Winter Film Discussion Series

STELLA! Tennessee Williams : Plays to Film

Join us this winter for an adult discussion series featuring classic films adapted from the works of playwright Tennessee Williams.  Films are shown in their entirety; all discussion events begin at 6:30 p.m. in the library Community Room.  Library staff member Phil Carr moderates.

Tuesday, January 17 : Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)

Examine Tennessee Williams' searing account of greed and sexual frustration and its effect on a prominent Southern family. Burl Ives recreates his Broadway role as "Big Daddy." Elizabeth Taylor gives a smoldering performance as Maggie, the rejected wife. Paul Newman plays Brick, Maggie's troubled husband.  The play won the Pulitzer in 1955; both Taylor and Newman were nominated for Academy Awards.

Tuesday Febrary 14 : A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

Blanche DuBois (Vivien Leigh) moves in with her sister Stella (Kim Hunter) and Stella’s husband, Stanley (Marlon Brando). Blanche refuses to come to terms with the death of her Southern aristocratic background, causing her to conflict with her lower-class brother-in-law. Stanley harshly forces her to face the facts, driving her to a complete personality breakdown in this cinematic version of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play.

Tuesday, March 13 : The Rose Tattoo (1955)

Serafina Delle Rose (Anna Magnani), a Sicilian woman living in the American South, mourns the death of her husband, constantly telling herself stories of their time together. Her fragile emotional existence is shattered when she discovers that her husband had been carrying on with another woman. Serafina later meets truck driver Alvaro (Burt Lancaster) and begins a tentative romance. The play won a Tony Award in 1951. Williams wrote the screenplay with Magnani in mind; she went on to win the Oscar for Best Actress.

Plot summaries developed using information from Movie Licensing USA, Fandango, and Internet Movie Database.