Tennessee Williams: Orpheus of the American Stage

Merrill Brockway
1994-12-19


0
86 min

A study of Tennessee Williams's life and work as a whole, ranging from his youth in Mississippi and in St. Louis to success and acclaim, followed by the final difficult years. Includes some of the most celebrated scenes from film adaptations of Williams' work, among them extracts of A Streetcar Named Desire (1951),Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), Night of the Iguana, The (1964), and Suddenly, Last Summer (1993) (TV). Contains footage of Williams being interviewed, including conversations with David Frost, 'Edward R. Murrow (I)', and Melvyn Bragg, as well as reminiscences from people who knew and worked with him, among them Edward Albee, Gore Vidal, and his lifelong friend, Lady Maria St. Just. Features readings from Elia Kazan's Notebook by Kim Hunter.

Cast

Name Character Team
Tennessee Williams Self (archive footage) Unowned
Carroll Baker Baby Doll Meighan (archive footage) Unowned
Reed Birney Actor Unowned
Melvyn Bragg Self Unowned
Marlon Brando Stanley Kowalski / Valentine 'Snakeskin' Xavier (archive footage) Unowned
Dick Cavett Self (archive footage) Unowned
Montgomery Clift Dr. Cukrowicz (archive footage) Unowned
David Frost Self Unowned
Katharine Hepburn Mrs. Venable (archive footage) Unowned
Kim Hunter Self Unowned
Burl Ives Big Daddy (archive footage) Unowned
Elia Kazan Self (archive footage) Unowned
Frank Langella Narrator The Free Refills
Anna Magnani Serafina Delle Rose / Lady Torrance (archive footage) Unowned
Yukio Mishima Self (archive footage) Unowned
Edward R. Murrow Self (archive footage) Unowned
Paul Newman Brick / Chance Wayne (archive footage) Unowned
Geraldine Page Alexandra Del Lago / Alma Winemiller (archive footage) Unowned
Maria St. Just Self Unowned
Maureen Stapleton Self Unowned
Gore Vidal Self Unowned
Sam Waterston Tom Wingfield (archive footage) Unowned