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 #230 | 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?

---

Plot Keywords:

pregnant sister | streetcar | louisiana | neurotic | love | 

---

Taglines:

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

---

Genres:

Drama

---

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

Nine members of the original Broadway cast (Marlon Brando, Kim Hunter, Karl Malden, Rudy Bond, Nick Dennis, Peg Hillias, Richard Garrick, Ann Dere and Edna Thomas) repeated their roles in the film, a highly unusual decision at the time and even today, when original casts of plays are often completely replaced for the film versions. However, Vivien Leigh, who had played Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind, was selected to play Blanche du Bois over Jessica Tandy to add "star power" to the picture (Marlon Brando had not yet achieved full stardom in films; he would be billed under Leigh in the film's credits).

---

Goofs

Stanley says that Louisiana utilizes the Napoleonic Code (which was promulgated a year after the Louisiana Purchase). Actually, Louisiana uses as its private law the Louisiana Civil Code. Although it is similar to the Napoleonic Code, it has always been the controlling legal authority in the state.

---

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.

---

Connections

Referenced in An Almost Perfect Affair (1979)

---

Soundtracks

"Somebody Loves Me"
(1924) (uncredited)
Music George Gershwin
Played by the band and used as background music

User Reviews

Antebellum Delusions

Blanche DuBois reminds me of Norma Desmond in Sunset Blvd. (1950). Both characters succumb to their alter egos, and descend into their own worlds of fantasy and half-truths.

In "A Streetcar Named Desire", Blanche travels from her antebellum roots in Mississippi to New Orleans, to see her sister Stella. But, upon arriving in the Big Easy, Blanche must confront Stella's husband Stanley, a greasy, poker-playing neanderthal lout who knows a thing or two about reality. It's the clash between Blanche's stately delusions and Stanley's gritty realism that soups up the drama in this Tennessee Williams play, converted to film classic by director Elia Kazan.

The drama is absorbing. But the performances of Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh, as Stanley and Blanche, are what make the film the cinematic powerhouse that it is. Excellent B&W lighting and jazzy background music amplify the seedy, sleazy atmosphere, which adds depth and texture to the story and the acting. And, of course, the claustrophobic, steamy French Quarter makes a perfect setting.

As one would expect for a film derived from a play, "A Streetcar Named Desire" is very talky. Generally, I don't care for films burdened with a ten thousand page script. But this talk-fest is an exception. Overwhelming what I would otherwise consider a weakness, the acting of Brando and Leigh alone are enough to justify a two hour investment, and render an enjoyable and memorable cinematic experience.