Taglines: It’s all prime property!
This Property Is Condemned movie storyline. Based on a play by Tennessee Williams, this screen version (after falling into the hands of screenwriters) tells of the struggles of a young woman as her mother attempts to manipulate her love life. Natalie Wood stars as Alva, who falls for Owen (Robert Redford) when he stays at her mother Hazel’s (Kate Reid) boarding house.
After Hazel lies to Owen that Alva is marrying someone else, he leaves town. A spiteful Alva marries her mother’s violent lover, J.J. (Charles Bronson). The day after the wedding, she comes to her senses and goes after Owen, but her mother interferes again, revealing the marriage to Owen. Alva is then traumatized beyond repair and her life falls apart in usual Williams fashion. This drama also includes performances by Mary Badham, Dabney Coleman and John Harding among others.
This Property Is Condemned is a 1966 American drama film directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Natalie Wood, Robert Redford, Kate Reid, Charles Bronson, Robert Blake and Mary Badham. The screenplay, inspired by the 1946 one-act play of the same name by Tennessee Williams, was written by Francis Ford Coppola, Fred Coe and Edith Sommer. The film was released by Paramount Pictures.
The Depression-era story takes place in the fictional Mississippi town of Dodson. Owen Legate (Robert Redford), a representative of the railroad that provides much of the economic base for the town, comes to Dodson on an unpopular errand. Natalie Wood plays Alva Starr, a pretty flirt who finds herself stuck in the small town and is attracted to the handsome stranger. For her performance, Natalie Wood received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama.
About the Story
The film is a frame story in which an unkempt girl, Willie Starr (Mary Badham), tells the story of her dead sister Alva (Natalie Wood) to Tom, a boy whom she meets on the abandoned railroad tracks of Dodson, Mississippi in the 1930s. The viewer sees this story in flashback.
A stranger, Owen Legate (Redford), arrives in the small town of Dodson and makes his way to the Starr Boarding House, where a loud birthday party is in progress for the landlady, Mrs. “Mama” Starr (Kate Reid). He meets Willie, the youngest daughter of the house, and rents a room for the week, while remaining mysterious about his motives for being in town.
It soon emerges that the eldest daughter, Alva, is the “main attraction” at the party. Mr. Johnson, the oldest and richest railroad station worker, is eagerly awaiting her arrival. When Alva finally appears, many men greet her and try to attract her attention or to dance with her, including Mama’s boyfriend J.J. (Bronson). Alva and Owen first meet in the kitchen, where the girl tells a fanciful story about one of the workers taking her dancing at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis.
Willie is entranced, but Owen suspects that the story is fictitious. It becomes obvious that Alva is eager to leave Dodson and dreams of going to New Orleans, from where Owen has come. Later, Alva enters Owen’s room on a false pretense and begins confiding in him. He discourages her, suggesting that she is no more than a prostitute, and she leaves in tears. Mama explains to Alva that she must be kind to Mr. Johnson, who has promised to look after her.
The next day, Willie, who is skipping Vacation Bible School, sees Owen on his way to work. The purpose of Owen’s visit to Dodson is to lay off several railroad employees as a result of cutbacks made necessary by the Depression. In the evening, Mr. Johnson is waiting again for Alva to get ready for their date, but she is avoiding it. She makes an excuse to get him to go inside, then leads Owen into the garden to show him her father’s red-headed scarecrow.
Owen confronts Alva about her arrangement with Mama, to which Alva will neither admit nor face. She runs back angrily to Mr. Johnson and invites everyone in the house to go skinny-dipping. J.J. manages to get Alva alone and comes on to her. He tells her Owen has come to lay off most of the town. The workers grow increasingly hostile toward Legate, but Owen and Alva become closer. They visit an abandoned train car decorated by Alva’s father and Alva talks once again of her dream to leave the town. When Owen is beaten up by the laid-off men, Alva takes care of him and the two spend the night together.
This Property Is Condemned (1966)
Directed by: Sydney Pollack
Starring: Natalie Wood, Robert Redford, Charles Bronson, Kate Reid, Mary Badham, Alan Baxter, Robert Blake, Dabney Coleman, Jon Provost, Mike Steen, Bruce Watson, Brett Pearson
Screenplay by: Francis Ford Coppola, Fred Coe, Edith Sommer
Production Design by: Stephen B. Grimes
Cinematography by: James Wong Howe
Film Editing by: Adrienne Fazan
Costume Design by: Edith Head
Set Decoration by: William Kiernan
Art Direction by: Philip M. Jefferies, Hal Pereira
Music by: Kenyon Hopkins
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures
Release Date: August 3, 1966
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