Double Feature

Sweet Bird of Youth

Handsome Chance Wayne (Paul Newman) never found the Hollywood stardom he craved, but he’s always been a star with the ladies. Now, back in his sleepy, sweaty Gulf Coast hometown, he’s involved with two of them: a washed-up, drug-and-vodka-addled movie queen (Geraldine Page in her Oscar nominated role) and the girl he left behind and in trouble (Shirley Knight).

Newman, Page, Rip Torn and Madeleine Sherwood re-create their stage roles, and Ed Begley won the Oscar for his portrayal of the town’s corrupt political boss in a bravura film version of Tennessee Williams’ Broadway hit.

Sex. Money. Hypocrisy. Financial and emotional blackmail. Familiar elements of Williams’ literary realm combine powerfully as Chance battles his private demons in a desperate bid to redeem his wasted life and recapture his lost sweet bird of youth. (Warner Bros)

Summer and Smoke

From the towering genius of Tennessee Williams comes a story of passions lost and found. Academy Award-winner Geraldine Page stars as the spinster Alma. Laurence Harvey is Doctor John Buchanan, the handsome young man Alma has loved since childhood. But when a sultry vamp appears (Rita Moreno), the doctor falls hard, descending into a seamy nightlife and leaving Alma’s dreams behind like forgotten embers. Set against a steamy southern backdrop and the sweeping grandeur of Elmer Bernstein’s Oscar-nominated score, Summer and Smoke crackles with first-rate performances and the stirring power of Tennessee William’s words. (Paramount)