Starring Marlon Brando, written by Tennessee Williams: but A Streetcar Named Desire this isn't. Based on Williams' Broadway failure Orpheus Descending, this is an overwritten drama of desire and deception that's so weighted with symbolism and mythological pretensions that it could sink into the Mississippi swamps. Brando is the wandering minstrel, Val Xavier, a guitarist/singer with a snakeskin jacket and a shady past. Arriving in the small Mississippi town of Two Rivers, he becomes an object of desire for Carol (Joanne Woodward), nymphomaniac daughter from the best family in town, and for Lady (Anna Magnani), wife of his employer, embittered general store owner Jabe Torrance (Victor Jory). It all ends in death and destruction of course and it's pretty laughable. However, Brando does well against massive odds, upgrading the film to two stars. If you stick with this to the bitter end, you'll be able to savour some splendidly overblown symbolism (it involves the snakeskin jacket).


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