Okay, I have a confession to make. Until this afternoon, I had never had any interaction with A Streetcar Named Desire. Never read it, never saw the 1951 film wit Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh, and I probably never would have given it much thought, but it was assigned reading for my Modern American drama course. Wow, y'all. It's jaw-dropping good. It's call your mama when you're finished and tell her about it good. It's flip to the front and start all over again good, which I didn't get to do because I'm working on two papers simultaneously. (Oh, graduate school!)
Needless to say, I loved the play. So I decided to procrastinate a little by searching for clips on YouTube (motherload!) and info on Tennessee Williams and Marlon Brando (because he's such a dream boat). I discovered some interesting tidbits, namely that Tennessee Williams (whose Cat On A Hot Tin Roof I had read before and enjoyed) is a native Mississippian like myself, born in Columbus, spent the first seven years of his life in Clarksdale (home of the blues!). I also found out that tomorrow, February 25th, marks the 4th anniversary of Brando's death. So, I thought I'd commemorate by sharing a clip from the Award-winning 1951 film adaptation of Streetcar.
Any of you have Brando stories?
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2 comments:
Brando. Sweet Jesus. They just don't make men like that anymore.
Streetcar is a must-see, Tim. I mean it. Don't rent it - BUY it. Then rent Guys and Dolls. Sure, it's a musical. Who cares. Brando plays Sky Masterson, the first man/character I ever fell in love with.
There are scads of good-looking men, but a paltry few who have "the thing" about them: the hand-over-your-credit-cards and forget-your-raising thing. Brando has "the thing." Goodness.
No Brando commentary, sadly. I know the following post is every bit as bad as ignoring the essay prompt. It's offering unsolicited advice on your mother's fried chicken, but I can't help myself.
Just wanted to let you know that if you skip The Glass Menagerie, nothing will have been lost. For whatever reason, that's the Tennesee Williams favorite of high school teachers everywhere. Go figure. It's sentimental and more than a little Washington Square.
Please don't let this get back to Dr. Stengel (He-Stengel, naturellement). I still long to be his scintillement petite chou.
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