Great Writers: Tennessee Williams (2001)

The Great Writers series is an informative and revealing look into the lives and literary works of the foremost writers of the Twentieth Century. These stimulating shows focus on world authors whose groundbreaking works made a major impact on both literature and society around the globe. Tennessee Williams (1911-1983) was regarded as one of the foremost dramatists of the 20th century. He was born in Columbus, Mississippi; on March 26th, 1911, and named Thomas Lanier Williams. He spent most of his youth in St. Louis, and worked at a variety of odd jobs until 1945, when he first appeared on the Broadway scene as the author of The Glass Menagerie. This evocative "memory play" won the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award as the best lay of the season. The emotionally charged A Streetcar Named Desire (1947) has been called the best play ever written by an American. It was successfully filmed (1952), and it won Williams his first Pulitzer Prize in drama. He was awarded another Pulitzer for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (stage, 1954; film, 1958). All three of these plays contain the poetic dialogue, the symbolism, and the highly original characters for which Williams is noted. They are all set in the American South, a regional background which the author used to create a remarkable blend of decadence, nostalgia and sensuality. Other successful plays by Williams are Summer and Smoke (1948), The Rose Tattoo (1951), Suddenly Last Summer (1958), Sweet Bird of Youth (1959), and The Night Of The Iguana (1961). Although Williams continued to write for the theater, he was unable to repeat the success of most of his early works. One of his last plays was Clothes for a Summer Hotel (1980), based on the American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda. He also wrote fiction, including two novels and four volumes of short stories. Williams died in New York City on February 25, 1983.

"Tenn"

This is more play-heavy, than heavy on biographical facts. Further, they show more scenes from film adaptations of Williams' plays than actual stage productions. They quickly show a piece of paper which had "Thomas" scratched out and "Tennessee" written over it, but you never heard the reasons behind the name change.

This was great to see Williams through the ages. You can see him black-haired and gray-haired, with facial hair and without it. This is the first time that I've ever heard Williams' voice. We'll never know what Shakespeare sounded like, but we have the technology to have recorded Tennessee's voice.

Unlike other productions where a person's gayness is downplayed, this work doesn't shy away from admitting the sexuality of the author. Unlike productions that imply that famous people are always and forever loved by the masses and the critics, this work admits that Williams had many detractors.

The work ends by mentioning that Williams died at the age of 71. I read that he died painfully when he accidentally swallowed a bottle cap. The horror of his death is not discussed at all.

The work mentions his creative work with Eli Kazan. Perhaps they were the Elton John-Bernie Taupin or Andy Bell-Vince Clarke of their generation. This documentary is diverse in terms of the gender and sexuality of its interviewees. June 30, 2007

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