Adapted from Tennessee Williams’ play of the same name, the film’s heroine, Blanche, is a southern woman from a homesteader’s family with a good culture. After her family falls, she runs away to her sister, Stella, but her brother-in-law, Stanley, is a barbaric and uneducated old man, whose arrival triggers a series of conflicts, and ultimately, Blanche’s spirit completely breaks down and she is arrested and taken to an insane asylum.
The film creates a unique theatrical atmosphere through the use of long dialogues, scene setting and photography. Vivien Leigh, through her superb acting, brings out the complexity, contradictions and inner world of Blanche’s character, and thus won the Best Actress Award at the 24th Academy Awards.
1951 / USA / Drama / Elia Kazan / Vivien Leigh Marlon Brando
The film is based on the play of the same name by the famous playwright Tennessee Williams.
After being dismissed from her position as a governess for “inappropriate” behavior, the aging “Southern belle” Blanche (Vivien Leigh) comes to New Orleans to join her sister.
The sister’s family lives in a squalid apartment building with her husband, Stanley (Marlon Brando), the son of Polish immigrants, who is rough and reckless and a heavy drinker and gambler.
Because of her pampered upbringing and old-fashioned Southern upbringing, Brando is more or less neurotic and considers Stanley to be a very uneducated man, who, because of the delicate sensitivities she displays, believes that she will bring his wife down and even threaten his position as the master of the house, and verbally insults her from time to time to show her her abhorrence.
In this environment, the tragedy of Blanche unfolds little by little.
