This Property Is Condemned

This is one of those dramas that is never dated. No matter how many times I watch it, it never loses its magic. Having memorized virtually every line in the movie, I continue to enjoy it more with each viewing.

The 1966 masterpiece, which takes place in a fictitious small town in Mississippi during the depression, was only released on DVD in late 2003. It should be a part of everyone's collection.

The characters and the setting are remarkable in their realism. Natalie Wood's vulnerable bimbo may be the best role of her career (and is Alva Star a perfect name, or what?). Kate Reid, as the middle aged mother who runs a shabby rooming house and quasi-brothel, delivers a rock solid performance. The younger daughter, played by child actress Mary Badham (of "To Kill a Mockingbird" fame) masterfully brings to the screen a complex blend of childlike naivete and cynical worldliness. Redford is memorable in his role as a newcomer on the scene, a temporary guest who clearly has no idea of the conflicted and tragic relationship he is destined to find with an enchanted-but-stained Natalie Wood and her wretched kin.

Indeed, the entire supporting cast in this torrid Tennessee Williams story put in star-quality performances. Collectively, they make this story unforgettable.

Little sister "Willie" is fond of calling her seductive older sister "the main attraction" - a description that could also be used to describe this amazing film.

I was not surprised to learn this was Natalie's favorite of all her films. I am a huge Natalie Wood fan and I can watch this film over and over. As much bad press as I've read about it, I still can't understand why so many don't appreciate this masterpiece. Very good story, great romance, great leads with incredible chemistry. Overall, the acting was wonderful and with an ensemble cast. Natalie never looked more beautiful, and that's saying a lot. There are several scenes I have to pause and rewind, it's just difficult believing anyone could be that beautiful! She is simply mesmerizing every second she is on screen in this film. One of her finest performances as well, if not the best of her career. Natalie is pure magic in this film, and regardless of her character's part in her own troubles, Natalie sucks you in and makes it impossible for you not to care about her character. Notable supporting performances from Robert Blake, Charles Bronson, and Kate Reid among others. It's definitely a southern tragedy, as only Tennesee Williams can tell....but so well done that it's worth it....check it out..

This was the last of the big Hollywood movies of Tennessee Williams plays, a series of masterpieces which started with 'The Glass Menagerie' (1950) and went on for 16 unforgettable years. And this is certainly one of the best. It is simply packed with talent in every department, directed by Sydney Pollack, script by Francis Ford Coppola, and Oscar-level performances from at least four members of the cast: Natalie Wood, Robert Redford, Kate Reid, and Mary Badham. It is such a tragedy that Mary Badham gave up acting after this, as she was pure magic. Of all Natalie Wood's performances, this is probably the best. What an entrancing and magical creature! I never knew her but I had the great treat of sitting across from her at an adjoining dinner table in the Oak Room of the Plaza one night, and was just as dazzled as could be, and against all protocol and etiquette, simply could not take my eyes off her. She was dining with Lauren Bacall, whom I barely noticed in the penumbra of Natalie Wood's supernatural glow, and as a Bacall admirer that really does say something. Robert Redford has to portray a very quiet, contained character, so has little opportunity for 'big acting' in this film, but he triumphs at understatement, which was always one of his strengths. Another of the knockouts is Kate Reid as the most ravening, selfish, exploitative mother you can imagine. Well, I can, as I have met some like that, and believe me, she is spot on, to make your skin crawl. The Natalie Wood character is a revisiting of the girl in 'The Glass Menagerie', someone trapped, taking refuge in her dreams. She throws herself around, from man to man, basking in admiration because there seems to be nothing else. The motif of the cruelty and violence of a gang of men recurs here, reminding us of 'Suddenly, Last Summer'. This setting is a nowhere town in Mississippi, where the railroad is about to close. These are classic Tennessee Williams themes, but deeply felt and genuine, from the heart. By this time, Tennessee himself was as trapped as Natalie Wood, not in the state of Mississippi, but in another state, one of the mind. Seeing him bleary-eyed at a bar in the 1960s was a sad sight, and his gentle but tragic smalltalk as he sipped whiskey lacked focus. He was in what he knew was His Decline. But he must have been thrilled that this whopping realisation of one of his shorter plays came out just when he most needed a boost to his sagging morale. What a pity that after that, there was only television, what Newton Minnow at the time aptly called 'the Vast Wasteland'. The sadness in the Williams plays, and in the play which he himself lived, called his Life, are truly unbearable. Tennessee was a Great Soul. This film deserves to be on the list of everybody's classics, as it has something that will never die about it.

This is one of my favorite Natalie Wood films. From watching her as Alva, you can understand what made her such a great actress. Throw in Robert Redford and a great musical score and this is one powerful movie.

This is one of Natalie Wood's best dramatic performances. She had been a major star for more than a decade when she made this film so it is hard to believe she was only 27. Her looks were the best they ever were.

Robert Redford was not a major star yet but his performance was equal to anything he did later.

This story is classic Tennessee Williams. I'm sure he only climbed out of a bottle long enough to write it and then crawled right back inside. It revolves around a railroad executive who travels the company line and trims the personnel fat during the great depression. He hits a small southern Mississippi town where one could cut the humidity and poverty with a knife. He has to decide which men to fire and which to keep. Then his very ordered and structured life gets complicated when he stays at a boarding house run by a dysfunctional family. He meets the oldest daughter, Natalie Wood, who is the local beauty. Great credit goes to casting and whoever scouted and selected the site location.

The supporting characters are superb in their roles as examples of the worst people we've ever run into. Everyone except Redford's character is living in total denial. They're all shallow losers.

Weird flick. Great, but weird. Depressing, but weird.