the plot, I was pulled back in by the visually interesting shot compositions and beautiful lighting. Huston had argued to film in black and white and it is stunning, but even he thought later that color would have enhanced the emotional experience.

Maxine cavorts on the beach with her Mexican companions.

Miss Jelkes shares her life philosophy with Rev. Shannon.

• Having been included in the title, the unnamed iguana only got a couple of brief scenes. I wanted more.

The iguana is not quite ready for its closeup.

Where to Watch
It's readily available on DVD and can be streamed for a small fee on most services.

Further Reading
While I haven't read the book, I listened to a fascinating interview with the author that convinced me that the book would be well worth reading: Johns, Howard: A Stolen Paradise, (The Making of The Night of the Iguana). For a deeper analysis of how the film adapted Williams' play, read this article.