Mason and Hayward as George and Martha.

Just watched this lame-ass movie on TCM, and barely made it through. This is another example of how a successful stage production can translate into a terrible movie along with The Impossible Years, Last of the Red-Hot Lovers or (gulp) A chorus Line. Whatever charm, wit or appeal they may have had on stage is completely lost here. In this case, bad directing and miscasting. As another poster mentioned, Mason and Hayward were hardly known for their comedic talents but watching them here kept bringing up the thought that had Taylor and Burton not been cast as George and Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? these two could have done quite well in those roles. Here, seeing them peck and claw at each other with zero chemistry is more like George and Martha, sad, sad, sad.


Better to be king for a night than schmuck for a lifetime.