A Streetcar Named Desire (film)

• Release Date: 1951
• Director(s): Elia Kazan
• Writer(s): Tennessee Williams
• Principal Actors and Roles: Marlon Brando (Stanley Kowalski); Kim Hunter (Stella Kowalski ); Vivien Leigh (Blanche DuBois ); Karl Malden (Mitch); Peg Hillias (Eunice)
• Book / Story Film Based On: A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams

A Streetcar Named Desire is a dramatic film that tells of Blanche DuBois, a Southern woman on the brink of a mental breakdown who goes to live with her sister and brother-in-law, Stella and Stanley Kowalski, in New Orleans. The film is closely based on 1947 Broadway play of the same name written by Tennessee Williams. The stage production was a huge success and won a Pulitzer Prize and Williams adapted his script for the screen with the help of Oscar Saul, as well as Elia Kazan who served as the director of both the stage and film versions.

In an effort to retain the heart of the stage production, Kazan wanted to cast its principal actors for the screen version. Marlon Brando, Kim Hunter, and Karl Malden, who played Stanley, Stella, and Mitch respectively, reprised their roles for the film. The only major casting change was for the lead role of Blanche, who in the original Broadway production was played by actress Jessica Tandy. However, studio executives did not think Tandy had enough name recognition to carry the film, and instead looked to London’s West End production of the play to cast the role. Vivien Leigh, who had previously appeared in Gone With the Wind (1939) and was a Hollywood star, was awarded the part of Blanche instead.

Plot

A Streetcar Named Desire begins as Blanche DuBois, a Southern belle from an old, aristocratic family, journeys to New Orleans to visit her sister, Stella. Blanche arrives at her sister’s tenement in the French Quarter and is surprised to see that her sister and brother-in-law, Stanley, are living in such poor conditions. Blanche reveals to Stella that her husband has recently died, that creditors have seized Belle Reve (the DuBois family estate), and that she has taken a leave of absence from her job as a high school teacher. Stella welcomes Blanche into the tiny apartment with open arms, but Blanche and Stanley are immediately at odds. The two could not be more different from one another—Blanche is a refined lady, and Stanley a loud and abrasive drunk. Blanche soon learns that Stella is pregnant.

One night, Stanley invites a group of friends over to play poker, including Mitch, a bachelor who is better mannered than the rest—a fact not lost upon Blanche, and that night the two begin a romance. However, Stanley, who is quite drunk, loses his temper and in the middle of his rage, hits Stella. Stanley’s actions clear the gathering, and Blanche and Stella seek refuge with Eunice, their upstairs neighbor but after much yelling from Stanley for Stella to return, she obliges and the pair reconciles. Blanche tries to make her sister see that Stanley is a bad man and she should leave him, but Stella refuses.

Stanley, who overhears the conversation between Blanche and Stella, is skeptical of Blanche and tries to reveal the truth about why she has come to New Orleans. After doing some digging, Stanley discovers that Blanche is mentally unbalanced and cannot control her sexual desires, which led to her husband’s suicide and being fired from her job as a schoolteacher. Out of spite, Stanley reveals this information to both Stella and Mitch, who was going to propose to Blanche. Stella becomes upset with Stanley, but her anger is interrupted when she goes into labor. While Stella and Stanley are at the hospital, Blanche tries to explain herself to Mitch, but he does not accept her, sending Blanche into a delusional state. Stanley, returning home from the hospital to nap, finds Blanche in this state and provokes her, resulting in a fight that eventually ends in Stanley raping Blanche.

Weeks later, Blanche is leaving to be committed to a mental hospital, and tells Stella everything that happened. After Blanche is taken away, Stella goes upstairs to Eunice with the baby and swears she will never go back to Stanley.

Significance

The film version of A Streetcar Named Desire closely follows the play it was based off of, although several changes had to be made to the script due to the controversial nature of many of the play’s themes. The screenwriters constantly had to contest with the Motion Picture Production Code, enforced by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). This code, sometimes known as the Hays Code, was a set of moral guidelines films released by major studios had to follow from 1930 until 1968. The filmmakers repeatedly negotiated with the censors from April of 1950 (when the screenplay was still being drafted) until October, when the film had already been completed.

The censors did not like the original reason given for the suicide of Blanche’s husband, who in the stage version commits suicide after he is discovered having an affair with another man. Additionally, for want of a more traditional Hollywood ending, the censors demanded that the play’s original ending, which sees Stella returning to Stanley after Blanche is committed, changed. The main point of contention, however, was Stanley’s rape of Blanche, the inclusion of which director Kazan deemed crucial to the message of the film, and without which it would lose poignancy. After the film was complete, the MPAA was still unhappy with this portrayal, and the Catholic Legion of Decency denounced the film. Fearing the failure of the film upon release, Warner executives cut approximately three minutes of the film, without Kazan’s consent, to comply with the censors.

Despite some of the film’s provocative themes, A Streetcar Named Desire opened to critical acclaim and box office success, earning over $4 million in North America. The film was nominated for a total of twelve Academy Awards, of which it won four. Three of these wins were in acting categories, a record (Leigh won for best actress, Malden for supporting actor, and Hunter for supporting actress). Although Brando lost the award for best actor, the nomination was the first of four consecutive Oscar nominations, and his role in the film marked his breakout as a Hollywood star. In 1999, the United States Film Registry, distinguishing the film for its cultural, historical, and aesthetic significance, selected A Streetcar Named Desire for preservation in the Library of Congress.

Awards and nominations

Won

• Academy Award (1951) Best Art Direction (Black-and-White)
• Academy Award (1951) Best Actress: Vivien Leigh
• Academy Award (1951) Best Supporting Actor: Karl Malden
• Academy Award (1951) Best Supporting Actress: Kim Hunter

Nominated

• Academy Award (1951) Best Cinematography (Black-and-White)
• Academy Award (1951) Best Music
• Academy Award (1951) Best Sound Recording
• Academy Award (1951) Best Picture
• Academy Award (1951) Best Director: Elia Kazan
• Academy Award (1951) Best Actor: Marlon Brando
• Academy Award (1951) Best Screenplay (Adapted): Tennessee Williams
• Academy Award (1951) Best Costume Design (Black-and-White): Lucinda Ballard
• Golden Globe (1951) Best Motion Picture (Drama)

Bibliography

"Censored: Wielding the Red Pen." University of Virginia Library. University of Virginia, 2015. Web. 3 Dec. 2015.

Dirks, Tim. "A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)." AMC Filmsite. American Movie Classics, 2015. Web. 3 Dec. 2015.

O’Shea, Rosemary. A Streetcar Named Desire. Insight, 2009. Print.

Staggs, Sam. When Blanche Met Brando: The Scandalous Story of A Streetcar Named Desire. New York: St. Martin’s, 2005. Print.

"A Streetcar Named Desire (1952)." TCM. Turner Entertainment Networks, 2015. Web. 3 Dec. 2015.

Williams, Tennessee. A Streetcar Named Desire. New York: New Directions, 2004. Electronic.