A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

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.

Director:

Elia Kazan

Writers:

Tennessee Williams (screen play), Oscar Saul (adaptation),

Stars:

Vivien Leigh, Marlon Brando, Kim Hunter

Top 250 #227 | Won 4 Oscars. Another 13 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

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

Storyline

Blanche is in real need of a protector at this stage in her life when circumstances lead her into paying a visit to her younger sister Stella in New Orleans. She doesn't understand how Stella, who is expecting her first child, could have picked a husband so lacking in refinement. Stanley Kowalski's buddies come over to the house to play cards and one of them, Mitch, finds Blanche attractive until Stanley tells him about what kind of a woman Blanche really is. What will happen when Stella goes to the hospital to have her baby and just Blanche and her brother-in-law are in the house?

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Plot Keywords:

pregnant sister | streetcar | louisiana | neurotic | love | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic elements

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

1 December 1951 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

Un tranvía llamado deseo

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,800,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Charles K. Feldman Group, Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min 125 min (re-release)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Della Robbia blue is a color used in the Italian Majolica bas reliefs of Luca Della Robbia (1400-1482), whose famous gates of the Sacristy of the Cathedral were said by Michelangelo to be worthy of being the Gates of Heaven.

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Goofs

When Mitch embraces Blanche, she puts her arm around his shoulders, which changes between shots, either her left one or her right one.

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Quotes

[first lines]
A Sailor: Can I help you, ma'am?
Blanche DuBois: Why, they told me to take a streetcar named Desire and then transfer to one called Cemetery and ride six blocks and get off at Elysian Fields.

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Connections

Referenced in The Simpsons: A Streetcar Named Marge (1992)

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Soundtracks

"It's Only a Paper Moon"
(1933) (uncredited)
Music by Harold Arlen
Lyrics by E.Y. Harburg and Billy Rose
Sung by Vivien Leigh while doing her hair

User Reviews

A true milestone in cinema history

"A Streetcar Named Desire" is along with "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" the best movies adapted from a play ever. Vivien Leigh is excellent in the most difficult role of the world theatre and far more impressive here than in "Gone With the Wind". With the performance she gives she proves what a great actress really means. Marlon Brando is equally impressive in a role that made him a star. He gives a different dimension to Stanley and introduces method acting to Hollywood. This role that deserved an Oscar is maybe the best of his career. Kim Hunter and Karl Malden are ideal in the supporting roles. The scene that Stanley and Stella are reconciled after a fight they have is full of passion and desire and is now regarded a classic. But the person that created the atmosphere and helped the actors create their roles is Elia Kazan (to me he is the best director ever lived). Kazan manages to create a great atmosphere and make the movie not be just another stagy play. "A Streetcar Nemed Desire" is undoubtedly a milestone in cinema's history that nobody should miss.