A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) ****

Elia Kazan's cinematic adaptation of Tennessee Williams's play features four truly powerhouse performances which resulted in nominations in all four acting categories at the Academy Awards, with three wins, ironically Marlon Brando being the one left out in the cold. Despite that blunder, all four leads give quite possibly the best performances of their careers as emotional states have never been so palpable on the big screen. It's hard not to be sucked into the sensual, steamy scenes that take place in the Kowalski household that one hot summer in New Orleans as the passion reaches even greater heights than the temperature. Astonishingly, nine members of the credited cast are pulled straight from the Broadway play, with Vivien Leigh having played the role of Blanche DuBois in London. Jessica Tandy had played the immortal role on Broadway with the rest of the cast. Unlike today when a play makes the move to the big screen, rarely do any of the actors cross over as it makes more business sense to obtain names with box-office appeal, but here the producers and director were wise not to mess with a good thing and being one of only two films that has won three Academy Awards for acting (the other being Network), they were proven right to do so.

Troubled sister Blanche (Leigh) arrives in New Orleans to stay with her sister Stella (Kim Hunter, Dr. Zira from Planet of the Apes) and her husband Stanley (Brando) following the loss of the family home, Belle Reve. She hides aspects of her past and it positively frightens her when she suspects that Stella and Stanley are aware of them. Her fragile mental state suffers further deterioration at the hands of her brutish and overbearing brother-in-law who makes it his mission to belittle and dominate himself over Blanche any chance he gets. Stanley is a seething torrent of anger and passion which starkly contrasts with the reserved upbringing Blanche has come to expect from men being a Southern belle. He's the exact opposite of the man she would have assumed her sister to have ended up with but once she sees them together it becomes quite apparent what drives the two of them together.

Having seen the film for a second time, smaller character moments are more noticeable when you are not trying to keep up with the plot. Hunter was an excellent choice to reprise her role as the hunger she feels for Stanley is clearly apparent whenever she casts her gaze towards her husband. It certainly understandable how she can be attracted to Stanley, as Brando was quite dashing with his boyish good looks and impressive physique. She's drawn to him and those feelings sometimes cause her to lose control over her better judgment. In one of the most famous scenes, Stanley strikes his wife when she tries to break up his poker game late at night. She takes refuge in the apartment upstairs while Stanley is thrown into the shower by his buddies in an effort to sober him up. Dripping wet and with ripped T-shirt (certainly an inspiration for Captain Kirk in countless episodes of Star Trek), he stumbles outside pleading for his wife, shouting her name at the top of his lungs. She saunters down the stairs to return to his arms and the two reconcile quickly and head to their bedroom. Blanche is left speechless at how her sister could return to a man who physically assaulted her only moments before but desire is near impossible to overcome.

Blanche herself is not completely immune to Stanley's sensuality as she catches herself staring at him during their first meeting when he changes his shirt. However that undercurrent of attraction gives way to a battle of wills between the two once Stanley realizes Blanche intends to "rescue" Stella so they both can leave New Orleans together. Once it becomes apparent that Stella has no intention of ever leaving Stanley, especially with a baby on the way, Blanche sets her sights on improving her own lot and begins to court her own gentleman, Stanley's best friend Mitch (Karl Malden). She creates the illusion that she is a prim and proper lady who gives nothing more than a good night kiss as she tries to get Mitch to propose to her. Little pieces of her troubled past begin to come out, such as the tragic end of her first marriage when her young husband committed suicide, with her indirectly responsible as she had insulted him only moments before. She is desperate to be loved, to have stability in her life after so much loss and tragedy. Unfortunately Stanley has been doing his own digging into her past and decides he needs to enlighten Mitch once he discovers what really led to her coming to New Orleans.

The character of Blanche DuBois is a beaten and broken woman who at a very young age was tainted by a severely unfortunate sense of circumstances. The loss of her first husband and the financial ruin of her family has left her in dire need of a husband for support and love. With her age increasing and her beauty fading away, she used the charms she had left to court countless men becoming a pariah in her hometown after being caught with one of her students. She wants nothing more than to be desired by someone, sadly just like Stella and Stanley feel for each other. Her newest prospect Mitch is torn from her and leads to a further deterioration of her mental state when he refuses to marry her because she is not clean enough to bring into a house with his mother. He of course has no qualms about still sleeping with her and she throws her out of the house and lets out a primal scream of rage and torment that has building in her since she first arrived in New Orleans. It is now she loses her grip with reality and retreats into her past, believing an old suitor is planning on taking her on a cruise.

The final confrontation between Stanley and Blanche is one that has building throughout the entire film. He takes enormous pleasure in tearing down the walls of her fantasy and becomes more forceful and physical with her than he has ever before. It's no longer a simple need to sully her reputation, he now needs complete domination over her and once he achieves it mentally the only thing left is to do it physically. With Stella spending the night in the hospital and Blanche in no condition to defend herself, he attacks her while she futilely tries to defend herself with a broken bottle. It's the final proof of his domination over her and it leaves her a shadow of her former self, giving Stella no recourse but to have her committed to obtain the help she needs. Despite everyone being aware of Stanley's contribution to her final fate, they don't speak out against him with only Mitch making a depressed plea that it is his fault she is like this. In a change from the ending to the play, the hunger in Stella's eyes is replaced with distaste and hate and she demands he never touch her again. It's a more uplifting, Hollywood ending than the original but it gives Kim Hunter a chance to once again show how well she can convey her emotions without words.

Hunter was probably my favorite of the four actors as she is given arguably the most difficult role, being torn between her husband and sister. She can't be played for a fool and has to show at least a partial awareness of the dangers of her marriage to Stanley. She brilliantly walks that fine line throughout the film and the "happier" ending is in tune with her performance and because of this it does not feel tacked on at the last minute. Another great highlight is the film's score which transitions seamlessly from moody, sultry jazz to an escalating frenetic pace as Blanche loses her grasp on reality. It's also interesting to note that the production design called for the Kowalski apartment to become smaller in size over the course of the film to highlight the claustrophobia of Blanche DuBois.

Favorite moment: Following the immortal scene of Stanley's bellowing of "Stella!", the next morning finds Blanche attempting to convince Stella she would be better off leaving Stanley. He, outside, overhears their conversation and appears both angered at Blanche's interference and also frightened at the prospect of his wife leaving him. Stella is torn between her old and new family and in this scene is practically forced to make her choice. Standing beside Blanche, Stanley stands in the opposite room and after glancing back and forth she leaps into Stanley's arms with him giving a knowing, victorious look towards Blanche. Stella has made her choice and it's him.