The Glass Menagerie (1950)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The glass menagerie |
| Original title | The Glass Menagerie |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1950 |
| length | 110 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 6 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Irving rapper |
| script |
Peter Berneis Tennessee Williams |
| production |
Jerry Wald Charles K. Feldman |
| music | Max Steiner |
| camera | Robert Burks |
| cut | David Weisbart |
| occupation | |
| |
The Glass Menagerie is the first film adaptation of the successful play of the same name (1944) by Tennessee Williams . Directed by Irving Rapper , Jane Wyman and Kirk Douglas star.
action
The film unfolds its story from the back, tells of Tom Wingfield, who works for the merchant navy, who lives in a poor and shabby apartment in St. Louis with his embittered mother Amanda and physically disabled sister Laura . Mother Amanda was abandoned by her husband and tries to keep herself and the family afloat by selling newspaper subscriptions. The eternal problem child of the family is the tenderly tempered Laura, a thoroughly meek and whimsical girl who appears just as fragile as her glass menagerie , which consists of various glass animal figures and to which all of her attention applies. Amanda worries that Laura might one day find herself all alone, once she's gone. She asks Tom to bring one of his friends home with him so that Laura can finally meet someone new. Finally, Tom agrees and brings Jim O'Connor, the "whole guy" type, to dinner.
Jim is the exact opposite of the fragile Laura. He has both feet firmly on the ground, a solid guy who is sensitive enough to recognize that he has to treat Laura much more gently than the women he usually deals with. Amanda is enthusiastic about this clearly structured man and makes every effort with the prepared food so that he is not frightened at the first meeting with Laura. She turns out to be very reserved and, pretending to be ill, does not want to attend the dinner for four because she knows Jim from high school together . The girl, who limped because of a crippled leg, was considered the school's wallflower even then , while Jim was one of the most popular boys. After a period of warming up, Amanda arranges that Laura and Jim can stay alone together. Jim knows how to cleverly lure Laura out of her self-chosen shell and encourages her to put aside her restraint by asking her about her great passion, collecting glass figures. When Laura takes one of her favorite pieces, a unicorn , out of her glass menagerie, she stumbles briefly and the unicorn falls to the ground. The horn breaks off.
At first Laura is horrified because the unicorn now only looks like a normal horse and has lost its uniqueness. At the same time, however, the realization matures in her that this means an analogy to her own person, because without the flaw of the leg brace and the limping step, she too would just be any young woman. Jim supports Laura in this realization and asks her if she would like to accompany him to the dance in the Paradise Ballroom. Amanda is thrilled because she believes that she has found the perfect man for her problem child in Jim. But then he casually mentions that he already has a girlfriend named Betty. Laura is much less disappointed with this than her overconcerned mother, who, after Jim leaves, makes considerable reproaches to Tom about inviting an already assigned young man. As a farewell, Laura gives Jim the broken unicorn as a present and says he could like to come back with his girlfriend Betty. Despite the actually disappointing end of this evening for her, Laura has gained some important new insights and makes it clear to her brother that she is grateful to him and loves him.
Production notes
The glass menagerie was created in the Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank , California, and celebrated its world premiere on September 28, 1950. The German premiere was three years later.
The film structures were designed by Robert M. Haas , the equipment was provided by William Wallace. Milo Anderson designed the costumes.
The film cost around $ 1.357 million and grossed about $ 1.6 million. The production was therefore only considered to be a very moderate box office success.
Director Rapper wasn't thrilled with the cast that Warner Bros. had forced on him. He would have preferred to work with lesser-known leading actors. Above all, he saw the engagement of Gertrude Lawrence in the role of mother as an extremely bad cast, but the Tallulah Bankhead he preferred had major drinking problems, which is why company boss Jack Warner shied away from her commitment.
As part of the Lux Radio Theater series, Jane Wyman repeated her part in March 1954 for a radio edition of Die Glasmenagerie .
Reviews
"[The film] comes dangerously close to sheer clowning in some of its most fragile scenes ..."
“More remarkable for its cast and intent than for the result. Slow version of Tennessee Williams' drama. "
"The film adaptation cannot match the poetry and atmosphere of the drama, but impresses with its solid direction and good performance."
“Moderately grumpy version of the author's lighter and more optimistic pieces. Fluent in language and good-looking production, memorable appearances. "
Individual evidence
- ↑ Rapper Interview (1980)
- ^ The Glass Menagerie in the Lexicon of International Films , accessed on December 24, 2018
Web links
- The Glass Menagerie at the Internet Movie Database (English)
- complete film review in The New York Times