This Property Is Condemned

5/5/2026

**_Melodramatic Southern Gothic with Robert Redford and Natalie Wood_** This is the film that ended Tennessee Williams’ reign at the box office with six hits or semi-hits from 1951-1964. Of course, this isn’t purely a Tennessee Williams movie since Francis Ford Coppola and a couple of other scriptwriters expanded his sad story with added characters and a romance. The events take place in 1932-1933 and The Depression milieu is great. You can feel the humidity with the social dynamics being almost surreal and Charles Bronson, Robert Blake and Dabney Coleman showing up in peripheral parts. The opening bookend is unnecessary, however, and gives away a tragic plot point. Yet I love the way the flick opens with Willie tight-roping the train tracks. Also, there are predictable bits. For