This Property Is Condemned

This Property Is Condemned is a 1966 American drama film starring Natalie Wood, Robert Redford, Kate Reid, Charles Bronson and Mary Badham and directed by Sydney Pollack. The screenplay was written by Francis Ford Coppola, Fred Coe and Edith Sommer. The story was adapted from the 1946 oneact play of the same name by Tennessee Williams. The film was released by Paramount Pictures.

The film is a frame story in which an unkempt girl, Willie Starr Mary Badham, tells the story of her dead sister Alva Natalie Wood to Tom, a boy who she meets on the abandoned railroad tracks of Dodson, Mississippi in the 1930s. The viewer sees this story in flashback.A stranger, Owen Legate Redford, arrives in the small town of Dodson, and makes his way to the Starr Boarding House, where a loud birthday party is in progress for the landlady, Mrs Mama Starr Kate Reid. He meets Willie, the youngest daughter of the house, and rents a room for the week, while remaining mysterious about his motives for being in town. It soon emerges that the eldest daughter, Alva, is the main attraction at the party. Mr. Johnson, the oldest and richest worker for the railroad station, is anxiously waiting for her to show up. When she finally arrives, many men greet her and try to attract her attention or dance with her, including Mamas boyfriend, J.J. Bronson. Alva and Owen first meet in the kitchen, where the girl tells a fanciful story about one of the workers taking her dancing at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis. Willie is entranced, but Owen suspects the story to be makebelieve. It becomes obvious that Alva is anxious to leave Dodson, and dreams of going to New Orleans, where Owen has come from. Later, Alva enters Owens room on a false pretense and begins confiding in him. He discourages her, suggesting that she is no more than a prostitute, and the girl leaves in tears. Mama explains to Alva she must be kind to Mr Johnson, who has promised to look after her. ........

Source: Wikipedia