AIRING MON, MAY 18 AT 8P ET/7P CT. Starring Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward and Anthony Franciosa.
The Long, Hot Summer” (1958), directed by Martin Ritt, is a smoldering Southern drama about ambition, power, and desire in a small Mississippi town.
When drifter Ben Quick (Paul Newman) arrives in Frenchman’s Bend, his reputation as a suspected barn burner follows him. Instead of being run out, he catches the attention of powerful landowner Will Varner (Orson Welles), who sees something in Ben that his own son lacks—and begins grooming him as a potential successor.
Will pushes Ben toward his strong-willed daughter Clara (Joanne Woodward), igniting a tense and passionate relationship. As jealousy builds within the Varner family and the town turns against the outsider, Ben must confront both his past and his place in a world driven by control and legacy.
Set against the heat and pressure of the Deep South, the film is a story of outsiders, family power struggles, and the fight to define one’s future.