Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

This Property Is Condemned

Play trailer Poster for This Property Is Condemned Released Jun 17, 1966 1h 50m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
62% Tomatometer 13 Reviews 76% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
In this film adaptation of a Tennessee Williams play, Alva (Natalie Wood) is a radiant Southern belle who clashes with her oppressive mother, Hazel (Kate Reid). Hazel is trying to force Alva to take an affluent husband, but the young woman has eyes for Owen Legate (Robert Redford), a handsome city slicker visiting their tiny Mississippi town. Hazel disapproves of Owen and forces him to stop seeing her daughter. In an act of revenge, Alva takes up with her mother's beau, J.J. (Charles Bronson).
Watch on Fandango at Home Stream Now

Where to Watch

This Property Is Condemned

Critics Reviews

View More (13)
Variety Staff Variety Derived from a Tennessee Williams one-acter, the production is adult without being sensational, touching without being maudlin. Dec 11, 2007 Full Review Time Out Considering the wealth of talent that participated in this Tennessee Williams adaptation, the results are disappointing in the extreme. Feb 9, 2006 Full Review Bosley Crowther New York Times Under Sydney Pollack's direction, they are all acting seamy sterotypes. Rated: 2/5 May 9, 2005 Full Review TV Guide The script is riddled with obvious problems, but the acting is top-notch. Rated: 2.5/4 Dec 11, 2007 Full Review Frank Swietek One Guy's Opinion Rated: 2/5 Nov 5, 2005 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 2/5 Jul 1, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More (104)
Stephen C Success in 1 hour and 50 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All ages admitted!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/16/25 Full Review Jan S I've loved this movie since I first saw it years ago. Just hearing the song makes me tear up. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 09/16/25 Full Review Audience Member A stranger, Owen Legate (Robert 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. Hazel "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 (Natalie Wood), is the "main attraction" at the party. Mr. Johnson, the oldest and richest railroad station worker, is eagerly awaiting her arrival. When Alva finally appears, many men greet her and try to attract her attention or to dance with her, including Mama's boyfriend J.J. (Charles 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 that the story is fictitious. It becomes obvious that Alva is eager to leave Dodson and dreams of going to New Orleans, from where Owen has come. Later, Alva enters Owen's room on a false pretense and begins confiding in him. He discourages her, suggesting that she is no more than a prostitute, and she leaves in tears. Mama explains to Alva that she must be kind to Mr. Johnson, who has promised to look after her. The next day, Willie, who is skipping Vacation Bible School, sees Owen on his way to work. The purpose of Owen's visit to Dodson is to lay off several railroad employees as a result of cutbacks made necessary by the Depression. In the evening, Mr. Johnson is waiting again for Alva to get ready for their date, but she is avoiding it. She makes an excuse to get him to go inside, then leads Owen into the garden to show him her father's red-headed scarecrow. Owen confronts Alva about her arrangement with Mama, to which Alva will neither admit nor face. She runs back angrily to Mr. Johnson and invites everyone in the house to go skinny-dipping. J.J. manages to get Alva alone and comes on to her. He tells her Owen has come to lay off most of the town. The workers grow increasingly hostile toward Legate, but Owen and Alva become closer. They visit an abandoned train car decorated by Alva's father and Alva talks once again of her dream to leave the town. When Owen is beaten up by the laid-off men, Alva takes care of him and the two spend the night together. Meanwhile, Mama has arranged for the family to accompany Mr. Johnson to Memphis, where he will take care of them. She will not let Alva go to New Orleans with Owen. When Alva protests, Mama persuades Owen to believe he has been deceived and that Alva was planning to go to Memphis all along. Mama, J.J., Alva and Mr. Johnson go out to celebrate their new arrangement. Drunk and angered, Alva confronts J.J. and gets him to admit that he stays with Mrs. Starr to be with her. That night, Alva marries J.J., but the next morning she steals his money and their marriage license and runs away to New Orleans... Sydney Pollack´s 1966 American strong drama set during the great depression and inspired by the great 1946 one-act play of the same name by Tennessee Williams, was written by Francis Ford Coppola, Fred Coe and Edith Sommer. I don´t think I have ever heard of this film, but I am glad I bought it at the local flea market. We get a great cast in Natalie Wood, Robert Redford, Kate Reid, Charles Bronson, Robert Blake and Mary Badham. Natalie Wood received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama and well deserved in my opinion as she is really dazzling and gorgeous as Alva. Robert Redford is subtle and magnificent as Owen. I like the storyline that you can´t really forsee what will happen except that Owen and Alva will end up with each other in one way or another. The film is noted for its memorable song "Wish me a Rainbow", written by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans, which is heard at the beginning and the ending of the film. Ed Ames, Gilberto Astrudo, and Lawrence Welk have all covered versions of this sentimental melancholia song. It´s interesting that the film received mostly mixed to negative reviews which to me a bit of a questionmark as I really liked "This property is condemned". Trivia: Natalie Wood attempted suicide during the filming of this movie (27 November 1965). Natalie Wood had trouble performing the drunken bar scene, so she got drunk for real. This was supposed to be a prestige picture for Natalie Wood after a string of flops that would mark her comeback as a serious actress. However, the film was met with public and critical indifference. Wood retreated from Hollywood and wouldn't make another film for another three years. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Audience Member Between 3 and 3.5 stars. Story with the echoes of the South dramas of Tenesse Williams, but less rich, although good interpretation from the actors. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member In truth, it ought to be SEVEN stars. Perfect, succinct, visceral, heart-shattering story about a girl, Alva (Natalie Wood), raging to break out from the suffocation of her dead-end town and the white slavery imposed by her own mother. Wood's role is richly complex -- naive nymph and femme fatale, broken soul and desperate dreamer -- and she f**king owns it. For Tennessee Williams pictures, I put this up there with "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" and "Baby Doll." That Wood garnered no more than a Golden Globe nomination, and that the movie isn't held in higher acclaim, is sickening. Bonus Points: directed ably by Sydney Pollack, co-written by Francis Ford Coppola and powerful roles by Robert Redford and Mary Badham (Scout from "To Kill a Mockingbird"). The Redford-Wood second act face-off renders some of the best dialogue I've ever heard and Redford gets the gems, spitting out invectives like buckshot. Don't miss it. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/19/23 Full Review steve d Engaging and Wood is fantastic. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews
This Property Is Condemned

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW
The Great Gatsby 41% 47% The Great Gatsby Watchlist TRAILER for The Great Gatsby The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone 0% 58% The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone Watchlist Little Fauss and Big Halsy 33% 49% Little Fauss and Big Halsy Watchlist Inside Daisy Clover 31% 50% Inside Daisy Clover Watchlist Pretty Baby 70% 58% Pretty Baby Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis In this film adaptation of a Tennessee Williams play, Alva (Natalie Wood) is a radiant Southern belle who clashes with her oppressive mother, Hazel (Kate Reid). Hazel is trying to force Alva to take an affluent husband, but the young woman has eyes for Owen Legate (Robert Redford), a handsome city slicker visiting their tiny Mississippi town. Hazel disapproves of Owen and forces him to stop seeing her daughter. In an act of revenge, Alva takes up with her mother's beau, J.J. (Charles Bronson).
Director
Sydney Pollack
Producer
John Houseman, Ray Stark
Screenwriter
Francis Ford Coppola, Fred Coe, Edith R. Sommer
Production Co
Paramount Pictures, Seven Arts Productions
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jun 17, 1966, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jun 15, 2011
Runtime
1h 50m
Most Popular at Home Now