The Glass Menagerie (1987)

A son longs to escape from his stifling home, where his genteel mother worries about the future prospects of his lame, shy sister.

Director:

Paul Newman

Writer:

Tennessee Williams (play)

Stars:

Joanne Woodward, John Malkovich, Karen Allen

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Joanne Woodward	...	Amanda Wingfield
John Malkovich	...	Tom Wingfield
Karen Allen	...	Laura Wingfield
James Naughton	...	Jim O'Connor (the gentleman caller)

Storyline

A son longs to escape from his stifling home, where his genteel mother worries about the future prospects of his lame, shy sister.

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Plot Keywords:

mother daughter relationship | domineering mother | collection | aging | brother sister relationship | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 January 1988 (Denmark)

Also Known As:

El zoo de cristal

Filming Locations:

Kaufman Astoria Studios - 3412 36th Street, Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$895,904 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cineplex-Odeon Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

134 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The original Broadway stage play "The Glass Menagerie" opened at the Playhouse Theatre on Mar 31, 1945 and ran for 563 performances.

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Goofs

As Tom is speaking with Laura in one scene, every time the camera is focused on her, his arms are at his sides in the background. When the camera focuses on him, his arms are crossed. This switches back and forth for an entire scene.

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Quotes

Tom Wingfield: [to his mother] Every morning that you come in, yelling that goddamned "Rise and shine, rise and shine," I think to myself, how lucky dead people are.

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Connections

Version of The Glass Menagerie (1950)

User Reviews

The best filmed version of The Glass Menagerie

When it comes to Tennesse Williams, I am more familiar myself with Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and A Streetcar Named Desire, but when studying The Glass Menagerie for A Levels three years ago I was struck by how moving the story and the character of Laura was. And apart from a few close-ups that distracted from the momentum of some scenes, I loved this version and consider one of the better, perhaps even the best, version(s) of The Glass Menagerie. The production values look striking, and even with the close ups the photography is not half bad. I will be honest in saying that Paul Newman is a better actor than he is as director. That is not to say that he didn't do a good job, he did(in fact it is for me one of his better directorial efforts), but this is the same Paul Newman who has been responsible for some of the finest performances I've seen like in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Cool Hand Luke, The Hustler and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof(where he played Brick) and for me his directing while impressive is not quite up to the same standard. What is impressive here though is that, from his work as Brick no doubt, he does capture the basic core of The Glass Menagerie instead of missing the point of it. Back to the rest of the film's assets, the story is still moving and the script is just as beautifully written and thoughtful as Williams' own writing. And there are great performances too, James Naughton is excellent as Jim and John Malkovich's Tom is wonderfully fey and gives his monologues a suitably dream-like quality. The best two performances though come from Karen Allen as a heartbreaking Laura and especially the superb Amanda(one of Williams' juiciest characters) of Joanne Woodward. In conclusion, a great, well-acted version of The Glass Menagerie. 9/10 Bethany Cox