Adapted from the play by Tennessee Williams, Glass Menagerie centers around four unhappy people living in a rundown section of St. Louis. Tom, the story's narrator (Arthur Kennedy) is a poetic idealist trapped in a dead-end job, drowning his sorrows in booze. Tom lives with his mother Amanda (Gertrude Lawrence), a faded Southern belle who lives in the past, and with his crippled older sister Laura (Jane Wyman), an intensely shy woman who escapes from reality by keeping a "glass menagerie" of small animal figures. Laura is brought out of her shell by the Gentleman Caller (Kirk Douglas), a coworker of Tom's who relies on bravado and charm to get through life.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide