The Glass Menagerie

This 1973 version is better than the David Naughton/John Malkovich version. Katherine Hepburn does an excellent job playing the mother who is frustrated by the "generation gap". It also shows Michael Moriarty and Sam Waterston very early in their careers, both went on to win many awards. If you are able to get your hands on this version, it will be worth the search.

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.

This is the only version I've seen but I enjoyed it immensely. The entire cast is superb especially the legendary Hepburn. You can't help but think that as you grow older you become bitter as you wonder what you've done with your life and how your opportunities to escape your station ultimately evaporate. A very sobering drama, 8/10.

Unfortunately, I am unable to "buy into" Hepburn's Southern Belle interpretation, being that her Yankee steeliness and resolve is simply too strong to overcome.

Furthermore, this presentation is far too static. Granted, stage plays are often difficult to translate to the screen, but this ABC TV-movie feels far too confined. Many of Williams' other plays have made the trip from boards to celluloid quite effectively, opening up with the freedom allowed by location filming.

Yes, this film is definitely worth seeing. However, I am now curious to see Gertrude Lawrence (1950), Shirley Booth (1966) and Joanna Woodward (1987) in the lead role.

Waterston is a bit of a scene chewer here, and I'm surprised at the Emmy wins for the other two leads, but in 1974, TV movie and series drama nominations were combined in the supporting categories. For Best Actress in a Drama, Hepburn was up against Tyson for "...Miss Jane Pittman," Elizabeth Montgomery for "A Case of Rape," and Leachman for "The Migrants." Tyson rightfully won.