Overview
Accused barn burner and conman Ben Quick arrives in a small Mississippi town and quickly ingratiates himself with its richest family, the Varners.
Trailer
Crew
DirectorMartin Ritt
WriterIrving Ravetch, Harriet Frank Jr.
Cast
Paul Newman
Ben Quick
Joanne Woodward
Clara Varner
Anthony Franciosa
Jody Varner
Orson Welles
Will Varner
Lee Remick
Eula Varner
Angela Lansbury
Minnie Littlejohn
Richard Anderson
Alan Stewart
Sarah Marshall
Agnes Stewart
Mabel Albertson
Elizabeth Stewart
J. Pat O'Malley
Ratliff
Bill Walker
Lucius
Robert Adler
Ambulance Driver (uncredited)
Val Avery
Wilk (uncredited)
Jim Brandt
Linus Olds (uncredited)
Brian Corcoran
Harry Peabody (uncredited)
Lee Erickson
Tom Shortly (uncredited)
Byron Foulger
Harris (uncredited)
I. Stanford Jolley
Houston (uncredited)
Nicholas King
John Fisher (uncredited)
Ralph Reed
J. V. Bookright (uncredited)
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Keywords
small townbased on novel or bookarranged marriagehost familyfamily relationshipssexual tensionarsonclass differencesfalse accusationsarsonistsexual repressionoverbearing fatherstrangerbased on short storysharecroppergeneral storefather son conflictsummertimefather son relationshipfather daughter relationship
Details
TMDb Votes
224
Added May 14, 2026Updated Jun 4, 2026