After losing her job and her ancestral home of Belle Reve in Laurel, Mississippi, Blanche DuBois heads to the sweltering streets of New Orleans to seek solace with her sister Stella and brother-in-law Stanley. Stanley, infuriated by Blanche’s artificial airs, her suggestive behavior, and what he regards as her loss of his wife’s birthright, is determined to expose Blanche’s lies about her past — a past which is more tragic and sordid than he is able to imagine. 

Blanche looks down on her sister’s nearly destitute living conditions, which are vastly different from their upbringing. Despite Stella’s obvious love for Stanley, Blanche is condescending toward him. 

During an alcohol-fueled poker game, Blanche meets Harold Mitchell (Mitch), a workmate of Stanley’s who is very much tied to his mother’s apron strings. Blanche sets her sights on him. Stanley, drunk, breaks up the evening and strikes Stella, accusing her of siding against him with Blanche. After this violent exchange, the sisters flee upstairs to their neighbor Eunice’s apartment. Stanley instantly regrets his actions and shouts for Stella, who, against Blanche’s advice, returns to his embrace and bed.

The next morning, Stanley overhears Blanche begging Stella to leave him.

Stanley tells Stella that he has a friend who is making inquiries about Blanche in her hometown of Laurel. He reveals that she might have been involved in shady dealings at a certain hotel in their hometown. His threats to expose these secrets unsettle Blanche. His threats to expose these secrets unsettle Blanche.

When Stella and Stanley go out for the night, Blanche has a chance encounter at the apartment with a young paper carrier who reminds her of her late husband. She tries to seduce him but pulls back at the last moment. He leaves before Mitch arrives to take her out for the evening. 

Although Blanche feels uneasy about Stanley’s new-found knowledge, she and Mitch unexpectedly open up to each other. She shares intimate details from her past marriage: her late husband was gay, and she blames herself for his suicide. Mitch confides his own lost love, and their emotional connection deepens. 

As Stella is putting final touches on decorations for Blanche’s birthday party, Stanley decides to tell her what his friend has discovered about Blanche’s past. He reveals that Blanche earned an unsavory reputation for seducing young men in Laurel, Mississippi and was forced to leave town. Stanley goes on to say that he has told Mitch everything, making it clear that not only will Mitch not be attending the party, but that he will never regard Blanche the same way. 

Blanche reappears after her bath, uneasy that Mitch is late. After an animated back and forth with Blanche, Stanley tells her that he has a gift for her: a one-way ticket back to Laurel. Blanche rushes back to the bathroom, clearly disturbed. Stanley pleads with Stella to let things return as they were to restore their life to its former balance. In the heat of the exchange, Stella goes into labor and tells Stanley to rush her to the hospital. Blanche’s mental unraveling becomes apparent.

Blanche is in a drunken haze when an inebriated Mitch storms the apartment and bitterly reproaches her. She confirms the rumors, and with his hopes dashed, he denounces her as someone too unclean to enter his mother’s house, and she throws Mitch out in a fury. 

Later that night, Stanley returns from the hospital. Driven mad by her airs and desperate to control her, he brutally rapes the intoxicated Blanche, solidifying her psychological fragmentation. 

When Stella comes home from the hospital, she refuses to believe Blanche’s accusations against Stanley. He uses their rift to convince Stella that Blanche needs to be committed to an asylum. In her fragile state, Blanche believes she’s going on an ocean cruise when a doctor and nurse come to take her away. She has completely lost touch with reality. As the doctor leads her away, Blanche gently says that she has always relied on the kindness of strangers.