Marlon Brando was in a film adapted from the work of an American author.
Marlon Brando . He initially gained acclaim and an Academy Award nomination for reprising the role of Stanley Kowalski in the 1951 film adaptation of Tennessee Williams ' play A Streetcar Named Desire , a role that he had originated successfully on Broadway . He directed and starred in the cult western film One-Eyed Jacks , a critical and commercial flop , after which he delivered a series of box-office failures , beginning with the 1962 film adaptation of the novel Mutiny on the Bounty . Thomas Lanier `` Tennessee '' Williams III ( March 26 , 1911 -- February 25 , 1983 ) was an American playwright .