A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

Synopsis of A Streetcar Named Desire

In the classic play by Tennessee Williams, brought to the screen by Elia Kazan, faded Southern belle Blanche DuBois (Vivien Leigh) comes to visit her pregnant sister, Stella (Kim Hunter), in a seedy section of New Orleans. Stella's boorish husband, Stanley Kowalski (Marlon Brando), not only regards Blanche's aristocratic affectations as a royal pain but also thinks she's holding out on inheritance money that rightfully belongs to Stella. On the fringes of sanity, Blanche is trying to forget her checkered past and start life anew. Attracted to Stanley's friend Mitch (Karl Malden), she glosses over the less savory incidents in her past, but she soon discovers that she cannot outrun that past, and the stage is set for her final, brutal confrontation with her brother-in-law. Brando, Hunter, and Malden had all starred in the original Broadway version of Streetcar, although the original Blanche had been Jessica Tandy. Brando lost out to Humphrey Bogart for the 1951 Best Actor Oscar, but Leigh, Hunter, and Malden all won Oscars. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Theatrical Feature Running Time:

122 mins

Director(s):

Elia Kazan

Writer(s):

Tennessee Williams, Oscar Saul

Producer(s):

Charles K. Feldman

Theatrical MPAA Rating:

PG(Adult Situations, Not For Children)

• 1998 - American Film Institute - 100 Greatest American Movies
• 1952 - British Academy of Film and Television Arts - Best British Actress
• 1951 - Hollywood Foreign Press Association - Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
• 1999 - Library of Congress - U.S. National Film Registry
• 1951 - New York Film Critics Circle - Best Actress
• 1951 - New York Film Critics Circle - Best Director
• 1951 - New York Film Critics Circle - Best Picture
• 1951 - Venice International Film Festival - Special Jury Prize
• 1951 - Venice International Film Festival - Volpi Cup for Best Actress

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