Very interesting -- I haven't seen this film for ages, largely because I find Stanley so unpleasant (umm, understatement?) and I haven't seen or read the stage play at all, though I'm generally familiar with the cuts that were made. I do love all the performances, thought, and it's rather silly to suggest that Blanche is Scarlett just b/c of the similar accent. Blanche, and the way we see her, would of course be affected by the idea of Scarlett, whether she was played by the same actress or not, so it is a rather brilliant piece of casting in the meta-sense, even if Kazan was too dense to see it. Anyway, I think you have a point about the ending, even without having seen the stage version to compare. Because, yes, I don't think Stella's going away for good; if she was going to make that choice, she would have sided with Blanche.
And, on a completely different note and tone, my college roommate and I named our stapler "Stella," because we could never find it when we needed it and the frustration was somewhat lightened if we could stagger around the room doing a Brando impression. I suppose "Heathcliff" would have worked as well.
Incidentally, I love Williams, but for whatever reason I much prefer Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Orpheus Descending to either Streetcar or Menagerie -- earlier I mentioned the film version of Orpheus, which is Lumet's Fugitive Kind (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052832/). In that film, Brando essentially gets to play the Blanche character -- with Anna Magnani and Joanne Woodward as two of Williams' more compelling women. The film is cut considerably from the play (which is massive -- I actually saw an uncut version of the stage production -- in fact, I liked it so much I saw it twice -- but definitely not filmable in that form). But anyway, as I recall the screen censorship didn't take as much out of it as the cuts in "Cat" or "Streetcar," because the play is more allegorical and coded in the first place. And. . . now that you've given me a chance to ramble about one of my favorite films, I have no idea if the film is available, since I only saw it at onscreen at a festival a few years ago.
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And, on a completely different note and tone, my college roommate and I named our stapler "Stella," because we could never find it when we needed it and the frustration was somewhat lightened if we could stagger around the room doing a Brando impression. I suppose "Heathcliff" would have worked as well.
Incidentally, I love Williams, but for whatever reason I much prefer Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Orpheus Descending to either Streetcar or Menagerie -- earlier I mentioned the film version of Orpheus, which is Lumet's Fugitive Kind (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052832/). In that film, Brando essentially gets to play the Blanche character -- with Anna Magnani and Joanne Woodward as two of Williams' more compelling women. The film is cut considerably from the play (which is massive -- I actually saw an uncut version of the stage production -- in fact, I liked it so much I saw it twice -- but definitely not filmable in that form). But anyway, as I recall the screen censorship didn't take as much out of it as the cuts in "Cat" or "Streetcar," because the play is more allegorical and coded in the first place. And. . . now that you've given me a chance to ramble about one of my favorite films, I have no idea if the film is available, since I only saw it at onscreen at a festival a few years ago.