The Long, Hot Summer

The Long, Hot Summer is a drama set in Frenchmans Bend, a small town in Mississippi where the Varner family owns most of the land and businesses. Ben Quick, a drifter rumored to have burned a barn, arrives there after being run out of a previous town and is taken on at Will Varner's store. The overbearing store owner, who runs both the community and his own household, sees in the newcomer qualities that his son Jody lacks, and begins to consider him a possible match for his daughter Clara. The young woman is not pleased at first, though her view of him changes. The conflict that develops pits Ben's ambitions against the expectations of the Varner family and the wariness of a town wary of strangers. The film is based on stories by William Faulkner.

Martin Ritt directed the film, the first in the chronology of titles listed for him, from a screenplay by Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank Jr. It was produced by Jerry Wald for 20th Century Fox. Paul Newman stars as Ben Quick, with Joanne Woodward as Clara Varner, Anthony Franciosa as Jody Varner, Orson Welles as Will Varner, Lee Remick as Eula Varner and Angela Lansbury as Minnie Littlejohn. Thirty-eight credited cast members appear.

Released in May 1958, the film runs 115 minutes. Against a budget of 2 million dollars it took in 3 million worldwide. On IMDb it holds 7.3 out of 10 from around 13,000 votes, and on TMDB 7 out of 10 from 233 votes. A film critics' rating of 7.5 out of 10 from 20 reviews places critical approval slightly above the audience scores recorded on both sites.