If he had to hide his car-accident profile in 1957's Raintree County why isn't it in any way visible here in 1959? I noticed nothing approaching disfigurement in this movie.
shareClift had reconstructive surgery on his face between the filming of Raintree County and Suddenly Last Summer. The surgery was remarkable especially for the time. However parts of his face remained strangely immobile. Especially the right side of his face. His face definitely took on a different appearance compared to his pre-accident look: higher forehead, rounder jawline, heavier brow, more prominent nose.
shareMontys ravaged appearance had more to do with his self destruction after the accident than the actual accident. Yes his face changed but I have seen post accident pictures where he must have been laying off the pills and booze where he looks great.
shareI think he just had a scar on his jaw area.
shareHowever parts of his face remained strangely immobile.
---------------------------------
Definitely. I was just going to say the exact same thing. His face became much less expressive. What a shame.
[deleted]
I've seen a lot of his work and am always fixated on his face. He looks like he aged about ten years between '56 and '57. I might be wrong (perhaps the pills make him look more grizzled and aged, as someone below mentioned) but if you watch Raintree County his speech changes dramatically from films before '56.
I think his slight lisp and more guttural vocals is the the result of wearing dentures. After the car accident he had at least two of his front teeth smashed out and I can only assume a lot of other damage to his jaw or palette. By 1959 I think he had better prosthetics and overcame his injuries so it was less noticeable.