“It all went wrong, and I don’t know why. That’s what I want to know–why!”

In 1949, twenty-eight year old British actress Deborah Kerr starred opposite screen veteran Spencer Tracy in Edward, My Son. Though Kerr had already won critical acclaim for a handful of popular films in her native England–among them I See a Dark Stranger (1946) and Black Narcissus (1947)–Edward was only her third American film, and in my mind, presented the young actress with…

“Do you know what loneliness is, real loneliness?”

The delightful 1945 romantic fantasy The Enchanted Cottage was first recommended to me by one of my favorite grad school professors (hi, Dr. Riley!). There were only three of us in this particular class, and we were flung together for three long hours every Wednesday afternoon, so a sense of easy camaraderie developed. There were many times…

Censorship and a Streetcar: Part Two

Note: you can find the first part of this entry here. Joseph Breen’s second caveat in adapting Streetcar revolved around the character of Blanche, whose more sexually predatory side could not be fully explicated on the screen per Production Code regulations. The faded Southern belle’s lack of sexual satisfaction in her marriage and her guilt over Allan’s suicide…