Three Plays By Tennessee Williams (1958)

In MOONY'S KID DON'T CRY, a dreamer (Ben Gazzara) and his more realistic wife (Lee Grant) fight over their crumbling marriage. In THE LAST OF MY SOLID GOLD WATCHES, a traveling salesman (Thomas Chalmers) reflects how changing times have destroyed what was good about life. In THIS PROPERTY IS CONDEMNED, a young girl (Zina Bethune) recalls the tragic life of her dead sister to a young boy (Martin Huston). These early Tennessee Williams one acts, all written before his breakthrough with THE GLASS MENAGERIE, are mixed lot. The first two aren't very good, merely the indications of a promising writer and MOONY'S is hampered by a poor performance by Gazzara who seems unaware he's acting in front of a camera and not a proscenium. The best of the lot and the one that seems vintage Williams is the poignant PROPERTY which was made into a feature film by Sydney Pollack with Natalie Wood. Williams' dialog contains the rhythmic flow which we've come to associate with America's greatest playwright. All three were directed, indifferently, by Sidney Lumet who never had much luck with his films of Williams' plays like THE FUGITIVE KIND and LAST OF THE MOBILE HOT SHOTS.