A Streetcar Named Desire

A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) begins with Blanche DuBois arriving at her sister's apartment in New Orleans. She has nowhere to stay, she lies about her past, and her brother in law Stanley senses it on the first day. The film spends its length in one apartment, watching two people destroy each other. The source is Tennessee Williams's play. Three of the Broadway cast came with it: Marlon Brando, Kim Hunter and Karl Malden. Jessica Tandy, who originated Blanche on stage, was replaced by Vivien Leigh for star power. Leigh had played the part in London. Censorship changed the film substantially. To satisfy the Hays Code and avoid condemnation by the Legion of Decency, scenes were cut after filming. Blanche's husband killing himself after a homosexual affair was discovered was removed. The rape scene was shortened. The ending was altered: in the play Stella silently returns to Stanley, while the film has her blame him and resolve to leave. In 1993 Warner Bros. found the censored footage during a routine inventory and released it as a director's version. The acting awards are the strangest result: Vivien Leigh, Kim Hunter and Karl Malden all won Oscars. Brando was nominated and lost. It runs 125 minutes. Good for: Tennessee Williams, Brando's arrival, and intense stage trained performance. Less good for: censorship weakened the two most important points in the text, and for anyone who knows the play the film is incomplete. The single set and the pitch of the dialogue feel suffocating to some viewers.