The Glass Menagerie

i remember seeing this production when it premiered in 1966 (i was 15); in my mind Shirley Booth will always be the definitive Amanda Wainwright; no one else e.g. Katherine Hepburn, Joanne Woodward (although she came close) has measured up to Miss Booth's performance; i wish i could get a DVD of this production so that i could see if her performance would have the same effect on me 42 years later. If memory serves me correctly, this production was one of three plays that CBS presented in the Spring of 1966; The other two were Death of a Salesman and The Crucible. Lee J. Cobb played Willie Loman; and, like Miss Booth and Amanda Wainwright, became for me the definitive Willie Loman; I was able to obtain a DVD of this production of Death of a Salesman; Mr. Cobb's performance still to me was the definitive Willie Loman although i did noticed the play was abridged somewhat which i suspect was done so that it would fit within a specified time period; I wish that TV productions of plays were a more common occurrence.

Up until I saw this at age 10 or 11, I thought virtually everything I saw on TV was a fantasy that had no connection whatsoever to real life. Seeing The Glass Menagerie for the first time was a shock. Obviously, I can't be sure, but my recollection of the production was that it was perfect (unlike the 70s TV version with Katharine Hepburn and Michael Moriarty). Seeing it started a long involvement for me with theatre and began my search for quality television. It is my #1 "want" to see again; the last time I looked for it at the Museum of Television (several years ago), they didn't even have it. At least it is finally listed here on IMDb, for which I am thankful.

Tennessee Williams to me is one of the great playwrights. Even lesser work, such as 'Orpheus Descending', is better than the lesser work of many other playwrights not as influential. 'The Glass Menagerie' is one of his finest, the most poignant of his plays if not his boldest ('Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' perhaps in that regard) and all the Williams trademarks (realistic dialogue though with a lot of talk, complex characters, bold themes and powerful if quite melodramatic scenarios) are present.

Saw three versions of 'The Glass Menagerie' prior to this 1966 production with Shirley Booth, Hal Holbrook, Barbara Lodon and Pat Hingle. Which regrettably is not one of those "grew up with it and have close sentimental value to it" productions etc, being too young, and my main reason for seeing this 'The Glass Menagerie' was to see as many film/television adaptations of Williams' work as possible. My first, and my personal favourite version until seeing this, was the 1987 one with Paul Newman. Also liked quite a bit the Katharine Hepburn production, though that was not perfect. The 1950 film with Gertrude Lawrence and Jane Wyman fared least for me while still worth watching, a notable flaw being the tacked on ending. After seeing this 1966 production, this has replaced the Newman version as my favourite version of 'The Glass Menagerie'.

Do agree that some of the line delivery from Booth can be on the too quick side, but do feel that that is a trap/potential problem playing Amanda because she is so talkative. Noticed this with Hepburn too in the same role in her version.

Other than that, it is great. It still looks good, the sets being effectively claustrophobic while not ugly or too uncomfortably stifling. The costumes looked fine to me even if not the most evocative in the world. The colour looks attractive and doesn't date the production. Williams' dialogue has lost none of its edge, realism, emotion or intelligence, and never feels rambling despite the amount of talk there is, while the stage direction avoids descending into overly-overheated melodrama (which it could have been easily considering the story itself). Surprisingly, it also didn't come over as too stagy or creaky to me considering its age and medium, other later television adaptations of Williams did this aspect worse. The storytelling is compelling and suitably intense which increases throughout and the emotional power and play's spirit has not been lost, neither has the complexity of the characters. The climax is very poignant.

Regardless of any rushed line delivery, Booth is still very touching as Amanda and a powerful presence without being dominant. Holbrook has the right amount of intensity for Tom and Boden's expressive face and affectingly nuanced body language play large parts in why her Laura strikes an emotional chord. Hingle also has to be the most likeable, without being too much, Gentleman Caller there's ever been with the sincerity always ringing true. The chemistry between Booth and Holbrook doesn't always ignite, like occasionally early on, but when it grows and the tension mounts it does sear at its best.

In summation, a great production that deserves to be more widely known. 9/10

Those proud but shopworn Wingfields are the subject of a CBS Playhouse production of The Glass Menagerie. And we are fortunate to see Shirley Booth in a classic role as she did not make very many big screen appearances during her long Broadway career. Clearly she favored the stage just like the Lunts and just like the original Amanda Wingfield Laurette Taylor.

Unlike other productions I've seen with Gertrude Lawrence and Katharine Hepburn, Booth is opting for a doughtier version of Amanda than the other two. When Laura who is played here by Barbara Loden asks Booth about the DAR meeting she was supposed to be at, looking at Booth I can't imagine the DAR letting her in the door. In her own way mother is as much in her own world as daughter.

The title refers to the delicate collection of glass figurines that shy and withdrawn Laura is obsessed with. She is also crippled and has withdrawn from the world. The little glass animals are delicate and someone like Laura also delicate completely submerges self into her play world with them.

Like any other mother Booth wants someone, anyone who is a proper gentlemen to take her daughter off her hands. For that she entrusts the task to son Tom who desperately wants to unshackle himself from his dead end warehouse job and see the world and do things. But Hal Holbrook is as much chained to his family as George Bailey is to the town of Bedford Falls. It's also his eyes with which we see all that unfolds.

Completing the quartet in this cast is co-worker of Holbrook's, Pat Hingle. Given Hingle's southern speech pattern I kind of thought that maybe he should have played the son. Still he turns in a nice performance in the least complex of the four roles.

For her role which is the pivotal part of the quartet Shirley Booth got a deserved Emmy nomination. For me with The Glass Menagerie the question is always, is Tom Wingfield making the right life decision in the end. I think those who watch The Glass Menagerie for generations to come will debate that question.

The 1966 CBS Playhouse broadcast of "The Glass Menagerie" will stand as a truly seminal moment in the history of television. That same year, "Death of a Salesman" was also broadcast and proved to be a landmark production. The Xerox Corp. was the sponsor of both plays. Arthur Miller's play was released on DVD as part of the Broadway Theatre Archives series. For reasons unknown to the public, this production of "The Glass Menagerie" has not been released in any video format. To deprive everyone of seeing Barbara Loden's transcendent performance of Laura is a true injustice to all who feel that certain moments in television history MUST be preserved. I'm hoping that the people in authority will share this feeling and release this on DVD.