Montgomery Clift (1920-1966)

I recently watched a movie called Suddenly, Last Summer (1959), starring Elizabeth Taylor, Montgomery Clift and Katherine Hepburn. I could tell right away that the movie was made after Montgomery Clift's disfiguring accident, and it was his first post-accident movie I had seen. In 1957 he was in a terrible car accident after which he had to have plastic surgery to "rebuild" his face. What a shame to ruin something so beautiful! The photo above is of him before the accident. There are not, in my opinion, a lot of good-looking men in old movies, but Montgomery Clift....WOW! He is definitely the top! Paul Newman and Randolph Scott are also on the list.

Montgomery Clift's life was so tragic, though. He had health problems, was heavily addicted to alcohol and drugs, and felt guilt over his homosexuality. He died at the age of 45 from heart disease, a result of his addictions. His death was called the longest suicide in history. So sad! In the movies I've seen him in he rarely smiles, but he's really a great actor. I wonder if smiled that little off-camera as well.

This photo is from "Suddenly, Last Summer," and you can see the difference in his face.