Formative Performances: Vivien Leigh in “A Streetcar Named Desire”

Since I began Women’s History Month and my series on formative performances with Vivien Leigh, it seems only fitting that I finish my series with her as well.

Vivien Leigh earned her second Academy Award with her performance in A Streetcar Named Desire. She plays Blanche DuBois. Like Scarlett O’Hara, Blanche is female and Southern – and the similarities end there. Where Scarlett is fierce and unyielding, Blanche is fragile and withdrawn. She’s on the verge of breaking before she ever sets foot in town. In the scene below, she conveys that nearly-broken spirit as well as a sneaking interest in her brother-in-law Stanley. (Watch it twice – the first time, you might be too overwhelmed by Brando’s charisma to pay as much attention to Leigh.)

She’s amazing.