The Glass Menagerie

The Glass Menagerie April 24, 2014 Actors/Actresses: Amanda Wingfield: Katharine Hepburn Tom Wingfield: Sam Waterson Laura Wingfield: Joanna Miles Jim O'Conner: Michael Moriarty

1973's "The Glass Menagerie" directed by Anthony Harvey and written by Stewart Stern, was a televised movie. Based on the play by Tennessee Williams, the movie's runtime is 100 minutes. Rated PG.

"The Glass Menagerie" is a drama set in an apartment in St. Louis, and most of the story takes place during the night. The story takes a dark turn towards the end and seems to phase into a tragedy that adds a sense of sadness. The movie definitely has its changes from the play, but then again, no movie follows the book perfectly. The movie has is still very intriguing to watch because of the life the actors put into their work, specifically Katherine Hepburn. Katherine Hepburn portrays an awesome 1940's mother who hasn't let go of the past. She consistently refers to her younger days when she had many "gentleman callers" and seems to envy her daughters young age, yet she is upset that she is wasting it. Laura's glass menagerie, which is what the movie is titled after, plays a significant role in the plot. Laura's menagerie symbolizes her own fragileness and foreshadows future events in the story. The screenplay by Stewart Stern forms a clear image of the main points of the original story written by Tennessee Williams. The movie may not depict the story line perfectly, but no movie ever compares to the book.

"A Glass Menagerie" is a play by Tennessee Williams that has been adapted into various movies, namely a made for television edition starring Katherine Hepburn. The play conveys a captivating story that can only be described as Hepburn's thick southern accent. It just about made the movie for me. The play focuses on a fatherless, poor family featuring a daughter who is incredibly shy, a mother whose sole goal in life is to find a man for her shy daughter, and a son whose hobbies consist of getting drunk and going to see movies. Naturally, this creates some friction within in the family which is highlighted by the arguments between the mother and son, played by the wonderful Sam Waterston. No sarcasm, the chemistry between Waterston and Hepburn make this movie worth watching (and so do the accents). As with many other plays, "A Glass Menagerie" lacks in its climax, which directly precedes the curtain, though the play is by far not the worst offender in this respect. "A Glass Menagerie" blows away any expectations that I had for it, mostly because of the fantastic acting from Hepburn and Waterston, but I also had very little expectations going into the film. If you're a fan of theater I highly recommend this movie, if for nothing except the star power.

The Glass Menagerie is to plays as Beethoven's "fuer Elise" is to music: it's short and it's seemingly easy to present (it has two female and two male roles, and its author is famous), so it often ends up being done by amateurs, and one gets used to not-very-good versions. So a generally well-done performance, such as this one, is refreshing.

To boot, if you're a fan of Katherine Hepburn, Sam Waterston, Michael Moriarty, or Joanna Miles - and what person in his right mind isn't a fan of all four? - then you need to be familiar with this production, which shows you not only the legendary Hepburn in an interestingly off-type role, but also three more of your favorite actors when they were budding.

Not that this production is perfect. Hepburn, as Amanda, dominates the action entirely too much for my taste, at times reducing the other characters to leaves swirling around the tempest she creates; Waterston sometimes alternates weirdly between a detached Hamlet-like cerebrality and raging tantrums worthy of a young Lear. In other words: the production does not well balance the two characters whose opponency is central to the drama. (It might be argued that Amanda is supposed to dominate the action, and that Tom is supposed to be wimpy, but I disagree. I think Tom's frustrated and repressed manhood needs to be portrayed in such a way as to convey a prodigious, if chained down, load of energy. Remember, this is a self-portrayal of the man who became Tennessee Williams!) True, if you concentrate you can catch some of the subtlety for which Waterston later became justly noted. But he is, so to speak, shouted down by Hepburn, who is entirely too much in focus. It is almost as if this production had been planned as a vehicle for her, and the character of Tom had been treated as a prop.

For my money, the real star of this show is Moriarty's masterful portrayal of the Gentleman Caller. Moriarty does not show us the power-tripping, manipulative bastard often associated with this role, but rather a nice guy who found himself in a compromising situation he never sought, and who tried naively to make the best of his ill-starred encounter with Laura, with the result that he bites off more than he can chew, and hurts Laura all the more by not intending it. The performance here really shines; I was very moved by his awkward feelings of guilt when he realizes his error.

The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams, though somewhat meticulous when read as a play, was quite a riveting film. Even though the movie is very similar to the play it is performed with vivacity and enthusiasm, and I suppose when compared to a group of high schoolers attempting to do this play justice, anything would be better. The cast accomplished the feat of portraying the characters accurately, and considering the time period it was produced, I was impressed. If you have not read the play I would recommend you do so before watching the movie so you can really appreciate it. You would have even more respect for the movie if you round up a couple of friends and slaughtered the play together.

Yes, I agree with other reviewers that Hepburn is screechy and everyone talks too fast for believability. It's not a well-done production overall. But I've watched this show several times just to see Sam Waterston as the adult son. He is strikingly beautiful in this version of Glass Menagerie, and he conveys such an air of deep sadness. You can really see the young writer trapped in the box factory or the young man loaded down with the mother, sister, and only the memory of a father. You can almost smell the factory on him, and the discouragement. I find him mesmerizing. His performance reminds me of Dean Stockwell in Long Day's Journey Into Night.