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* MeaningfulName: ''Big'' Daddy is larger than life in more ways than one. Brick [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] the trope in the movie:
-->'''Brick''': What is it that makes Big Daddy so big? Is it his [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold big heart]], his [[LargeAndInCharge big belly]]--or his [[Fiction500 big money?]]
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A 1955 play that won Creator/TennesseeWilliams his second Pulitzer Prize, ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' has endured thanks to numerous productions ever since. Its best-known adaptation is the 1958 feature film directed by Richard Brooks, starring Creator/PaulNewman, Creator/ElizabethTaylor and Creator/BurlIves. There was also a MadeForTVFilm adaptation starring Creator/NatalieWood, Creator/LaurenceOlivier and Creator/RobertWagner.

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A 1955 play that won Creator/TennesseeWilliams his second Pulitzer Prize, ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' has endured thanks to numerous productions ever since. Its best-known adaptation is the 1958 feature film directed by Richard Brooks, starring Creator/PaulNewman, Creator/ElizabethTaylor and Creator/BurlIves. There was is also a MadeForTVFilm 1976 MadeForTVMovie adaptation starring Creator/NatalieWood, Creator/LaurenceOlivier and Creator/RobertWagner.
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A 1955 play that won Creator/TennesseeWilliams his second Pulitzer Prize, ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' has endured thanks to numerous productions ever since. One of its best-known adaptations was a 1958 feature film directed by Richard Brooks, starring Creator/PaulNewman, Creator/ElizabethTaylor and Creator/BurlIves.

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A 1955 play that won Creator/TennesseeWilliams his second Pulitzer Prize, ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' has endured thanks to numerous productions ever since. One of its Its best-known adaptations was a adaptation is the 1958 feature film directed by Richard Brooks, starring Creator/PaulNewman, Creator/ElizabethTaylor and Creator/BurlIves.
Creator/BurlIves. There was also a MadeForTVFilm adaptation starring Creator/NatalieWood, Creator/LaurenceOlivier and Creator/RobertWagner.
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A 1955 play that won Creator/TennesseeWilliams his second Pulitzer Prize, ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' has endured thanks to numerous productions ever since. One of its best known versions was a 1958 film adaptation, directed by Richard Brooks, starring Creator/PaulNewman, Creator/ElizabethTaylor and Creator/BurlIves.

to:

A 1955 play that won Creator/TennesseeWilliams his second Pulitzer Prize, ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' has endured thanks to numerous productions ever since. One of its best known versions best-known adaptations was a 1958 feature film adaptation, directed by Richard Brooks, starring Creator/PaulNewman, Creator/ElizabethTaylor and Creator/BurlIves.
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A 1955 play that won Creator/TennesseeWilliams his second Pulitzer Prize, ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' has endured thanks to numerous productions ever since. One of its best known versions was a 1958 film adaptation, directed by Richard Brooks, starring Creator/PaulNewman, Creator/ElizabethTaylor and Burl Ives.

to:

A 1955 play that won Creator/TennesseeWilliams his second Pulitzer Prize, ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' has endured thanks to numerous productions ever since. One of its best known versions was a 1958 film adaptation, directed by Richard Brooks, starring Creator/PaulNewman, Creator/ElizabethTaylor and Burl Ives.
Creator/BurlIves.
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-->'''Big Daddy''': ...yeah. I loved him. I reckon I never loved anything as much as that lousy old tramp.

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-->'''Big --->'''Big Daddy''': ...yeah. I loved him. I reckon I never loved anything as much as that lousy old tramp.

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* DestructiveRomance: Maggie and Brick.

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* DestructiveRomance: Maggie and Brick. Maggie is desperately in love with Brick and, despite his outright telling her to leave him, says he's ruined men for her--it's him or no one. Brick also seems to love Maggie too, but is too involved in his own pain and stoicism to show it.



* DrivenToSuicide: Skipper

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* DrivenToSuicide: SkipperSkipper.



* {{Gayngst}}

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* {{Gayngst}}{{Gayngst}}: An UrExample, at least in terms of theatrical works; only Lillian Hellmann's ''The Children's Hour'' predates it in terms of "gay characters struggling over their sexuality." It remains one of the best-known examples of the trope in drama, especially because Williams himself was gay.



* MetaphoricallyTrue: After Maggie claims she's pregnant at the end of the play, Big Daddy studies her carefully and announces that she "has life in her," a statement which Big Mama and, in the film version, Gooper echo. It's possible that Big Baddy is speaking this way to help support what he knows is a lie; Maggie may not be pregnant, but she is vivacious and determined to survive, and so has a spark and drive--that is, "life"--within her body.

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* MetaphoricallyTrue: After Maggie claims she's pregnant at the end of the play, Big Daddy studies her carefully and announces that she "has life in her," a statement which Big Mama and, in the film version, Gooper echo. It's possible that Big Baddy Daddy is speaking this way to help support what he knows is a lie; Maggie may not be pregnant, but she is vivacious and determined to survive, and so has a spark and drive--that is, "life"--within her body.


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* RedOniBlueOni: The vivacious, loud Maggie is the Red to Brick's calm, stoic Blue.
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* EnfantTerrible: Cooper and Mae have five rambunctious, poorly-disciplined children who Maggie calls "no-neck monsters". And they have a sixth on the way.

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* EnfantTerrible: Cooper Gooper and Mae have five rambunctious, poorly-disciplined children who Maggie calls "no-neck monsters". And they have a sixth on the way.
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* EnfantTerrible: Cooper and Mae have five rambunctious, poorly-disciplined children who Maggie calls "no-neck monsters". And they have a sixth on the way.


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* ObnoxiousInLaws: Mae, an irritating showoff who tries her best to pry into Big Daddy's good side in order to appeal to him so she'll be the next matriarch of the family.
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* TheGhost: Skipper, obviously. Some productions, do to the logistics of casting child actors and their relative on-screen uselessness to the plot, have Mae and Gooper's children never appear. When they're supposed to sing to their grandfather, one director simply had them be in the hallway to the bedroom and played a tape.

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* TheGhost: Skipper, obviously. Some productions, do due to the logistics of casting child actors and their relative on-screen uselessness to the plot, have Mae and Gooper's children never appear. When they're supposed to sing to their grandfather, one director simply had them be in the hallway to the bedroom and played a tape.
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* TheGhost: Skipper, obviously. Some productions, do to the logistics of casting child actors and their relative on-screen uselessness to the plot, have Mae and Gooper's children never appear. When they're supposed to sing to their grandfather, one director simply had them be in the hallway to the bedroom and played a tape.
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* {{Epigraph}}: The last stanza of Literature/DoNotGoGentleIntoThatGoodNight by Creator/DylanThomas is used as an epigraph in the published version of the play.
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* MassiveNumberedSiblings: The no-neck monsters.

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* MassiveNumberedSiblings: The no-neck monsters. Gooper and Mae have five "no-neck monsters", with a sixth on the way.
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A 1955 play that won Creator/TennesseeWilliams his second Pulitzer Prize, ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' has endured thanks to numerous productions ever since. One of its best known versions was a 1958 film adaptation, directed by Richard Brooks, staring Creator/PaulNewman, Creator/ElizabethTaylor and Burl Ives.

to:

A 1955 play that won Creator/TennesseeWilliams his second Pulitzer Prize, ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' has endured thanks to numerous productions ever since. One of its best known versions was a 1958 film adaptation, directed by Richard Brooks, staring starring Creator/PaulNewman, Creator/ElizabethTaylor and Burl Ives.



* BrutalHonesty: At one point, Maggie angers Brick so much that he tries to hit her with his crutch, but he misses and falls. One of Gooper and Mae's kids runs in the room, and asks why he is he on the floor. Brick calmly responds: "Because I tried to kill your Aunt Maggie. But I failed. And I fell."

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* BrutalHonesty: At one point, Maggie angers Brick so much that he tries to hit her with his crutch, but he misses and falls. One of Gooper and Mae's kids runs in the room, and asks why he is he on the floor. Brick calmly responds: "Because I tried to kill your Aunt Maggie. But I failed. And I fell."
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The story concerns the Pollitt family, and all the ugly family issues that rear its ugly head as they reunite for the birthday of its patriarch, Big Daddy. Big Daddy, unaware that he's dying, tries desperately to connect to his angry, alcoholic favored son, Brick, who is married to Maggie. Meanwhile, the other family members try desperately to suck up to Big Daddy to get some of his fortune. Of course, tensions between father and son have to be resolved some time...

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The story concerns the Pollitt family, and all the ugly family issues that rear its their ugly head heads as they reunite for the birthday of its patriarch, Big Daddy. Big Daddy, unaware that he's dying, dying of terminal cancer, tries desperately to connect to his angry, alcoholic favored son, Brick, who is married to Maggie. Meanwhile, the other family members try desperately to suck up to Big Daddy to get some of his fortune. Of course, tensions between father and son have to be resolved some time...
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Dewicking


* BiTheWay: Brick has had sex several times with Maggie, but was also deeply in love with Skipper.
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* AnguishedDeclarationOfLove: Maggie makes many speeches to Brick about how much she loves him, despite everything he's putting her through.
** The film version has a variation with Big Daddy, as the anguish is a lot subtler. He tells the story of his own father, who was a tramp and hobo who rode the rails. Big Daddy claims that he was always ashamed of his father, resented him for leaving him nothing but a suitcase and his old military uniform, and generally worked as hard as possible to distance himself from the old man. But when Brick points out that he clearly loved his son, Big Daddy has a slow realization:
-->'''Big Daddy''': ...yeah. I loved him. I reckon I never loved anything as much as that lousy old tramp.


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* DieLaughing: In the film, Big Daddy tells the story of his father, a hobo, whose heart gave out while the two were running for a train. Big Daddy remarks that, despite having absolutely no money or a shred of hope about the future, "that old tramp died laughing." Brick points out why--he was happy because he still had his son with him, and that was all that mattered.
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* BiTheWay: Brick has had sex several times with Maggie, but was also deeply in love with Skipper.


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** Brick in general is this, as he admits to being an alcoholic and generally says whatever is on his mind without censoring himself. It runs in the family, as Big Daddy does the same.


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* MetaphoricallyTrue: After Maggie claims she's pregnant at the end of the play, Big Daddy studies her carefully and announces that she "has life in her," a statement which Big Mama and, in the film version, Gooper echo. It's possible that Big Baddy is speaking this way to help support what he knows is a lie; Maggie may not be pregnant, but she is vivacious and determined to survive, and so has a spark and drive--that is, "life"--within her body.
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* DeadpanSnarker: Maggie, usually when she's needling Mae. ("Why did y'give dawgs' names to all your kiddies?")
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* AdaptationalSexuality: Brick's homosexuality was all but erased in the 1958 film adaptation. As his deeply closeted sexuality was the character's entire motivation in the original script, this glossing-over was a major detriment that led to Tennessee Williams disowning the production.

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* AdaptationalSexuality: Brick's homosexuality was all but erased in the 1958 film adaptation. As his deeply closeted sexuality was the character's entire motivation in the original script, this glossing-over was a major detriment that led to Tennessee Williams [[CreatorBacklash disowning the production. production]].
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A 1955 play that won Creator/TennesseeWilliams his second Pulitzer Prize, ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' has endured thanks to numerous productions ever since. One of its best known versions was a 1958 film adaptation, staring Creator/PaulNewman, Creator/ElizabethTaylor and Burl Ives.

to:

A 1955 play that won Creator/TennesseeWilliams his second Pulitzer Prize, ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' has endured thanks to numerous productions ever since. One of its best known versions was a 1958 film adaptation, directed by Richard Brooks, staring Creator/PaulNewman, Creator/ElizabethTaylor and Burl Ives.
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[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cat_on_a_hot_tin_roof_theatre.jpg]]

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