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:

Pregnant | Louisiana | Streetcar | Pregnant Sister | Neurotic

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

Also Known As:

Endstation Sehnsucht (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
Un tramway nommé désir (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Un tranvía llamado deseo (Argentina) (Spain) [es]
A vágy villamosa (Hungary) [hu]
Leoforeion o pothos (Greece) [el]
Linje lusta (Sweden) [sv]
Omstigning til Paradis (Denmark) [da]
Tramlijn Begeerte (Belgium: Flemish title) [un]
Tramvaj zvani zelja (Serbia) [sr]
Tramwaj zwany pozadaniem (Poland) [pl]
Um Bonde Chamado Desejo (Brazil) [pt]
Um Eléctrico Chamado Desejo (Portugal) [pt]
Uma Rua Chamada Pecado (Brazil) [pt]
Un tram che si chiama desiderio (Italy) [it]
Un tramvai numit dorinta (Romania) [ro]
Un tramvia anomenat desig (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
Un tramway nommé Désir (Belgium: French title) [fr]
Viettelyksen vaunu (Finland) [fi]
Yokubô toiu na no densha (Japan) [ja]

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:

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:

Vivien Leigh initially felt completely at sea when she joined the tight New York cast in rehearsals. Director Elia Kazan was able to exploit her feelings of alienation and disorientation to enrich her performance.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): 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.

Movie Connections:

Featured in 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2009) (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