A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

Director:

Elia Kazan

Writers:

Tennessee Williams (original play "A Streetcar Named Desire")
Oscar Saul (adaptation)

Release Date:

1 December 1951 (West Germany)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

...When she got there she met the brute Stan, and the side of New Orleans she hardly knew existed.

Plot:

Disturbed Blanche DuBois moves in with her sister in New Orleans and is tormented by her brutish brother-in-law while her reality crumbles around her.

Plot Keywords:

Working Class | Famous Score | Restaurant | Offscreen Rape | Southern Gothic

Awards:

Won 4 Oscars. Another 11 wins & 14 nominations

Cast

Vivien Leigh	...	Blanche DuBois
Marlon Brando	...	Stanley Kowalski
Kim Hunter	...	Stella Kowalski
Karl Malden	...	Harold 'Mitch' Mitchell
Rudy Bond	...	Steve
Nick Dennis	...	Pablo Gonzales
Peg Hillias	...	Eunice
Wright King	...	A Collector
Richard Garrick	...	A Doctor
Ann Dere	...	The Matron
Edna Thomas	...	The Mexican Woman
Mickey Kuhn	...	A Sailor

Runtime:

122 min | USA:125 min (re-release)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

South Korea:12 | Australia:PG (TV rating) | France:Unrated | USA:Approved (original rating) (certificate #14871) | USA:GP (1970 re-release) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Portugal:M/12 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (video rating) (1986) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:PG (1993 director's cut) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PG (Manitoba)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Charles K. Feldman Group

Trivia:

Early in development, William Wyler had expressed an interest in adapting the play with Bette Davis in the part of Blanche.

Goofs:

Continuity: The window after Stanley throws the radio through it

Quotes:

Blanche DuBois: Young, young man. Did anyone ever tell you you look like a young prince out of the 'Arabian Nights'?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Laughter on the 23rd Floor (2001) (TV)

Now this is Almost Perfect

Elia Kazan's second best film A Streetcar Named Desire is a film with plenty of passion and fire and is definately a must see drama. The story has a woman, Blanche DuBois, played by Vivien Leigh, who moves in with her sister, played by Kim Hunter, and her brother in law, Marlon Brando. Then the events start to unfold in a tale of a animal, the depending woman, and even her admirer, played by Karl Malden. Absolutely acted to perfection by everyone (Liegh, Malden and Hunter got richly deserved Oscars), however it is the breakthrough by Brando in one of his best roles, that steals the show. Crafted just like the play, except for one almost fatal flaw, the last scene of the movie is hollywooded up and if you read the play, that ending might be better for you. Otherwise, a must see. Magnificent jazz music by Alex North. A