WHAT: A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) 75th Anniversary screening
WHEN: April 15, 2026 1 PM & 7 PM
WHERE: Pickwick Theatre, Park Ridge, IL
HOW MUCH: $12/$10 advance or $10 for the 1 PM matinee
Advance Tickets: Click Here and select date and time (7 PM).
“Whoever you are, I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.” ~ Blanche DuBois (Vivien Leigh)
To honor the 75th anniversary of A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), the Pickwick Theatre Classic Film Series will be screening the film on April 15, 2026. Even those movie buffs who haven’t seen it in its entirety are at least familiar with Marlon Brando’s famous “Hey, Stella!” line. It’s so entrenched in film history and, to some extent, pop culture. This was Brando’s breakthrough role portraying the sweaty, undershirt-wearing Stanley Kowalski. It wasn’t just a riveting performance. It was a groundbreaking performance that did much to guide film acting in another direction.
Streetcar is filled with outstanding performances from an ensemble cast– three of whom won Oscars. Ironically, though he was nominated for Best Actor, Marlon Brando is the one in this quartet who did not win– instead losing to Humphrey Bogart for The African Queen (1951). Brando would, however, win an Academy Award a couple years later for On the Waterfront (1953), which was directed by Elia Kazan. Although Brando has been justly praised for the film and can certainly be considered the main draw for some viewers, in truth, Streetcar is the only movie we ever booked solely on account of the lead actress– that being Vivien Leigh.
A Streetcar Named Desire was based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway play by Tennessee Williams. The famed playwright had been a scriptwriter at MGM in the 1940s, but it was the theatrical success of The Glass Menagerie in 1944 that launched his career. Streetcar recalled his days living in New Orleans. At that time, one streetcar ran to “Desire” Street while another ran to “Cemeteries.” Williams appreciated the sardonic quality of this juxtaposition and made it a key note of his play. Streetcar took its inspiration from other one-act plays he had written– one being about a poker night– while one of his main characters, Blanche DuBois, was based partly on his sister and aunt. The play was produced by Irene Mayer Selznick (daughter of Louis B. Mayer). Elia Kazan, a former actor who became both a theatre and film director, was chosen to helm the stage production. Its first performance on Broadway was December 3, 1947.
A Streetcar Named Desire tells the story of a fading and fragile Southern belle, Blanche DuBois, who travels to the French Quarter in New Orleans to live with her sister, Stella, and her husband, Stanley Kowalski. Blanche has a past and is looking for a safe harbor and some stability. Stanley, a crude, volatile man, sees through Blanche’s pretensions. Their relationship is, at best, strained– at worst, toxic. Despite Stanley’s shortcomings, his relationship with Stella remains passionate and seemingly incapable of being broken. During Blanche’s stay, she captivates Mitch, a friend of Stanley’s who naively buys into the high-toned image Blanche has created for herself. But these relationships ultimately disintegrate, and Blanche’s own mental state begins to spiral.
On stage, Marlon Brando portrayed Stanley Kowalski. Kim Hunter, whom Irene Mayer Selznick knew from films like A Matter of Life and Death (1946), had the role of Stanley’s wife, Stella. Mitch was played by Karl Malden. A member of the Actors Studio in New York City, Malden had earlier appeared in Arthur Miller’s All My Sons, which had been directed by Elia Kazan. All three performers would be brought to Hollywood later to recreate their roles on film. The one star who did not join them was Jessica Tandy, who had the pivotal role of Blanche. Tandy was deemed perfect, and Karl Malden always believed she was the best actress in that part. The actors enjoyed working with her. Brando and Malden often referred to her as the “mother hen” because she was always trying to keep her male co-stars in line and make sure they remained serious about what they were doing.
Due to the success of the play, it was only a matter of time before Streetcar would be translated to the screen. At first, it seemed as though Irene Mayer Selznick herself would try and produce it, but ultimately it was producer Charles K. Feldman who bought the rights. He took the property to 20th Century Fox, which was no stranger to adapting challenging material. This was the same studio that had made films like The Grapes of Wrath (1940). But its president wanted no part of the play because there would be censorship issues. The story dealt with such topics as nymphomania, homosexuality and rape.
It was Jack Warner at Warner Brothers who stepped in and agreed to film Streetcar. Unlike most films of the era, this one would be far different from those typically made within the studio system. There would be no contract players, for instance. Most of the talent would be brought in from outside, which was practically unheard of for its day. Elia Kazan was asked to direct it but initially refused. Part of his reasoning was that he didn’t want to repeat himself, having already done it on stage. It was Tennessee Williams, however, who pushed him to take the project on because he knew his play would be in safe hands. He knew that Kazan would fight for it when the time came. Prodded by Williams, Kazan relented. He worked on the screenplay with Tennessee and Oscar Saul.
Elia Kazan is often regarded as one of the great directors of actors. He never story-boarded scenes as he didn’t want to put restrictions on the energy and spontaneity of his performers. He had seen in Brando an ability to be unpredictable. As an actor, he never fell into a nightly routine, and his rhythm as an actor was a challenge for Jessica Tandy. Brando was dynamic every time he took the stage. He made the material seem fresh each night. Audiences saw this up close and couldn’t wait to see him make his entrance. Kazan recognized this ability in Brando from the very first play he directed with him, Truckline Cafe, when the young actor had only a small scene but made the most of it. He never did any scene exactly the same twice. These acting traits would carry over into film. Brando was of the Method school of acting, which was a more realistic approach compared to the theatrical style of earlier generations.
There was no question Marlon Brando would reprise the part of Stanley on the Warner lot, and of course, Kim Hunter and Karl Malden were brought on to join him. But the studio balked at Jessica Tandy– not because of her abilities but because the studio needed a “name” to carry the picture. The role was offered to Bette Davis and Olivia de Havilland, but both declined. The star they sought would have to carry the other actors as well. Karl Malden admitted later in life that if Jessica Tandy had been hired, both he and Kim Hunter would likely have been replaced with bigger stars.
“I don’t want realism. I want magic!” ~ Vivien Leigh as Blanche DuBois
Vivien Leigh was no stranger to the play. In fact, she had already performed the role for six months in London in a 1949 version directed by her husband, Laurence Olivier. She was also no stranger to playing Southern belles. Blanche would be one of the most taxing roles for Vivien, and given her later struggles with mental illness, there is an uncomfortable parallel to Blanche being on the edge of coming apart. Brando loved her and thought she was very “sexy” in the role. There were, of course, differences in how the play had been put forth in London versus New York, but the actors got along and were able to find the right approach together. Some of these changes were subtle. For example, Karl Malden might have picked up Jessica Tandy like a ballerina in the play, but for the film, she was lifted as though being carried over a threshold. For Kazan, one of the main differences from his version of the play is that he re-balanced it for the film. Whereas Stanley Kowalski was the dominant figure before, this time it would be the character of Blanche DuBois.
Besides Kazan, some of the outside talent that was brought in on the production side of things included the art director, costume designer, and cinematographer. The film was shot by Harry Stradling, who helped create the film’s “Southern Gothic” atmosphere. Additionally, he and Kazan gave the film a claustrophobic feel that was conveyed gradually in a subtle way. Stradling, whose career went back to the early 1920s, worked both in Europe and Hollywood and photographed some of the most legendary actresses of all time, including Marlene Dietrich, Katharine Hepburn and Carole Lombard. In Streetcar, Vivien Leigh gets a dramatic entrance, emerging from the steam of a train. This moment was heavily inspired by the film Anna Karenina (1935) with Greta Garbo. Despite its stage origins, there is nothing static about Streetcar‘s look. It is a visually striking motion picture in its evocation of place, and that’s a testament to Stradling and Kazan.
In addition to the outside talent, another aspect that separated this film from standard production was the fact that it was shot in sequence, which almost never happens– then or now. There were only two main sets: the interior of Stanley and Stella’s run-down apartment and its exterior. Due to the slow pace of movie-making, Kazan was careful to make sure his actors were always ready on set. To keep them engaged during the filming process, Kazan marked off an area on set for the performers to rehearse when other scenes were being filmed. Kim Hunter later said this whole period was the best movie experience of her life. Undoubtedly, these conditions aided Marlon Brando’s performance as well.
The film score was composed by Alex North, who had orchestrated many stage productions such as Death of a Salesman. He had become a close friend of Kazan’s and was given this assignment. North went south to New Orleans for research and allowed its culture to infuse his compositions. His mix of jazz and classical music was unprecedented for the time. It’s not pure jazz since North relied on heavier written compositions within an orchestral framework, but he introduced jazz elements in a way that had never really been done before. Jazz legend Miles Davis was reportedly impressed with North, and the score would influence other films such as The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), West Side Story (1957) and Chinatown (1974). North would go on to score films like Spartacus (1960) and Cleopatra (1963). He infamously scored Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) until the director decided to discard everything and go with an exclusively classical soundtrack.
On the set with Elia Kazan (right).
The film was shot in two months, but as was to be expected, there were issues with censorship. At that time, Hollywood was still at the mercy of the Hays Office, or the Breen Office to be more exact. Studios had to submit their screenplay and cut of the film for approval. There were primarily three main issues that had to be adjusted for Streetcar. In the play, Blanche had a history of taking up with school boys whom she taught. This was muted in the film but is suggested with the young paperboy Blanche kisses on the mouth. The play also deals with her guilt over the suicide of her young husband, who was a homosexual. In the film, he is referred to being more of a sensitive, intellectual type. Finally, in the play there is a rape scene involving Blanche. This could not be removed from the film because this is what the play was all about. This is one of the reasons why Tennessee Williams had wanted Kazan, so that he would be there to defend the integrity of his work. Kazan was able to suggest this crucial moment by indirection– namely, a cracked mirror!
Although it was passed by the Breen Office, the Catholic Legion of Decency condemned the picture and gave it the dreaded “C” classification. This could’ve severely jeopardized the film’s potential at the box office, so a compromise was made. Working with intermediary Martin Quigley, a lay Catholic who had been one of the parties responsible for writing the Production Code in 1930, some additional cuts were made. These trims included some lines of dialogue as well as some suggestiveness. The most famous example is the scene in which Stella comes back to Stanley after being struck by him. She is both repulsed and fascinated by him. There is a strong carnal desire in her as she slowly descends the outdoor staircase, ultimately leading her back into his arms. There were cuts to this scene which forced Alex North to re-score the entire sequence. All these edits were eventually restored to the film in the 1990s, and it is the uncut version that audiences experience today.
A Streetcar Named Desire was a hit at the box office, earning $4,250,000. It was nominated for twelve Academy Awards, winning four: Best Actress (Leigh), Best Supporting Actress (Hunter), Best Supporting Actor (Malden), and Best Production Design (Richard Day and George James Hopkins). It was the first film to win three of four acting awards. The film has become one of the genuine classics of Hollywood thanks to its superb casting and direction. Streetcar is not a story with stock characters. Kazan made sure that every character in it was well-defined and had their own motivation. The fidelity with which Kazan brought the play to the screen is the reason Streetcar is often considered one of the best adaptations of a play. The film has not been topped since, but there are always stage productions. The play is a landmark work that is continuously being reinterpreted. (There’s one right now being performed at the Skokie Theatre until April 26). For those who are unfamiliar with the story, here is an opportunity to see this masterful film version which used most of the cast from the original play.
~MCH
Vivien Leigh, Marlon Brando, Kim Hunter and Karl Malden
Vivien Leigh
