A tremendous presence and alluring feline features describe Vivien Leigh perfectly. Born on the 5th of November 1913 in colonial India, she was a fine stage and screen English actress. (As a child her mother said the fireworks were in her honour). Vivien’s acting abilities were overshadowed by her breathtaking beauty early on in her career, and marred by manic depression and tuberculosis during her later career.
In England her early education was at a convent school. Her family travelled for a few years so she attended various schools throughout Europe, and became multi-lingual, before returning to England. Vivien enrolled at RADA, but left her studies aged nineteen to marry Leigh Holman with whom she had a daughter Suzanne. Her second husband was Laurence Olivier.
Vivien gave an outstanding performance as faded Southern belle Blanche DuBois in 1951’s A Streetcar Named Desire. She had played the role on the West End stage in 1949. Whilst on holiday in New Orleans I visited the location where Tennessee Williams wrote this play. The film was directed by Elia Kazan and co-starred Marlon Brando, Kim Hunter, and Karl Malden. Vivien earned herself an Academy Award, yet it was a stark contrast to Southern belle Scarlett O’Hara from 1939’s Gone With The Wind, for which she also won an Oscar.
Vivien conveys Blanche’s fragile, vulnerable yet excitable nature perfectly, and the steamy setting of busy New Orleans adds much to the atmosphere. Blanche’s suitcase of precious possessions reflect a deluded woman clinging to the past, at odds with the reality of her situation and the modern world. Her body language displays a constant struggle to maintain the facade of respectability.
Although I think Vivien was too young for the part, I always find her so believable and entrancing. Especially during the heartbreaking later scenes when Blanche has a complete breakdown after being raped by Stanley. She said this particular character took it’s toll on her mental health, which proves how seriously she took this work. Perhaps identifying too closely with the character’s emotional instability, loss of youth and beauty, nymphomaniac tendencies, and desire for refinement.
I’m also fond of the 1940 drama Waterloo Bridge in which Vivien played Myra Lester, a ballerina who falls in love with captain Roy Cronin during World War One, turns to prostitution to survive, and ultimately commits suicide. Apparently this was her favourite film role. She relishes the opportunity to progress from a naive young woman, who matures by finding love, then becomes disillusioned as her world dissolves around her.
The couple meet on Waterloo bridge during an air raid and feel an instant attraction. Myra invites him to that evening’s performance. Their assignations are thwarted by wartime obligations and the strict ballet mistress, which prevents them from marrying immediately. In his absence, Roy entrusts Myra to the care of his family. Myra’s desire for a life outside ballet means she’s fired along with her dancer friend Kitty who defends her. Work is scarce, and when Myra receives misinformation of Roy’s death she loses hope and becomes sick. Kitty becomes a prostitute to support them, and Myra decides to join her on the streets.
While plying her trade at Waterloo station, a shocked Myra sees Roy who’s home on leave. He wonders how she knew to expect him and there’s a short lived chance of rectifying the situation. They visit the family pile in Scotland where Myra’s sense of betrayal mounts. Guilt prevents her from telling Roy how she’s been living. He’d put her on a pedestal and she now feels unworthy, so runs away to London. Roy searches for Myra with Kitty’s help but she’s determined not to be found. The film comes full circle when Myra at her lowest point commits suicide on Waterloo bridge, the same place where her happiness began.