The film received good reviews after its release, but it did poorly at the box office, only reaching $3.5 million.
Billboard praised the acting in the film as "top-notch," with a special tribute to Woodward, but also to Ritter's director. While Journalist highlighted the film's similarities to "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof", it described the film's choice of actors as "impressive" but said the actors and characters "always seem to be out of place". Comments praised Wells' performance, but described Woodward's performance as "bluffing."
Time praised Newman for showing the character's "viciousness" and praised Woodward, saying her performance contained "the warmth and grace rarely seen in a movie queen", but criticized Wells's performance as being incompatible with him "Almost no improvement" from the last character in Moby Dick. Variety praised several writers for their successful fusion of Faulkner's three stories, and praised the directing, cinematography and soundtrack. " Common Bodan " called the film a "bold melodrama".
Martin Ritter in the 1950s was accused of being aWhile on the Hollywood blacklist for a long time, the success of the film allowed him to re-establish his career. Paul Newman gained international fame for playing Ben Crack , winning Best Actor at the Cannes International Film Festival . During the production of the film, he also tied the knot with actress Joann Woodward.
The film was later remade into a TV series of the same name, which aired from 1965 to 1966. The main cast includes Dan O'Herlihy , Roy Kinners, Nancy Malone, Lana Wood , Ruth Roman and Edmond O'Brien . It was remade for a TV series in 1985, starring Jason Robards , Don Johnson and Cybill Shepherd . This version was also nominated for two Emmy Awards .
