Photoplay (Jul-Dec 1951)

Tragedy in the tenements of New Orleans: Kim Hunter, Vivien Leigh, Marlon Brando in screen version of hit play v'yr* (A) A Streetcar Named Desire (Warners) «N occasion Hollywood rises to heights of artistic achievement, sometimes even pulling itself right out of the old box-office appeal. In “Streetcar,” a long stretch of feverish morbidity, there are no concessions made to happy endings. The story deals with the moral and mental degradation of two Southern girls at the hands of a brutish Polish-American. And right here let me say Marlon Brando wins our personal Oscar for his playing of Stanley Kowalski. Kim Hunter, his wife, held captive by sheer physical attraction, gives a performance that for shading and fine line-drawing cannot be surpassed. Showier, of course, is the role of Kim’s sister Blanche who arrives at her sister’s home an emotionally shaken woman in need of love and understanding but who, instead, is literally trampled into insanity by the boorish Kowalski. Vivien Leigh gives to the role of Blanche that wonderful, fragile, pitiful appeal that chalks up another difficult-to-surpass characterization. Karl Malden is excellent as Blanche’s suitor. Rudy Bond, Nick Dennis, and Peg Hillias complete the cast. Your Reviewer Says: Brutal but fascinating. Program Notes: Vivien Leigh starred in the London stage production of “Streetcar” for nine months before coming to Hollywood for the movie version. Laurence Olivier, her husband, made a picture in movietown at the same time. Weary from long weeks of work before the camera, the pair boarded a freighter for a long, restful ride back to England . . . Brando announced he was through, professionally, for 1951. Dissatisfied with his speaking voice ( perfect , however, for the role of Kowalski) Brando planned to study diction and voice at the Actors Studio, headed by Elia Kazan, who directed this film . . . Five years had elapsed since Kim Hunter had made a film in Hollywood. Kim played her same role in the stage version . . . Another member of the original stage cast is Karl Malden who has made several successful movies in the past year . . . Miss Leigh and a few members of the cast made a location jaunt to New Orleans to film scenes in and around that streetcar named Desire which has since been replaced by a bus of the same name. For Complete Casts of Current Pictures See /W (F) Alice in Wonderland (Disney-RKO) THE mythical magic of Disney is again displayed in the beautifully colored cartooned exploits of Alice in her wonderful Wonderland. All the characters so dearly loved by children and adults as well, are faithfully reproduced— the White Rabbit that causes Alice to plunge down the hole to Wonderland, the Walrus and the Carpenter who so ungraciously dine upon the baby oysters, TweedleDum and TweedleDee (borrowed from the “Looking Glass” sequel), the Cheshire Cat, the Caterpillar, the King and Queen of Hearts with their ridiculous croquet game and trial. Especially comical is the tea party with the Mad Hatter, the March Hare, and the Dormouse The scenic backgrounds are exquisitely detailed and embellished with several objects new to the original story. The music, soothing and lullaby-ish, is still not up to the “Snow White” score but Alice proves to be every little girl’s dream of the heroine she loves to read about. Your Reviewer Says: Fantastical fantasy of beauty and fun. Program Notes: For well over a year the Disney artists labored over their drawing boards penciling and coloring the characters of Alice. The research and story plan had previously occupied another year and the voice dubbing required many, many months of work. The voice of Alice was supplied by Kathy Beaumont. The famous comic Ed Wynn talked for the Mad Hatter and Richard Haydn for the Caterpillar. Sterling Holloway gave voice to the Cheshire Cat, Jerry Colonna to the March Hare and Pat O’Malley to both the Walrus and the Tweedle Twins, Dee and Dum. Bill Thompson chatted for the White Rabbit, Heather Angel for Alice’s grown-up sister, James MacDonald for the Dormouse and the fearsome off -with-their -heads threats were shouted by Verna Felton as the Queen of Hearts. The AEIOU song that accompanied the Caterpillar scene was the cleverest of all. Page 80. For Best Pictures of the Month and A . SHADOW ✓ ✓ ✓ OUTSTANDING ✓✓GOOD ✓FAIR TweedleDum andTweedleDee step out of “Looking Glass” sequel to appear with Alice in Disney’s amazing W onderland 26