MovieChat Forums > Long Day's Journey Into Night (1963) Discussion > Wait, She was Addicted to Morphine??? I ...

Wait, She was Addicted to Morphine??? I Couldn't Tell

posted 9 years ago by JaysonT
3 replies | jump to latest

I have watched this movie only once- it was an excruciating 3 hours. And never ONCE was it mentioned that Katharine Hepburn is addicted to morphine. All the dialogue suggests is she likes to take trips to "the drugstore", or she likes to "go upstairs to lie down." There was never one mention of her being on morphine. Perhaps this was a subjective opinion by the critics. She clearly isn't well and is on something, but morphine??

Also this was 1912. They actually prescribed morphine like that? In a needle? Seriously? I guess I was just lost. The whole movie is a bore- nothing makes sense, the dialogue is all over the place, and you never understand the three other men's roles because Hepburn is such a dominating force. It just seemed unaware and lost.

If you want to watch a black and white film dealing with addiction that actually IS focused, watch Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?(1966). That movie dealt with alcohol, sexual repression and psychological marriages.

[–] sc_taylor 9 years ago

You are an idiot

[–] sc_taylor 9 years ago

It is mentioned a number of times that she is addicted to morphine. When Edmund is playing cards with his father, for example.

[–] gribfritz2 8 years ago

A doctor gave her something for pain when she gave birth. She has a prescription filled for something that relieves pain. The phrase "dope fiend" is used at least three times and Jamie finally outright mentions that he found out his mother was addicted to MORPHINE the day he walked in on her with a hypo in her arm. I know it's a long film, but you must have fallen asleep or taken a good half dozen well-timed potty breaks to miss all of that.