All Rileyed Up

I never knew Paul Newman, but that didn’t stop me from feeling sadness when I saw the headline announcing his death. When there’s talk of Paul Newman movies, there are limitless movies to reference. There’s this:

“Nobody can eat 50 eggs.”

And then there’s this:

“What is the victory of a cat on a hot tin roof?”

And there’s also this:

“Next time I say let’s go to Bolivia, let’s GO TO BOLIVIA.”

As for me, I have two favorite Paul Newman movies. The Long Hot Summer and Hud.

Back in the day when I had cable and watched TV leisurely, I enjoyed the AMC channel. And on one random day, I saw these two movies back to back, mesmerized.

The Long, Hot Summer is based on a few works by William Faulkner. So, um, it’s about the South. We have the overbearing southern father, Will Varner (Orson Welles), his strong-willed daughter, Clara Varner (Joanne Woodward), his demanding fiancée, Minnie Littlejohn (Angela Lansbury), and his erratic son, Jody Varner (Anthony Franciosa). And along comes Ben Quick (Paul Newman), the sexy stranger. Will Varner embraces Ben Quick, offers him work. He sees in Quick the strength and smarts he admires in men, the kind of man his son is not, and he wants to pair Quick up with his daughter. The movie has a rocking kiss scene between Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman, rocking enough to tell me there’s no wondering as to how they stayed married all those years.

In Hud, which is based on a Larry “Lonesome Dove” McMurtry novel, Paul Newman is the older of two sons born to a Texas rancher, Homer Bannon (Melvyn Douglas). Hud is rebellious, defiant, and, of course, sexy. There’s Alma the house maid (Patricia Neal), with whom there’s a slightly flirtatious relationship that takes a bad turn when Hud has a bad night. Also along for the ride in family turmoil is Lonnie Bannon, Hud’s nephew, who lives with Homer. Lonnie idolizes Hud, but as he spends more time with Hud, the glamour fades. The family ranch is in jeopardy due to an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease and Homer wants to do the right thing while Hud wants to stop him from being so scrupulous. There’s death and disappointment, some remorse, and life goes on. In short, it’s the work of Larry McMurtry on the big screen.

In addition to a career full of wonderful roles, I admire Paul Newman for never living a life like the brash upstarts he often portrayed. He was admirable man who cared about the world we live in, and acted on this care, founding an organic food line and a camp for children. His life is one I dream of imitating. All the best to his family.