The Long Hot Summer
Tags: murder

Plot synopsis:
Ben Quick is on trial, suspected of barn-burning, but when no solid evidence is found, the judge expels him from town. Ben hitches a ride to Frenchman's Bend, Mississippi, with two young women in a convertible, Clara Varner and her sister-in-law Eula (Lee Remick). Clara's father, Will Varner, is the domineering owner of most of the town.
Ben goes to the Varner plantation. Will is away, but his only son, Jody, agrees to let Ben become a sharecropper on a vacant farm. When Will returns from a stay in the hospital, he is furious at Jody for hiring a notorious "barn burner," but soon begins to see in Ben a younger version of himself and comes to admire his ruthlessness and ambition, qualities that Jody lacks. Will is also disappointed with the man that his 23-year-old daughter, Clara, has been seeing for five or six years: Alan Stewart (Richard Anderson), a genteel Southern "blue blood" and a mama's boy.
Will therefore schemes to push his daughter and Ben together, to try to bring fresh, virile blood into the family. However, she is openly hostile to the crude, if magnetic, upstart. Will is determined to have his bloodline go on, so he offers to make Ben wealthy if he marries Clara. Meanwhile, Minnie Littlejohn (Angela Lansbury), Will's long-time mistress, is dissatisfied with their arrangement and wants to marry him.
Jody becomes increasingly frustrated, seeing his position in the family being undermined. After Ben sells some wild horses for Will, he is rewarded with the position of clerk in the general store, alongside Jody. Will even invites him to live in the family mansion.
This is the final straw for Jody. He pulls a gun on Ben and threatens to kill him. Ben talks his way out by telling Jody about buried Civil War-era treasure he has supposedly found on a property that Will gave him, a down payment to seal their bargain over Clara. Jody starts digging and finds a bag of coins. He is elated, thinking he might finally free himself of his father's domination; he buys the land from Ben. Late that night, Will finds his son, still digging. After examining one of the coins, Will notices that it was minted in 1910. Jody is shattered.
Ben aggressively pursues Clara. She finally asks Alan what his intentions are, and does not like what she hears. A defeated Jody finds his father alone in their barn. Jody bolts the entrance and sets the barn on fire, but he cannot go through with it and releases Will. The incident leads to a reconciliation between father and son. Men from town assume Ben is the culprit and start toward him, but Will claims he accidentally started the fire by dropping his cigar.
The smell of fire brings back bad memories for Ben, who confesses to Clara that his father was a real barn-burner. He tells her how, at age ten, he warned a farmer that his father was about to set another fire. Ben's father got away, never seen again. Ben tells her he is leaving town, but Clara makes it clear she has fallen in love with him. An elated Will confides to Minnie that life is so good, he may have to live forever.

Review: This is one of those movies that you watch again and again.
The movie opens with what is clearly a hot afternoon (no, i don't know how, but the cinematography is only one of the many things done right in this movie) that's about to slide into night.
We watch a man light a cigarette, pick up a can of something, walk over to a barn, poor it at the foundation, and light it.
The next thing we see is our lead, Ben Quick, walkin' along the road/through a field somewhere in rural U.S.A. This is a slow moving, slow telling, slow building story.
From Jason Robards in the role of Will Varner, old style boss of the town who owns everything, controls everything and designs all -- that is, except his children who are huge disappointments to him to Don Johnson as Ben Quick, the out of towner, drifter, and general trouble maker who decides that this just might be the place to settle down, to Judith Ivey as Miss Noel the "old maid" older sister who is educated, more than a little uptight and not-quite-engaged to a gentleman that is as flat and uninspiring as Alan Stewart can make him to William Russ as Jodi Varner, the son that never quite measured up to the overbearing father to Cybil Shepphard's Eula, the sex crazed, manipulative southern belle with a good heart for those who really can't keep up (the town "dim-with" for instance), the performances manage to exceed "stereotype" and become "archetype".
Ava Gardener (Minnie Littlejohn), Stephan Davies (Alan Stewart), and Albert Hall (Armistad Howlett) all add depth to this production in beautifully played character parts.
William Forsythe, as Isaac the town dim-wit, is a beautiful piece of casting.
One of the many unexpected bonuses is James Gammon in the role of Billy Quick, Ben's no-account, shiftless, bad news dad.That they're using William Faulkner's works as the basis for their scripts has, I suspect, a lot to do with that.
He can describe a moment in time like very few others and the director, Stuart Cooper, managed to capture Faulkner's ability to paint pictures with the camera.
You almost begin to sweat with the first shots of this movie the scenes are so beautifully shot.It's not long before you forget it's a movie and you start to think you're listening on the veranda as Don Johnson and Jason Robards meet, speak, plan and plot.
As you watch the interplay between William Russ and James Robards, between Don Johnson and William Russ, you feel like you're watching a great plantation house collapse under the weight of years of neglect.
Frenchman's House, a great old plantation home, is used as an excellent allegory for the condition of the Varner Family.But in all of this, lest you forget, it's really also, at it's heart, a love story.
It's apparent that he sparks to her long before Will Varner "buys him" as "stud for his daughter".
It's no surprise that in the end, Ben gets his girl and Jodi grows up -- how that is accomplished over the course of the 3 hours is what's worth the ride.Don as Ben is, by turns, deliciously mischievous, honest to the point of brutally blunt, mysterious, genteelly caring, willing to run roughshod over folks & their feelings, exceptionally tender and more.
Judith Ivey, whose work I'm not familiar with, makes a great opposing match for Don. She isn't the beauty or care-free soul that Shepphard's Eula is, but then that's part of the attraction for Ben. She's a puzzle, a nut to be cracked, a woman to be loved.
Don is strong & sexy & romantic & adventurous & dangerous and makes Ben Quick as Agent of Change very believable and very real.
This movie also has what is possibly one of the most intense & sizzling romantic love scenes I've seen anywhere.
It's about discovering what 2 adults can find in each other if they let themselves and it's got all the more impact for that.This movie is a joy to watch.
The only thing I can name as "getting in the way" of my total immersion was the unfortunate 80's almost-farrah-fawcett 'do they put on Miss Ivey.
If the worst you can say about a movie is that one of the women had a bad hair style, you're doing pretty well.It shows up on cable every now and then, but as it's still only on VHS, Netflix doesn't have it yet.
I thought the movie was great!.
I had only seen small parts of the original movie which I did not like.
I feel that all the cast members fit their parts except Judith Ivey.
Cybil Shepeard and Don Johnson stole the show with their performances.
It was brilliant, and Don Johnson played really well.
I though Don Johnson did a great job and I have always enjoyed Jason Robards acting.
The director and cast did a wonderful job in my opinion with this version bringing out southern life as it really exists and family feuds.
Cybil Sheppard did a very nice job portraying a young southern woman questioning her marriage then realizing what she could lose..
I liked this version better than the movie version with Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Lee Remick, Anthony Franciosa and Orson Welles.
Jason Robards version of Will Varner was more subtle than Welles in his facial expressions.
Excellent performances from the leads, and I was particularly impressed by William Russ' portrayal of Jody Varner.
Judith Ivey was excellent as the daughter of Will Varner that Ben Quick tries to seduce.
Cybill Shepherd was very good as Eula, using her beauty and sexuality to entice every man she can.
Just looking at her you are reminded that not one actress in Hollywood back in Gardner's time could hold a candle to her beauty.
In the closing scene of that movie, when she brings her fingers to her lips to gently blow a kiss toward the Cotton Blossom, I tear up every time.
Don Johnson made an excellent Ben Quick.
His lean, toned body is shown off several times throughout the movie in various levels of undress.
This is an excellent movie for Don Johnson fans.
Judith Ivey is lovely as she is allowed to wear her hair down instead of in a severe bun.
Jason Robards tries his best, but in spite of being an excellent actor, he doesn't have the bombastic spirit that made Orson Welles so right for the role.
(How about Germans speaking broken English in war movies?) I liked it better the second time I watched it, so try it twice if you are uncertain.
It's worth it; and watch the actors' faces throughout as they do their best with roles that were strongly created in the first movie..
I recently re-discovered this movie after not having seen it since the original airing on TV.
I was in my early 20s back in 1985, and thought like many other women that Don Johnson was the sexiest man alive (he was indisputably the most popular actor in America, on one of the most popular TV shows), so it's interesting to watch the movie 23 years removed and with a fresh perspective.
One of the first things that surprised me is that once you get past the sheer gorgeousness of the man (and he really was breathtaking - one of those rare few people for whom there were no bad camera angles), Don Johnson is in fact a very good and smart actor with quite a wide emotional range (for an excellent example, watch the scene where Noel and Ben are sharing the box lunch).
Another surprise was the depth of the love scene between Ben and Noel.
Anyone who ever adored Don Johnson knows that the man knew how to play a love scene like few others, and play it appropriately to the material.
I remember being disappointed in the love scene initially, but looking at it now as an adult, I see how young and silly I was.
That's due entirely to the abilities of both Don, who clearly understood exactly the effect of every look, gesture, touch and kiss in that scene, and the always wonderful Judith Ivey's portrayal of Noel as a capable, strong, and intelligent grown woman whose lukewarm kisses with the milquetoasty (gay?) Alan have in no way prepared her for Ben's confident and relentless heat.
The levels of fear, shock, desire and surrender that cross her face in those few short minutes are testament to her talent.So once you get past all the heat that Don Johnson generates (it does get to be amusing how frequently he was directed to take his shirt off, but funny in a GOOD way, if you know what I mean), all the other leads are very well cast and turn in great performances.
I agree that Jason Robards doesn't quite equal Orson Welles' over-the-topness in the original, but who would?
I thought Cybill Shepherd (also one of the most popular actors in America at the time) was a perfect choice for the restless, sexy, spoiled and eternally unsatisfied Eula, as was William Russ (who coincidentally starred in a very highly rated "Miami Vice" episode that same season) for the tortured and complex Jody Varner.The movie is not without flaws; you can see the plot coming a mile away, and the crowd scenes contain some laughably bad acting and dialogue.
The 1980s were sort of the "golden age" of the miniseries, and "The Long Hot Summer managed to be a worthy entry in a crowded field, an enjoyable slice of small-town Southern life, considerably improved by the megawatt star power of its cast..
It gets better each time I watch it.
I first saw this as the mini series in 1985; I have watched it three or four times since then, most recently tonight.
It is not consistently the greatest TV movie ever made, but the combination of Judith Ivey, Jason Robards and Don Johnson is wonderful.
Cybill Shepherd is somewhat wasted as Eula, and the part of Jody is a pretty difficult one, but William Russ is  perfect as the weaselly son of a powerful father.
I enjoy this more every time I watch it, the locations, the soundtrack, the love story between Noelle Varner (Ivey) and Ben Quick (Johnson) as two strong willed people, one running from his past, the other hoping for a future.
I saw this for the first time when I was about 11 years old.
Of course, I then had a crush on Don Johnson in "Miami Vice".
I am 32 years old now and am still swept away by this movie.
(plus my vcr recording is wearing thin!) I am not the romantic type, but this movie makes me feel like the romanticized fantasy of a hero of a man pursuing a woman.
First its a very sexy & charming remake of The Long Hot Summer'85.
As for the guys...don't get too serious about The Long Hot Summer.
'What's your name son?''Quick; Ben Quick.'The film is a hoary old hoot.
I watched this with my cousin when this first came on, we were both teenagers and only interested in this mini series because we liked Miami Vice and Moonlighting and for weeks we were reciting the bad lines in a southern drawl.Don Johnson plays the barn burner who drifts into a southern plantation town run tightly by a patriarch who is unhappy with his brood.
A weaselly son, an uptight daughter and a restless, sexy one played by Cybill Sheperd.
Jason Robards as the sly father who sees in Quick, a real man and in effect hires him as a stud to melt his uptight daughter.This is a teleplay with scheming, treachery, seduction and suspicion leading to melodramatics and passion, southern style.
Johnson displays an easy style mixed with angst and romantic heat.
Robards turns it up a notch or two to remind the audience that he is a two time Oscar winner.Yet the acting with its mish mash of southern accents does have an unintentional hilarious script as well as some dicey acting like many other 1980s mini series but yet it is all very entertaining..
Flawed it may be, but I love this version of the original film.
Don Johnson's casting and acting is effective, and it was pleasing to see him trying to extend his range.
I particularly like films which show an actor trying to break out of a previous genre or character mould e.g. Robin Williams in 'Dead Poet's Society' or Jim Carrey in 'The Truman Show'.
Jason Robard's recent death is saddening, especially when I look at this film and also his remake of 'Inherit the Wind'.
Johnson's role as the catalyst reveals a powerful portrait of an unlikely hero who wins against the odds.
Some might say they were stereotypical, but as a viewer from another country, with little knowledge of Faulkner's original stories, it provides satisfying and refreshing viewing..
Johnson & Shepherd are good but too many other mis-steps.
First of all, the Paul Newman version has been one of my absolute favorites for most of my life.
That said...For my money, only Don Johnson and Cybill Shepherd were right for their roles.
As Ben Quick, Johnson had many of the qualities that Paul Newman exhibited in the same role more than 20 years before.
And Cybill Shepherd was a worthy successor to Lee Remick.
However Jason Robards was horribly mis-cast as the overbearing and intimidating patriarch of this clan and Judith Ivey was simply too light for her role as the woman to whom Ben Quick was drawn.
The movie is a typical Long Hot Summer'80 remake.
The movie is a typical Long Hot Summer'80 remake.
Don Johnson and Jason Robards luckily carry the whole movie as thé main characters.
Don Johnson and Jason Robards luckily carry the whole movie as thé main characters.
DJ has a way with consuming & working the camera like Paul N.
DJ has a way with consuming & working the camera like Paul N.
OH well (even) for (not) DJ fans i garantee ITS A SIGHT FOR YOUR EYES!Perfect for a Long Hot Summer evening girls.
OH well (even) for (not) DJ fans i garantee ITS A SIGHT FOR YOUR EYES!Perfect for a Long Hot Summer evening girls.
I Liked It. I don't know why "Anonymous" from Atlanta hated the 1985 version so much.
I saw both the 1958 version and the 1985 version, and I thought both were good in their respective ways, although I admit that I liked the 1958 version better.
William Russ (Jody Varner) appeared with Don Johnson (Ben Quick) in Miami Vice, and James Gammon (Billy Quick) appeared with Johnson in Nash Bridges.
The casting choice that I liked least was Cybill Shepherd (Eula Varner).
She played the part well enough, but I'm just not a Cybill Shepherd fan.
That's probably why I thought this 1985 version with Johnson in the lead was fairly good.
He's a good enough actor that he gets the job done, and I wish I looked like him, that is, when he was still relatively young.
Anyway, I thought that the 1985 version of The Long Hot Summer was a lot better than what "Anonymous" from Atlanta indicated.
Saw this movie on the Romance channel.
Who would ever believe that Don Johnson's character would be interested in the character playing his supposed "love interest".
The acting was quite bad as well, complete with bad southern accents.
Cybil Shepard was dressed in 80's sunglasses and dresses while Don Johnson kept dressing up in 30's/40's clothes.
We kept wondering what time period the movie was set in.
The general store had ladies boots (and everything else) that looked like they were borrowed from the Little House on the Prarie set.
The thing I really don't get is, if it WAS set in the 80's, then why the hell didn't they use air conditioning?Stupid, stupid, waste of time and space piece of garbage.
After watching the original 1958 "The Long Hot Summer" with Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Lee Remick, Arson Wells, Angela Lansbury and Anthony Franciosa I would title this TV nonsense "The Long Cold Winter" Don Johnsson is no actor so do yourself a favor and watch the 1958 original to find out the superb performance by the cast, the fine directions by Martin Ritt, the beautiful Baton Rouge locations, the classic writing and off course the great soundtrack by Alex North.
Just watching the beautiful Lee Remick and Joanne Woodward is enough treat, and will make you don't want to look to another woman they're truly two American peach pies..
I felt that Judith Ivey and Jason Robards, Jr., especially, were unconvincing and Don Johnson's oily charm, or lack of it, made Paul Newman's turn as Ben Quick look like Olivier's finest hour.
Only Cybill Shepherd was given the chance to approximate Lee Remick's verve and sass as Eula Varner.
And why did they bother to say that Ava Gardner was a part of the cast?
She seems to be seen only in a few long shots, or did they edit out her few scenes to make room for all those advertisers?
Like this could have ever gotten any better than the original with Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Orson Welles, Lee Remick (who is smoking hot in the original) and Angela Lansbury.
Don Johnson.
I have not seen "Long Hot Summer." Yet I still feel I can base my opinion solely on the cast and other factors.
It seems like the producer got a bunch of box office names together, adapted works by William Faulkner for effect, made one film of three different works (I assume they are "Barn Burning", The Pony", and "The Hamlet")-I guess he couldn't afford three separate films-and called the whole thing by a Tennessee Williams play.
Those who may have enjoyed the film probably saw nothing wrong with Yul Brynner as Jason Compson.