Orpheus Descending (1990) (TV)

Director:

Peter Hall

Writers:

Tennessee Williams (play)
Peter Hall (writer)

Release Date:

24 September 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Val Xavier is a drifter in 1940's Mississippi who brings new life to an Italian immigrant woman trapped in a loveless marriage.

Plot Keywords:

Italian Immigrant | 1940s | Mississippi | Drifter | Southern Gothic

Cast

Kevin Anderson	...	Val Xavier
Brad Sullivan	...	Jabe Torrance
Manning Redwood	...	Talbot
Vanessa Redgrave	...	Lady Torrance
Sloane Shelton	...	Beulah
Patti Allison	...	Dolly Hamma
Pat McNamara	...	Peewee
Michael McCarty	...	Dog Hamma
Buddy Saba Taweel	...	Papa Romano
Jaquilin Sadler	...	Lady as Child
Doyle Richmond	...	Conjure Man
Miriam Margolyes	...	Vee Talbot
Anne Twomey	...	Carol Cutrere
Marlene Cameron	...	Eva Temple
Peg Small	...	Sister Temple
Walter Hook	...	Mr. Dubinsky
Donna Lee Betz	...	Woman on Telephone
Lewis Arlt	...	David Cutrere
Marcia Lewis	...	Nurse Porter
Michael Emerson	...	Clown
John Culson Boles	...	Man at Door
Joshua Sussman	...	Mob Man
Bill Mencner	...	Mob Man
Joe Ring	...	Mob Man
Dennis Conti	...	Klansman

Directed by
Peter Hall

Writing credits
Tennessee Williams		(play)
Peter Hall		(writer)

Produced by
Stuart Goodman	....	associate producer
George Manasse	....	producer
Elizabeth Ireland McCann	....	associate producer
Gladys Nederlander	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Stephen Edwards

Cinematography by
Mike Fash		(as Michael Fash)

Film Editing by
Edward Marnier

Production Design by
Tom H. John

Art Direction by
Teresa Carriker-Thayer

Set Decoration by
Richard Morganelli		(as Rick Morganelli)

Costume Design by
Alison Chitty

Makeup Department
Tivice Davenport	....	hair stylist
Sheila Walker	....	makeup artist

Production Management
George Manasse	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Alex Hapsas	....	first assistant director

Art Department
John C. Cameron	....	assistant property master
Robert Kinner	....	construction coordinator
Scott A. Stephens	....	property master

Sound Department
Paul Arditti	....	sound designer
Bernard Hajdenberg	....	sound editor
Jim Hawkins	....	production sound mixer

Stunts
Greg Anderson	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
John D. Burkley	....	gaffer
Todd MacNicholl	....	key grip
John C. Moulds	....	camera operator (uncredited)
John C. Moulds	....	first assistant camera (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Kevin Woodworth	....	wardrobe supervisor

Editorial Department
Sandra Kaufman	....	first assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Tom Seid	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Ken Plumlee	....	transportation coordinator
Mitch Harbeson	....	driver (uncredited)

Other crew
Dru Anne Carlson	....	script supervisor
Ann Dunsford	....	production coordinator
Steven Peros	....	assistant to executive producer
Dawn Darfus	....	production accountant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Nederlander Film
• Turner Pictures (I)

Other Companies

• Effects House, The  titles and opticals

Also Known As:

Tennessee Williams' Orpheus Descending

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:16 | USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Jacksonville, Florida, USA

Company:

Nederlander Film

Trivia:

The original Broadway production of "Orpheus Descending" by Tennessee Williams opened at the Martin Beck Theater on March 21, 1957 and ran for 68 performances.

Movie Connections:

Version of The Fugitive Kind (1960)

Light My Fire

Hot diggity dog, is this a great movie! I'm surprised that so few people have heard of it, neither would I if I hadn't found it going cheap.

The story deals with your usual southern redneck town full of repressed and frustrated people, typical Williams territory. In this it does a great deal better than such Hollywood formula fare as Mississippi Boring, I mean Burning.

Vanessa Redgrave isn't too convincing as an Italian-American, she's just Vanessa Redgrave; but what the hey, that's just right here. She plays (what else) an abused and unhappy grocer trapped in a loveless marriage. Her invalid husband is incapable of loving her; we might be tempted to feel sorry for him, but we know (which she doesn't) that he was responsible for burning her father to death many years before. The image of fire recurs throughout the movie, both as a symbol of sexual passion and as a harbinger of fearsome cruelty. If we recall that Orpheus descended into Hades, this ashcan of a town is effectively hell.

Kevin Anderson is very convincing as a southern drifter who conceals a kind heart. Not only that, he does a great job of howling out those Delta blues to his trusty ol' guitar, almost operatic in quality. You just know that something is going to happen to him.

Williams combines his usual erotic concerns with a story that involves the Klan, lynching and redneck hypocrisy - and it makes for a more compelling story. I've seen Streetcar and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and I reckon that this is a better movie. The only problem is that the title is too abstract, its relation to the story is too tenuous; something more direct would attract more viewers.