Six Years YOUNGER!
Newman's mother is 6 years YOUNGER than him - and love interest Alexis is 10 years older than his mother! Oedipus runs amuk!
shareWhat difference does it make what the actual ages of the actors are? The important thing is how plausible are their appearances on the screen. I thought they were quite plausible. Paul Newman did not look like a 20-tear old college student (his youngest age in the film), and Babara Rush did not look like a girl of about 21 either (her youngest age). And the actress playing Paul's mother looked like a young middle aged mother. But so what? They were all plausible, and they all gave excellent performances.
Using older actors and actresses for various characters is done all the time. In this case, the excellence of the story and performances of the actors/actresses trumped any and all appreciable age differences. I noticed it, but it did not bother me at all.
May I ask- did it bother you and affect your enjoyment of the film?
To me - the way they LOOKED in the film clicked with the actual ages of the actors - thus it did seem to be weird casting - thus my post.
You had a different impression of the ages in the film it seems. I had another one. That's one of the reasons they still have horse races :-) Let's just leave it there.