When Blanche Met Brando The Scandalous Story of "A Streetcar Named Desire"

by Staggs, Sam

• ISBN13: 9780312321666
• ISBN10: 031232166X
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-07-25
• Publisher: Griffin

Summary

Exhaustively researched and almost flirtatiously opinionated, When Blanche Met Brando is everything a fan needs to know about the ground-breaking New York and London stage productions ofStreetcar as well as the classic Marlon Brando/Vivien Leigh film. The Elia Kazan movie launched Brandos career and defined Leighs. Sam Staggs interviews with all the living cast members of each production make this book satisfying as both a pop culture read and as a deeper piece of thinking about a well-known story. Readers will be delighted with the juicy behind-the-scenes stories about cast, director, and playwright and will also renew their curiosity about the connection between the role of Blanche and Leighs insatiable sexual appetite and her later descent into breakdown. A Streetcar Named Desire is one of the most haunting and most-studied modern plays. Staggs new book will fascinate fans and enrich newcomers understanding of its importance in American theater and movie history.

Author Biography

Sam Staggs is the author of ALL ABOUT “ALL ABOUT EVE” and CLOSE-UP ON SUNSET BOULEVARD. He has written for a variety of publications, including Vanity Fair and Architectural Digest. He lives in Dallas, Texas.
 

Table of Contents

Author's Note	xiii
Introduction: The Twelve Last Words of Blanche	xv
Blanche Collins and Her Brother-in-Law, Ralph Kowalski	1	(8)
The Flame of New Orleans	9	(6)
Drama in Hollywood	15	(11)
All That Summer They Searched for Stanley	26	(11)
Stanley's Wife and Blanche's Gentleman Caller	37	(6)
``I Found My Job Through The New York Times''	43	(7)