User reviews

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.

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.

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.

Early in the story, a loquacious Amanda (Katharine Hepburn) and her two twenty-something children, Tom (Sam Waterston) and Laura (Joanna Miles), are eating dinner in their dining room. In her long-winded, nervous chatter, Amanda abruptly notices that son Tom is eating too fast. "You must chew your food; animals have secretions … But human beings must chew their food; a well-cooked meal has many delicate flavors, so chew, chew, chew." To which an angry Tom shoots back: "Mother, I have not enjoyed one bite of this dinner because of your constant directions on how to eat it. It's you that makes me rush through meals with your hawk-like attention to every bite I take".

Later, Tom is sitting at a table writing. Amanda comes over and scolds him for his poor posture: "Now why can't you sit up straight … I know what that position does to your internal organs. Now you sit up straight; here I'll show you. Your stomach pressed against your lungs, your lungs pressed against your heart, and that poor little heart gets discouraged 'cause it hasn't got any room left to go on beatin' for you".

But that's Amanda: an overbearing busybody who means well, but dominates those around her. She is so sure of herself and her moral values. Tom feels trapped, not only by his mother but also because of his mundane job at a warehouse. Daughter Laura is crippled and has a dreadful inferiority complex, which makes her shy. She identifies with her tiny glass animals, as fragile as she is.

Set almost entirely indoors in a drab little apartment in St. Louis, "The Glass Menagerie" is a play that conveys a lot of human feelings: anger, guilt, regret, dependency, and emotional damage. There's also a bit of humor. The story takes place during the WWII era of the 1940s. Eventually, Amanda imposes her wishes on Laura as well, as the mother badgers Tom to bring home a "gentleman caller" for Laura, in an effort to prevent Laura from being an old maid. What follows is both inspiring and heartrending.

The claustrophobic script is talky as one would expect for a play. The drab costumes are appropriate given the family's financial straits and the time period. Camera is largely static and functions mainly as a fly on the wall. Casting is very good. Acting is terrific. Hepburn does a wonderful job, except that she talks too fast for a Southern woman. The ending leaves viewers hanging.

With minor exceptions, the script and the performances are marvelous. Yet I'm not sure I would want to watch the film again; it is so depressing, especially toward the end.

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.

While, as has been said more than once, 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' is my favourite Tennessee Williams play (also my first), 'The Glass Menagerie' is another one of his best and perhaps the most poignant. It is very much vintage Williams, with a compelling story that has a lot of emotion and bold themes, complex characters and realistic dialogue that hits hard (even if very talky) and a fair share of powerful scenes (he sure knew how to write hard-hitting endings.

Prior to watching this 1973 version with Katharine Hepburn, Sam Waterston, Michael Moriarty and Joanna Miles, there were two versions seen first. One was the 1987 version, which was my first filmed production of 'The Glass Menagerie'. The other was the Gertrude Lawrence and Jane Wyman film. Although the latter was a very respectable attempt despite the disappointing ending, the 1987 version is much better and of these three versions it's my favourite. This is a very worthy and really quite good production though where the detail and spirit is intact, with nothing toned down, nothing really tacked on and there isn't any re-ordering or re-working that affects any coherence (the case with the 80s TV film of 'Sweet Bird of Youth').

This production of 'The Glass Menagerie' is not perfect by all means. It is too dimly lit and makes the production a bit drab at times. Did feel that it could have opened up the drama more, the potential problem with television film adaptations of plays is being too much of a filmed play and being stagy, found that to be the case here.

In 'The Glass Menagerie', the dialogue is classic Williams. Just wished in this production that we had more time to hear it and take it all in and that the dialogue delivery wasn't as fast as it could be in places, especially with Katharine Hepburn.

However, lighting aside it is well and authentically designed and the photography isn't too intimate or distant. The audio adds to the atmosphere and doesn't jar with it. Despite the rushed line delivery at times, the dialogue may be talky but there is no denying its emotion. The staging also isn't perfect, but it's cohesive and just about avoids being over-heated and doesn't get dull. The ending like that of the play stays with you emotionally.

All four leads are hugely compelling with many moments of brilliance. Hepburn does indeed dominate but quite a lot of it is down to the character herself, she plays the heck out of the character and it's quite a towering portrayal overall regardless of some of the dialogue delivery and try-too-hard accent. Miles is very moving as Laura and pre-'Law and Order' Waterston is the embodiment of intensity. Moriarty is a different and interesting Jim and it was great to see a more likeable side.

Summing up, quite well done. 7/10

The Glass Menagerie is my favorite play, solely because I love the 1973 taped and televised Broadway performance. I haven't seen any other version, but after watching this cast, there's no need to.

Katharine Hepburn stars as faded Southern belle who mothers and smothers her two children, Sam Waterston and Joanna Miles. Sam is passionate and dying to break out of his stifling environment, but he's protective over his crippled sister and is conflicted about leaving her alone with their mother. If you're a fan of his because of Law & Order, you need to see his stint on Broadway so you can see the first time he delivered a powerful, passionate speech. It's incredible, unnerving, and heartbreaking every time he goes head-to-head with Katharine Hepburn.

Kate had already starred as the overbearing mother in another Tennessee Williams play, Suddenly, Last Summer, but she shines even brighter in this one. Unlike the 1959 film, her character in The Glass Menagerie is sane and accessible. If you're a parent, your heart will go out to her as she tries to look out for her daughter, but Sam Waterston is the real hero of the story. He's wonderful and energetic from start to finish. I guarantee you'll become a lifelong fan of his after watching his breakthrough performance.

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.

"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.

When I first saw this on television and didn't know the play, I couldn't believe that it was scripted - the performances are so engaging and real.

Having seen other productions on stage and film, and directed the brilliant gentleman caller scene, this remains the gold standard production. The cast and direction are flawless and it's quite possibly the best American play ever written.

I'm grateful to BroadwayHD for making it available to a new audience.

I TOTALLY and THOROUGHLY agree with another reviewer that if Katherine Hepburn is in it, it's worth seeing! This is certainly no exception.

Tennessee Williams is probably my favorite playwright on so many levels the most salient being gay Southerners. And in that world, regardless of race, there are VERY FEW happy endings.

This is probably the most intensely autobiographical, with the 3 main characters representing his mother, his sister, and himself. The situation is painfully reminiscent of his own childhood.

This is the first version of the play I've seen in it's entirety and it is DEEP. The performances are simply to DIE FOR but admittedly I DEFINITELY plan to see the Joanne Woodward & John Malkivich version as well as the one with Jane Wyman, Arthur Kennedy & none other than Kirk Douglas.

Actually, Hepburn's performance is akin to Mrs. Venable in another Williams vehicle, Suddenly Last Summer where she was a neurotic mother unable to accept her dead son's homosexuality. The only difference is that Mrs. Venable wasn't as chatty.

It was a blast seeing Waterston and Moriarty in their pre-Law & Order days and they were just great together.

I hiiiiiiiighly recommend!!!!!!!!

The movie starts out by introducing a small family in the 1940's. Tom, Laura, and their mother Amanda live in a small apartment in what seems to be in a city. You then learn that the father of the family ran away when years ago and that Laura is painfully shy and doesn't like to be noticed. Do to her shy nature she dropped out of her classes in college because she didn't want to have to talk to anyone. Tom hates his job and wants to leave to find a better one but he also needs to work to support his family since he is the only provider in the household. After temporarily resolving the conflict between Tom and his mother, Amanda asks Tom to invite a gentleman over to meet his sister. The man that Tom brings over to the house turns out to be the man that Laura liked in high school, Jim. The two end up bonding together and in the end kissing each other. Jim then had to explain that he is already in a steady relationship with another women and plans to marry her soon. After learning that Jim wrecked Laura's heart, Tim was devastated and ran away from his family only to think about them every day while he is gone.

The presence of Michael Moriarty and Sam Waterston of Law And Order has given this production of The Glass Mnagerie an interesting fat fr trivial pursit fans. But the presence of Ben Stone and Jack McCoy in the two male roles is far from the only reason to watch this producton.

Because you won't see Stone or McCoy here. These two along with Joanna Miles as Laura and the legendary Katherine Hepburn.are one finely tuned machine all working together to bring Tennessee Williams classic off. Hepburn more than fills the shoes of predecessors like Laurette Taylor, Shirley booth, and Gertrude Lawrence. And as always there's a lot of Hepburn in whatever she does,

Joanna Miles is a touching and tragic Laura all wrapped up in her own world of glass figurines and old Victrola records. It's a world she will never leave abd what will happen to her when the rest of the family is gone is something the theatergoer will contemplate.

The center of the play is older brother Tom layed by Waterston. He wants to get out in the world and see and do things. He's the support of the family in a dull job in a warehouse and his only escape is the cinema where characters areleading the life he wants. The play is written from Tom's point of view.

Michael Moriarty from the warehouse is whom Waterston brings home, giving in to Hepburn's demands that he bring home some men for Laura to meet as she'll never meet them on her own. Moriarty is a decent sort and Miles responds to him. But a relationship shall never be. Moriarty is also brimming with a post World War II optimism that Americans had back in the day.

This is one fine TV production that got Emmys for Miles and Moriarty and nominations for Hepburn and Waterston. Catch it by all means,

I am a big fan of Tennessee Williams, but I found that I could not even get through this production. While I think Katherine Hepburn is a great actress and love her in many of her other roles, she is seriously miscast as Amanda Wingfield (as she was as Violet Venable in Suddenly, Last Summer. While her Southern accent may have been technically correct in terms of pronunciation of vowels, her intonation and manner are completely wrong. Her New England high-WASPness shines through no matter what.

Also, the quality of the transfer onto DVD is terrible. With no subtitles, I also had trouble following a lot of the dialog because, as the previous commenter said, everyone spoke so fast.

Finally, the production is very "stagy" - which is inevitable to some extent when filming a stage play, and to some extent is appropriate given the theme of the play/film, but nonetheless, that, in combination with the other factors mentioned earlier, made this a tough slog.

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.

Director Anthony Harvey brings together a solid cast of Katharine Hepburn and Sam Waterston to make a film adaptation of the play The Glass Menagerie in a hundred-minute story that would have best been left on stage. The movie of the same name screams "cliché" in every way possible, from the then-acceptable acting to the only background music played in the movie that was repeated umpteen times during "tense" moments. Although this movie received mostly positive reviews at the time (which I'm sure was cinematically state-of-the-art at the time), it reminds me why I prefer not to watch movies from any decade earlier than the 90's. In this day and age, this movie is nothing more than awkward and strange. There were little special effects and camera work that caught my eye, and other cinema elements such as the lighting left a lot to be desired. There was some imagery that stuck in my mind, such as the set outside of the front door of the Wingfield residence. Other than that, this movie did not satisfy many of my expectations. The only part of the movie that remotely interested me was the plot, and that wasn't even exclusive to the film. I'm sure seeing the story on stage would have been an even more engaging experience, and been more true to the original story. I almost want to say that I wish this movie hadn't been made, but Sam Waterston might just have this movie to thank for his acting career and his role in The Newsroom, and for that, I am thankful that this movie was made.

This was of course done forty years ago, and expectations were a bit different, but Anthony Harvey also directed Hepburn in the Lion in Winter a few years before and that turned out pretty well other than a some British overly stage actorish speeches.

Tom's opening address to the audience is cut, although his concluding one was not.

In closeups the kids all look like they are a good forty. The actors were all their early thirties actually. The actors in all Broadway productions including the current one were around the same age, but Quinto for one who is Tom right now, even in closeups on Charlie Rose, looks more like mid twenties which makes more sense. If Laura is really 32, she has been nursing a wild crush on Jim for 15 years. And like I said, she looks 40ish. The situation in the play just makes no sense in any stretch of the imagination with 35 or 40 year old children, unless everyone is indeed certifiable Miss Havershams. Besides, although not set up that way without the opening monologue, it's all a dream world memory, not people's current (or future) age.

Sam Waterston and Michael Moriarty do pretty decent jobs as Tom and Jim otherwise. There is no hint however in Waterston (stand in for Tennessee) about how he's maybe spinning tales about what he's actually up to a lot of nights. You don't get the idea that he's maybe gay or at least making stuff up on the fly.

In the script: Amanda is worried that Laura is going to be a spinster? She's already a spinster. And has been for some years. Speaking of Laura, she's a totally sheltered emotionally crippled homebody who wears full professionally applied makeup at all times, including eyeliner, mascara, eye shadow, and blush. And Joanna Miles doesn't show much of the emotional fragility and vulnerability that is necessary for Laura, except once in a while doing something odd the director told her to do. Or as a lot of people have pointed out, even ever seem to limp.

The big problem, as others have said in various ways, is Hepburn. Also a decade or two too old. She was in Lion as well, but it worked anyway. Early in the play she is going on about Laura being ready for tonight's gentleman callers. Has this been going on every night for fifteen or twenty years with zero callers? Yikes. Even a year or two after high school, and she is living in a real fantasy world. Which she is.

Amanda is necessarily kind of delusional, even while she is at the same time nuts and bolts very much working in the real world. Hepburn just does not live in or create a fantasy world. New Englandish quavery cracked speed talking does not represent that aspect of Amanda, no matter how fast she talks. The Southern way is of course to speak slowly and musically and establish that aura of perhaps imaginary refined gentility. She is totally committed to her character as always, but it's just all wrong. Amanda is just not something she can do, or maybe could do at that point, or was not directed to do. She did play the Madwoman of Chaillot a few years before, and I think that character was brilliantly delusional.

The NY and Brooklyn public libraries only have this one and not any other versions on DVD, although I just saw the Boston/Broadway one on stage. They don't have the 1987 one with Joanne Woodward and it's only on VHS besides. PBS ought to pull a BBC and do modern TV productions of it, and all Tennesse Williams plays while they are at it. OK, I guess they never do anything like that. They should. And other great American plays also, instead of leaving it to the Beeb to do all the all British all the time dramas.