A Streetcar Named Desire
1952
****
Director: Elia Kazan
Cast: Vivien Leigh, Marlon Brando, Kim Hunter, Karl Malden, Rudy Bond, Nick Dennis, Peg Hillias
Stanley and Stella Kowalski are a New Orleans couple whose rocky marriage is built on emotional abuse and primal sexuality. Things finally come to a head when Stella's unstable sister Blanche moves in. This static but powerful adaptation of Tennessee Williams' play is wonderfully acted. Marlon Brando broke to the scene with his raw performance, but it's his three co-stars - Leigh, Hunter and Malden - who won the Academy Awards.
