Best Actress: Vivien Leigh II

 I've always depended on the strength of Vivien Leigh's performances as Southern belles... 

via romanticspeculation

Just over a decade after she first won an Oscar for playing the quintessential Southern belle, Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind, Vivien Leigh returned to form playing a tempest in a teacup, Blanche DuBois, in the Tennessee Williams classic A Streetcar Named Desire. 

But Blanche and Scarlett, though both Southern belles on paper, couldn't be more different in their temperament and personalities, and it's not enough that Vivien managed to pull off the accent twelve years prior and managed to do it again. Where Scarlett was forceful and confident, there's a fragility to Blanche. She's hanging on by a thread, clinging to the better days behind her, and both fearful and contemptuous of where life has led her. 

There's an emotional heaviness to Blanche. The years, and the people around her, have not been kind to her. She's not been kind to herself. She's done terrible things in her life in pursuit of her vanity. Vivien's performance is very deft at showing how the walls are closing in on this fading beauty. She doesn't crumble all at once, she crumbles very slowly over the course of the 125-minute run time, and it's fascinating to watch someone as skilled as Vivien bringing this performance to life. 

Just like there's only one Scarlett O'Hara (not that I think anyone should be rushing to remake this movie, for many reasons; but Vivien's portrayal is so singular that she is Scarlett O'Hara to most people), despite Streetcar continually being remounted on the stage, in my opinion, there's only ever going to be one Blanche DuBois. Vivien Leigh is a master and her legacy is unrivalled. I just wish more people knew about her today. 

I do have to confess that I'm not so much of a Tennessee Williams fan; I'm more of a watch-them-then-never-think-about-them-again, so much of what I remembered of Streetcar is the parts that get quoted all the time. I definitely think everyone would've been happier had Stanley 'tripped' and fell down the stairs in the first 10 minutes or so... 

Vivien was nominated against Katharine Hepburn (The African Queen), Eleanor Parker (Detective Story), Shelley Winters (A Place in the Sun), and Jane Wyman (The Blue Veil). I've seen The African Queen and A Place in the Sun, but I think Vivien deserved the win this year.

DID I LIKE A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE? I mean, I can appreciate that it's a great script and all the actors are fantastic in this (I'm not a Brando fan, sorry), but it's not one I would want to revisit over and over again.

Did you like A Streetcar Named Desire? What are your thoughts on Vivien Leigh's second and final Oscar win? 

Keep up with all my Rewatching the Best Actresses posts here.