As the film progresses, the set of the Kowalski apartment actually gets smaller to heighten the suggestion of Blanche's increasing claustrophobia.
Composer Alex North wrote and recorded the first ever jazz-orientated film score for a dramatic picture. The score served to colour the sound of the film's steamy New Orleans setting. It has become a well-deserved landmark in the history of film music and paved the way for numerous movie jazz scores.
The movie's line, "I have always depended on the kindness of strangers," was voted as the #75 movie quote by the American Film Institute (out of 100).
Vivien Leigh, who suffered from bipolar disorder in real life, later had difficulties in distinguishing her real life from that of Blanche DuBois.
The Catholic Legion of Decency threatened to sink the box office prospects for the film with a Condemned rating. Elia Kazan made a last ditch effort to get his un-cut version seen by the public. He asked Warner Bros. to try releasing the film in both his director's version and the edited version, with each clearly marked so audience members could choose for themselves. Warners said no, and Kazan then campaigned for his director's cut to be screened at the Venice Film Festival. Again, Warners refused, since the Legion mandated that only their approved version could be released, and the studio didn't want to risk earning a Condemned rating which would hurt the film at the box office. As a result, Kazan's version would not be seen until Warners restored the film in 1993.