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:

Neurotic | Louisiana | Streetcar | Pregnant Sister | Character Lies About Age

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

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:GP (1970 re-release) | USA:Approved (certificate #14871) (original rating) | Australia:PG (TV rating) | France:Unrated | South Korea:12 | UK:12A (re-rating) | New Zealand:PG | 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:

The movie's line "Stella! Hey, Stella!" was voted as the #45 movie quote by the American Film Institute (out of 100).

Goofs:

Continuity: The window after Stanley throws the radio through it.

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.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Simpsons: Virtual Springfield (1997) (VG)

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.