''Truckline Cafe'' was the title of a 1946

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

play written by

Maxwell Anderson James Maxwell Anderson (December 15, 1888 – February 28, 1959) was an American playwright, author, poet, journalist, and lyricist. Anderson faced many challenges in his career, frequently losing jobs for expressing his opinions or supporting ...

, directed by

Harold Clurman Harold Edgar Clurman (September 18, 1901 – September 9, 1980) was an American theatre director and drama critic. In 2003, he was named one of the most influential figures in U.S. theater by PBS.

, produced by

Elia Kazan Elias Kazantzoglou (, ; September 7, 1909 – September 28, 2003), known as Elia Kazan ( ), was a Greek-American film and theatre director, producer, screenwriter and actor, described by ''The New York Times'' as "one of the most honored and inf ...

, and starring

Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Widely regarded as one of the greatest cinema actors of the 20th century,''Movies in American History: An Encyclopedia''

and

Karl Malden Karl Malden (born Mladen George Sekulovich; March 22, 1912 – July 1, 2009) was an American stage, movie and television actor who first achieved acclaim in the original Broadway productions of Arthur Miller's '' All My Sons'' and Tennessee Will ...

. The short-lived play ran only 10 performances and is best remembered today for the fact that each night Brando would run up and down a flight of stairs prior to an entrance to induce an effectively frenzied demeanor for one of the scenes. The cast also included

David Manners David Joseph Manners (born Rauff de Ryther Duan Acklom; April 30, 1900 – December 23, 1998) was a Canadian-American actor who played John Harker in Tod Browning's 1931 horror classic ''Dracula'', which starred Bela Lugosi in the title role.Pa ...

, to whom Brando has attributed much of his subsequent success, and

Kevin McCarthy Kevin Owen McCarthy (born January 26, 1965) is an American politician who served as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 55th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from January until he was Remova ...

. The play is noted for Brando's first major appearance on

, during which he garnered attention for an unusually intense performance which presaged his later work on ''

A Streetcar Named Desire ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of pe ...

''. ''Truckline Cafe'' is also notable for being the first collaboration between Brando and Kazan, who later made ''

'', ''

Viva Zapata ''Viva Zapata!'' is a 1952 American biographical Western film directed by Elia Kazan, dramatizing the life of Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata from his peasant upbringing through his rise to power in the early 1900s and his death in 1919. I ...

'', and ''

On the Waterfront ''On the Waterfront'' is a 1954 American crime drama film, directed by Elia Kazan and written by Budd Schulberg. It stars Marlon Brando, and features Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger, Pat Henning and Eva Marie Saint in her film de ...

'' together. The play also remains notable for being the first time Brando and Malden worked together, prior to co-starring in ''A Streetcar Named Desire'', ''On the Waterfront'', and '' One Eyed Jacks''. From the May 1, 2007 issue of ''

Slate Magazine ''Slate'' is an online magazine that covers current affairs, politics, and culture in the United States. It was created in 1996 by former ''The New Republic, New Republic'' editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as ...

'', Troy Patterson notes in a review of a

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcas ...

documentary about Brando:
''The film spends a happily ample sum of time on ''Truckline Café'', which was Brando's Broadway breakthrough, and contextualizes the triumph of Streetcar better than Brando's own autobiography.'' From the July 7–13, 2004 edition of ''The Villager'':
''In “Broadway: The Golden Age,” a stirring documentary film by Rick McKay, that fine actor

Charles Durning Charles Edward Durning (February 28, 1923 – December 24, 2012) was an American actor who appeared in over 200 movies, television shows and plays.Schudel, Matt (December 26, 2012) "''In real life and on the screen, he played countless role ...

says of his first sight of Brando (in “Truckline Cafe”): “I thought e was aguy they pulled in off the street. Too good to be an actor.”'' ''

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps as ''TIME'') is an American news magazine based in New York City. It was published weekly for nearly a century. Starting in March 2020, it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York Cit ...

'' reported that the reviews were so lacerating (the ''

New York Daily News The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...

John Chapman called it "the worst play I have seen since I have been in the reviewing business") that Clurman and Kazan took out an ad in the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' stating in part: Meanwhile, playwright Anderson mounted an ad in the ''

New York Herald Tribune The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the '' New York Tribune'' acquired the '' New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and compet ...

'':

Cast (in alphabetical order)

*Joseph Adams ... Second Man *

... Sage McRae *Irene Dailey ... Angie *Joann Dolan ... Evvie Garrett *Leila Ernst ... Sissie *Louis A. Florence ... Matt *Lou Gilbert ... Man With a Pail *

Virginia Gilmore Virginia Gilmore (born Sherman Virginia Poole, July 26, 1919 – March 28, 1986) was an American film, stage, and television actress. Career Gilmore began her stage career in San Francisco at the age of 15, but moved to Los Angeles in 1939 t ...

... Anne *Solen Hayes ... First Man *Peter Hobbs ... The Breadman *Lorraine Kirby ... First Woman *

... Stag *

... Wing Commander Hern *June March ... Mildred *

... Maurice *Peggy Meredith ... Janet *Anne Morgan ... First Girl *

Frank Overton Frank Emmons Overton (March 12, 1918April 24, 1967) was an American actor. He was best known for the roles of Major Harvey Stovall in '' 12 O'Clock High'' (1964-1967), Sheriff Heck Tate in ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' (1962), and General Bogan in '' ...

... Toby *Richard Paul ... Bimi * Ann Shepherd ... Tory McRae *Robert Simon ... Patrolman Gray *Eugene Steiner ... Tuffy Garrett *Rose Steiner ... Second Woman *Gloria Stroock ... Second Girl *John Sweet ... Stew *Ralph Theadore ... Kip *

Kenneth Tobey Jesse Kenneth Tobey (March 23, 1917 – December 22, 2002) was an American actor active from the early 1940s into the 1990s, with over 200 credits in film, theatre, and television. He is best known for his role as a captain who takes charg ...

... Hutch *Joanne Tree ... Celeste *June Walker ... Min *Richard Waring ... Mort *Jutta Wolf ... June

References

External links

* {{IBDB title, 1775
''The Villager'' "Marlon Brando and the birth of American acting"

''Slate Magazine'' "Brand Brando"

Broadway plays 1946 plays Plays by Maxwell Anderson