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A Streetcar Named Desire Overview:

A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) was a Drama - Romance Film directed by Elia Kazan and produced by Charles K. Feldman.

The film was based on the play of the same name written by Tennessee Williams performed at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, NY from Dec 3, 1947 - Dec 17, 1949.

SYNOPSIS

Brando's performance as a sexually electrifying brute established him as the premier actor of his day, and gave us the timeless image of him holding his head in bewildered rage as he bellows, "Stella!" Director Kazan brought most of his Broadway cast to Hollywood for the screen version of Tennessee Williams's stage triumph (the only exception being Jessica Tandy, the stage Blanche). Brando had become a sensation in the stage role of Stanley, and he shows why in the film adaptation as he exposes pure, animal energy to the audience. When unstable Blanche DuBois (Leigh) moves in with her pregnant sister Stella (Hunter) and brother-in-law, Stanley Kowalski (Brando), Stanley and Blanche circle each other like wary animals. The sexual tension and mistrust build to a violent crescendo after Brando learns Leigh has squandered their family’s estate. The film was rereleased in 1993, with an additional four minutes of footage that did not make it past censors in 1951.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

A Streetcar Named Desire was inducted into the National Film Registry in 1999.

Academy Awards 1951 --- Ceremony Number 24 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best ActorMarlon BrandoNominated
Best Supporting ActorKarl MaldenWon
Best ActressVivien LeighWon
Best Supporting ActressKim HunterWon
Best Art DirectionArt Direction: Richard Day; Set Decoration: George James HopkinsWon
Best CinematographyHarry StradlingNominated
Best Costume DesignLucinda BallardNominated
Best DirectorElia KazanNominated
Best PictureCharles K. Feldman, ProducerNominated
Best WritingTennessee WilliamsNominated
See More Oscar Winners

A Streetcar Named Desire BlogHub Articles:

Review: A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

By 4 Star Film Fan on Oct 14, 2017 From 4 Star Films

Blanche Dubois and Stanley Kowalski. They’re both so iconic not simply in the lore of cinema history but literature and American culture in general. It’s difficult to know exactly what to do with them. Stanley Kowalski the archetypical chauvinistic beast. Driven by anger, prone to abuse... Read full article

Review: A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

By 4 Star Film Fan on Oct 14, 2017 From 4 Star Films

Blanche Dubois and Stanley Kowalski. They’re both so iconic not simply in the lore of cinema history but literature and American culture in general. It’s difficult to know exactly what to do with them. Stanley Kowalksi the archetypical chauvinistic beast. Driven by anger, prone to abus... Read full article

A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

on Aug 11, 2014 From Journeys in Classic Film

Elia Kazan’s adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire is an important film in my life.  I first saw it in community college when we wrote compared and contrasted the play and the film (there’s a lot of watering down in the movie).  I wrote so much on Blanche DuBoise that by the end I wa... Read full article

A Streetcar Named Desire (1)

By The Cinemaniac on Mar 31, 2013 From Cinemaniac Reviews

Review No. 446 Directed by: Elia Kazan Screenplay by: Tennessee Williams and Oscar Saul Based on: “A Streetcar Named Desire” by Tennessee Williams Blanche DuBois: Vivien Leigh Stanley Kowalski: Marlon Brando Stella Kowalski: Kim Hunter Harold “Mitch” Mitchell: Karl Malden Al... Read full article

A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

By 4 Star Film Fan on Sep 10, 2012 From 4 Star Films

The film adaption of the Tennessee Williams’ play, A Street Car Named Desire was directed by Elia Kazan and stars Marlon Brando as the rough Polish husband of Stella Kowalski. Vivien Leigh plays the role of Stella’s airy and superficial sister Blanche. The film opens in the French Quarte... Read full article

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A Streetcar Named Desire Quotes:

Stanley Kowalski: Take a look at yourself here in a worn-out Mardi Gras outfit, rented for 50 cents from some rag-picker. And with a crazy crown on. Now what kind of a queen do you think you are? Do you know that I've been on to you from the start, and not once did you pull the wool over this boy's eyes? You come in here and you sprinkle the place with powder and you spray perfume and you stick a paper lantern over the light bulb - and, lo and behold, the place has turned to Egypt and you are the Queen of the Nile, sitting on your throne, swilling down my liquor. And do you know what I say? Ha ha! Do you hear me? Ha ha ha!
Stella: I never listen to you when you're being morbid.
Blanche DuBois: Please don't get up.
Stanley Kowalski: Nobody's going to get up, so don't get worried.
Stanley Kowalski: Hey, STELLA.
Blanche DuBois: Straight? What's 'straight'? A line can be straight, or a street. But the heart of a human being?
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A Streetcar Named Desire Facts
Huey Long was the governor of Louisiana (1928-1932) and a U.S Senator from Louisiana (1932-1935). He introduced program called 'Share the Wealth' with the motto 'Every Man A King'.
As of 2003 it is one of only two films in history to win three Academy awards for acting. The other is Network.
While Vivien Leigh was playing Blanche, her real-life husband Laurence Olivier was also in Hollywood, filming Carrie, costarring Jennifer Jones and directed by William Wyler. On one occasion, the celebrated couple dined with Marlon Brando.
The Production Code censors demanded 68 script changes from the Broadway staging, while the interference of the Catholic Legion of Decency led to even further cuts, most of them having to do with references to homosexuality and rape. In his memoirs, Tennessee Williams wrote that he liked the film but felt it was "slightly marred by the Hollywood ending".
The movie's line "I have always depended on the kindness of strangers." was voted as the #75 movie quote by the American Film Institute (out of 100).
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