<Tr> <Th> Box office </Th> <Td> $11,285,000 </Td> </Tr> <P> Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a 1958 American drama film directed by Richard Brooks . It is based on the Pulitzer Prize - winning play of the same name by Tennessee Williams adapted by Richard Brooks and James Poe . One of the top - ten box office hits of 1958, the film stars Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman and Burl Ives . </P> <P> Late one night, a drunken Brick Pollitt (Paul Newman) is out trying to recapture his glory days of high school sports by leaping hurdles on a track field, dreaming about his moments as a youthful athlete . Unexpectedly, he falls and breaks his leg, leaving him dependent on a crutch . Brick, along with his wife, Maggie "the Cat" (Elizabeth Taylor), are seen the next day visiting his family's estate in eastern Mississippi, there to celebrate Big Daddy's (Burl Ives) 65th birthday . </P> <P> Depressed, Brick has spent the last few years drinking, while resisting the affections of his wife, who taunts him about the inheritance of Big Daddy's wealth . This has resulted in an obviously tempestuous marriage--there are speculations as to why Maggie does not yet have a child while Brick's brother Gooper (Jack Carson) and his plump wife Mae (Madeleine Sherwood) have a whole pack of children . </P>

Who played big daddy in cat on a hot tin roof