Dorothy McGuire, Gregory Peck, Gentleman's Agreement
Elia Kazan is best remembered today for two things: His association with Marlon Brando during the first half of the 1950s, and the fact that he claimed to be unrepentant about naming names, and ruining careers and lives during the Red-baiting hysteria of the post-World War II years.
Kazan's 19 feature films are wildly uneven — for every great A Streetcar Named Desire there is a dreadful America, America, in addition to everything in between. Yet, probably as a result of his Broadway training, Kazan was undeniably an outstanding actors' director.
Tough-guy Brando, irritating mannerisms and all, remains the best-remembered Kazan star, even though the director elicited superb performances from a wide range of players, ranging from child actress Peggy Ann Garner, who won a special "juvenile" Oscar for A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, to Deborah Kerr, who plays a bored housewife in The Arrangement; from thumb-sucking child-woman Carroll Baker in Baby Doll to Jo Van Fleet's tough broads in both in East of Eden and Wild River.
There were also Joan Blondell and Dorothy McGuire in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn; Dorothy McGuire and Gregory Peck in Gentlemen's Agreement; Vivien Leigh and Kim Hunter in A Streetcar Named Desire; Ethel Waters in Pinky; Richard Widmark, Paul Douglas, and Barbara Bel Geddes in Panic in the Streets.
And more: Eva Marie Saint and Lee J. Cobb in On the Waterfront; Mildred Dunnock in Baby Doll; Patricia Neal in A Face in the Crowd; Montgomery Clift and Lee Remick in Wild River; and Natalie Wood and Zorah Lampert in Splendor in the Grass.
Kazan's performers were nominated a total of 24 times — including 9 wins — from 1945 to 1961. Marlon Brando appears three times on the list (see next page), for A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), Viva Zapata (1952), and On the Waterfront (1954). Karl Malden appears twice, for A Streetcar Named Desire and On the Waterfront.
Kazan himself was nominated for five Best Direction Oscars: Gentleman's Agreement, 1947; A Streetcar Named Desire, 1951; On the Waterfront, 1954; East of Eden, 1955; and America, America, 1963. He won twice: for Gentleman's Agreement and On the Waterfront.
Additionally, Kazan won a controversial Honorary Oscar at the 1999 ceremony.
Note: A version of this Elia Kazan article was initially posted in January 2007.
Never mind my blubbering about your not mentioning James Dean as one of Kazan's notable actors. I had failed to see it listed at the top right. But, you would have to admit that my comparison of James Dean, the actor, with the lack of lasing legacy of the others, if other actors portraying any of Kazan's Oscar noominated actors and winners, et.al, is any measure of enduring relevancy, then please feel free to use my comments. Just let me know when you do so I can read them in computerized neon lights.
Thanks for writing. James Dean is mentioned on the next page, as he was nominated for "East of Eden" (1955).
Nicholas Ray directed "Rebel Without a Cause." George Stevens went on to direct Dean in "Giant."
As popular as actor James Byron Dean became, both before his death, and without a doubt after his death on September 30, 1955, it seems almost disrepsectful that the above article does not mention Dean's name. Older people, most of whom died long before Kazan's awards, remember Brando, and the other big name actors and actresses who starred in the usual Hollywood romances gone awry. Yet very few such films added one ounce of worth to the social, including children and youth, cultural fabric. James Dean's movies were not only famous when they came out, but have lasted, including several attempts to play James Dean by several notable actors. Most recently, a young actor named James Blanco.
How many of the other Kazan actors can claim the same legendary status as does James Dean, whose role in "Rebel Without A Cause" was standard required viewing in many public schools into the 1990's? Kazan was the only director who could direct the enigmatic Dean. They understood each other.
Gotta look for that Tennesse Williams book. I also should read Kazan's autobiography.
One I'd recommend, though it's quite different from either "Streetcar" or "Waterfront," is "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn."
Touching without being sentimental. And some really outstanding performances.
Of Kazan's films, I've only seen A Streetcar Named Desire and On The Waterfront. I found both to be brilliant; well-told, flawlessly acted and exquisitely directed. Kazan had a certain talent to bring out amazing performances from his actors. I wish I could remember what Tennessee Williams had to say on Kazan… He spoke at length about him in his memoirs, which I read a few years ago. I should re-read them. Brilliant book.
Dean should have won for East of Eden.