I can't think of a single movie in which Ava Gardner's beauty was more evident than Night of the Iguana. With wet hair & what appeared to be very little makeup, She is absolutely ravishing. Her naturalness in this only enhances the effect. . .a very fine actress often overlooked, I think, because of the quality of the films in which she played.
Dale
This was the first movie I ever saw with Ava. I saw it for Richard and Sue, but when I saw Ava, I was nearly in tears. The ending even more so with how she acted and what she said. I have been womenless my whole life but everyday that I spend in pain I dont take myself out because I keep finding new women to rejuvenate my desires. Id rather stay in pain to the end of my life feeling the presence even on celluloid GOD even more so when I bump into one in public for real. I dont have much to offer in life, to a woman except respect and kindness. But is that is only a little of what they want. They want perfection in the body and materialism which I cant not offer. My standards are too high. I love pretty gorgeous faces with such femininity. I feel they only way love could work is in the face and a body that would be too much for me to handle ( obesity ) and believe me I feel rotten about it.
shareI just finished reading a lengthy biography of Ava. I had to go back and watch this movie again. It had always been a favorite but seeing it again made me realize even more how good she is as Maxine. The moment where she silently recites the last few lines of Nano's poem, the moment where she pushes away the beach boys, the moment where she looks for a Coke instead of a beer... so many. Had she been more cooperative with Hollywood she surely should have gotten an Oscar nod. You know, when I think of it I could see her as Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? What do you guys think?
shareI think she would have been brilliant as Martha, but it might have been too painful to see her so negative. As a 60 year old gay stroke survivor in a 35 year relationship, I consider Ava Gardner to be one of the most important reasons to watch Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, aside from it being hilarious to me. Her scenes are amazing. I just wish she had turned down Earthquake!
Dale
Hi - Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid? The Steve Martin movie? Haven't seen it. Do they use clips from Ava's movies in it? I know it's kind of a film noir spoof - clips from The Killers? I'll have to rent it.
shareYes, rent Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid! It's hysterical, and filled with all kinds of B&W greats, like "The Maltese Falcon", "The Postman Always Rings Twice", "Double Indemnity", "Casablanca" and so on. Martin is amazing and funny. Don't forget to have "a cup of his famous java"!
As far as Ava playing Martha: I like it! I'd never have thought of it, for she's so elegant, even as the bawdy Maxine. Even Kate Beckinsale couldn't get her down for "The Aviator", the way Blanchett got Hepburn.
I can't imagine anyone but Liz Taylor as Martha; she's so nasal and as Burton says, she "brays"! I also think that Taylor's time in Britain gave her the kind of accent that could be construed as "New England" (it was filmed at Smith College in MA). If Gardner could do that, she'd be great as Martha.
She deserves her revenge, and we deserve to die.
Ava was so scary beautiful that Elizabeth Taylor was on set wearing bikini bottoms & see-through tops all the day long to keep Richard Burton's eyes on her. Elizabeth was truly scared that Ava would seduce Richard from her. There is color footage of this available online of "the making of Night of the Iguana".
@nameismike1969 Namaste. May 2011 bring you hope & love.
"As a 60 year old gay stroke survivor in a 35 year relationship, I consider Ava Gardner to be...[blah, blah, blah]."
You are 60 years old.
You are gay.
You had a stroke.
You survived.
You have been in a relationship for 35 years.
What do any of these things have to do with what you think of Ava Gardner or any particular movie she was in?
I'm a 59-year-old straight guy who had a broken collarbone last spring and has been married for 33 years, therefore I think Ava Gardner is terrific.
See the irrelevance?
The new unauthorized biography of her is well worth checking out:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=1451627696/thedetectandthetA
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The IMDB site says, "Create a new list", but how, I wonder, could I create an old one?
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=1451627696/thedetectandthetA
Actors are useless without the power of a good writer's imagination
Never knew much about her work but always recognized her name. I was attracted to her instantly when I saw her in this movie. I've owned it for years but only just started watching it. She was beautiful and an amazing actress. Deserved at least an Oscar nom though she already had one for another movie the same year.
shareAva somehow reminds me of Monica Bellucci in this film, the minute I saw her I was thinking wow she's a splitting image of Monica, but she seemed much more spunky/sweet and has tons more character than Monica B, at least that's what I thought and this was the first/only movie I've seen of her.
...I wish you love ..
She was fantastic in this, very beautiful and sexy, and loved her sassy, straightforward attitude, as well.
Animal crackers in my soup
Monkeys and rabbits loop the loop
This was Ava's best role ever, totally overlooked...she should have won the Best Actress Oscar in 1964! She was still gorgeous at 40ish and held her own/played off the entire cast like a champ, even her polar opposite Deborah Kerr!
I can understand why Liz Taylor was on location the entire time because I'm sure Richard Burton would have been tempted by Ava off-screen as well as on-screen!
"I can understand why Liz Taylor was on location the entire time because I'm sure Richard Burton would have been tempted by Ava off-screen as well as on-screen!"
Perhaps that was a factor, but from an account I read a couple of years ago they all had a great time together, too.