LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Marlon Brando: Stanley Kowalski
built 199 days ago
Marlon Brando directs (after taking over the helm from Stanley Kubrick) and stars as a ruthless outlaw who escapes from a sadistic prison to exact vengeance upon his one-time partner, who is now the sheriff of a small town. Offbeat psychological Western co-stars Karl Malden, Ben Johnson and Katy Jurado. 141 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English. Plays All Regions.
In 1960 Brando had hired a young director, Stanley Kubrick to work on his next film under the Pennebaker banner, to be the actor's first big screen western, with a working title of A Burst of Vermillion. The pre-production process was troubled and presaged the eventual problems with the resulting film that would become know as One-Eyed Jacks. When no suitable replacement for Kubrick could be found, Brando took the helm and made his directorial debut. This production is legendary in Hollywood for astonishing record of how much filmstock was shot. Back stories include such incidents as Brando keeping an expensive crew waiting for hours to get just the right light for a short scene and the cast getting drunk to add realism to a scene that ultimately proved to be unusable. Although the film was generally accorded positive—if bemused—reviews, it was ... legendary for the costs accrued and the miles of film that was exposed to create the final result.
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Brando [F]ound Hollywood - a town always full of Kowalskis - in a state of transition. The reliable mass market was slipping away to television; the factory system, ruled by a handful of industry 'pioneers', was losing its sovereignty to stars and directors who were, with the help of powerful agencies, creating their own packages. Brando had a long-term contract with Fox, but he fought the studio constantly and, unlike the older generation of stars, had the option to make independent films, so he could not be disciplined by suspensions or blacklisting. In addition he did not dress like a star, could not be coerced into interviews or publicity gimmicks he found demeaning. He declared:
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Brando himself preferred the screen version of Streetcar to the stage version. He said Vivien Leigh was a better Blanche, a "broken flower," and held the sympathies of the audience equal to Stanley. That made, he said, a better balance.
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Stanley Kowalski