Alan Baxter, Charles Bronson, Dabney Coleman

The daughter of a boarding house owner in Depression Era Mississippi falls for a railroad exec staying at the house, but, because her mother doesn't approve of the pairing, the heart-wrenched girl tum...( read more  read more... )bles into a life of depravity.

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75% liked it

1,805 ratings

Critics

64% liked it

14 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 50 min.

Directed by: Sydney Pollack

Release Date: August 3, 1966

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DVD Release Date: December 2, 2003

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Stats: 95 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (95)


  • February 17, 2009
    "this property is condemned" would probably be the only romantic tale from tennesse williams with less dosage of cynicism and more of an elegy of yesterday's wine and roses, of course, also the fair youth permeated with fancies and wonderful perspective despite its predestination...( read more) is ruin and decay.

    natalie wood plays alva starr, the glamour queen of a local boarding house with a nymphomaniac mother who literarily pimps her daughter to draw more business. and also a tomboyish sister who worships and idolizes her. regardless of the sordidness of her circumstances, alva beautifies the grim facts of life with her girlish imaginations, expecting the father who deserted the family would return to her bossom someday...then the arrival of one stranger owen(redford) from new orleans ignites her ablaze hope of escaping her blood-sucking leech-alike mother who simply uses her to get attention and money from men.

    unfortunately the mission of this attractive stranger is to terminate dreams, own legate is a railroad agent who dispatches the workers away for the company's demand. he sneers at alva for her lewdness and braggery, despising her for not refusing her despicable mother to assert herself, but secretly sympathizing with her unbearable state as a puppet of mama. their romantic bond would be the combination of reason and sentiments, drab realism stuck with magic wonders.

    alva is doomed because you cannot live on fancies and sheer romanticism while you have such a gruesome creature as a mom, why the mothers of tennesse williams' plays are the monstrous beings who devastate their seed's happiness to nuturize herself like an alien queen? mother is a like nightmarish creep who haunts our female protagonist around every corner, saboteuring her every chance of happiness, spitting at her dream pictures relentlessly, envious of her beauty which mother covets as an potential asset to drain. mother is the malicious villain within willaims' tales.

    eventually alva's sister wears her wretched torn scarlet gown stumbling upon the railroad tracks like a beggar fantasizing herself as a queen after alva dies of pneumonia, a grosteque irony in contrast of the glorious past, the colors of dreams faint as alva starr demises in solitude as the theme "wish me a rainbow" flows along like a funeral crooning tune. pure lyricism.

    (ps) edith head is in charge of wardrobe.
  • December 7, 2007
    Certainly has the makings of a classic with Redford, Wood, Pollack and T. Williams to boot. However, it comes across as just "above average", no more, no less.
  • July 24, 2009
    This was a pretty classy auld movie. Natalie Wood, Robert Redford and Charles Bronson -What more could one ask for in a movie?
    The ending was kinda random, though lol
  • March 28, 2009
    I've watched it more than a dozen times.I Love this Natalie Wood movie. Lots of small parts for actors that became big names.
  • March 28, 2009
    No thankyou - Not interested
  • December 23, 2008
    ive seen this just once last year about a young vibrant girl in tennessee lives in a hotel by the railroad. leads the life of the girl whoeveryone loves...the star of it all "alva star" is her name, the man that comes to work on the railroad is "owen legate" only her mom has bete...( read more)r plans for her richer plans for her! she wants her to wed a wealthy man nothing less of it, but when she falls for owen (robert redford) she cant stop the feelings or trying not to act on them her mom sets up a date over the phone with a very older richer man than alva is and owen hears the conversation that her moms building up on the phone about how alva's dying to meet him, and is very intreged with the situation! he goes to alva (natalie wood) and says we are over a know now how eager you are to meet the rich, man in new orlens so go chase after him we are through! she begs him dont belive mama? its a lie i love you!!! but despite her trying to persuade him he leaves her...and she ends up going with her mom and her moms boyfriend (her mom presures her into it and makes her listens never leaves her be until she says yes) so they go and on the way at a restrunt they're all getting drunk...and talking alva misses owen and she gets a revengful plan to get back at her mom so when she stills her mom's boyfriend j.j. by marring him shes stuck with him. will she ever go bck to owen? will she devorce will he take her back after being a married woman? will the mom mess it up? you'll see if u watch this property's condenmed
  • May 18, 2008
    Truly wonderful. Natalie Wood is amazing (as always) and Robert Redford is looking fiiine! Absolutley love it.
  • April 25, 2008
    I adore Natalie Wood and Robert Redford in this movie..The character she plays in this movie is so alluring..I pitty her situation and almost feel the desparation she must feel..When she's finally free of it..She's got this calming affect. And then the end goes to dramatically wr...( read more)ong..
  • December 29, 2007
    The front seems good...

Comments


  • groaningbitch
    February 17, 2009

    (Wish me a rainbow and wish me the stars) all this you can give me wherever you are
    And dreams for my pillow and stars for my eyes
    And the masquerade ball where our love wins first prize
    (Wish me red roses and yellow baloon) and caress us whirling to gay dancing tunes
    I want all these treasures the most you can give so wish me rainbow as long as I live
    All my tomorrows depend on your love so wish me a rainbow above

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