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Poster for Sweet Bird of Youth

Sweet Bird of Youth

1962 · 120 min

A sweaty, Southern Gothic pressure cooker of faded glamour and desperate ambition, simmering with regret and menace.

Directed by
Richard Brooks
Genres
Drama
Tagline
He used love like most men use money.
Overview
Gigolo and drifter Chance Wayne returns to his hometown as the companion of a faded movie star, Alexandra Del Lago, whom he hopes to use to help him break into the movies. Chance runs into trouble when he finds his ex-girlfriend, the daughter of the local politician Tom "Boss" Finley, who more or less forced him to leave his daughter and the town many years ago.

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Directed by
Richard Brooks
Genres
Drama
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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • darkstrength 2 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 2 of 3
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
  • cynicalstrength 2 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • ambition
  • corruption
  • betrayal
  • identity
  • redemption
Places
  • small town
  • home
Era
contemporary
Audience
adult
Form
  • nonlinear
Content intensity
  • Gore mild
  • Language mild
  • Violence strong
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action2
Horror1
Humour3
Realism7
Romance4
Tension6
Darkness7
Complexity6
Emotional weight7

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Cast

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Details

Genres
drama
Directed by
Richard Brooks
Written by
Richard Brooks
Starring
Paul Newman, Geraldine Page, Shirley Knight, Ed Begley, Rip Torn, Mildred Dunnock, Madeleine Sherwood, Philip Abbott
Cinematography
Milton Krasner
Runtime
120 min
Country
United States of America
Languages
English

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