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jeanetterenee's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
"The wicked very young and the wicked very old."
This is a bit like a combination of The Bad Seed and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, although it predates both of those novels by at least a couple of decades.
A spiteful sociopathic girl and her wealthy grandmother destroy the life's work of two women who run a successful boarding school. Mary Tilford, evil girlchild demon, tells her grandmother vague lies about possible lesbian love between Miss Wright and Miss Dobie. Tragedy ensues.
About a month ago I watched the 1961 film adaptation of The Children's Hour with Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine. I then wanted to read this original play to see how it differed from the movie. Before I got the chance to do that, I discovered that there was a 1936 film called These Three that was also an adaptation of this play, with the screenplay by Lillian Hellman herself. So I watched that movie about week ago.
Although both films stick with the basic core of the story, and much of the dialogue comes directly from the play, they differ quite a bit on key plot points and presentation of the main issue. So then I really wanted to read the play, to see which film adhered most closely to the original story.
I would have guessed that the 1936 film would have been more faithful to the play. And I would have been very wrong. Much of that I'm sure is due to the Motion Picture Production Code, which in 1936 prohibited "any inference of sexual perversion." And that, of course, would have included mention of homosexuality. So they substituted a muddy sort of insinuation of Miss Dobie engaging in hanky panky with Miss Wright's fiance. And then they wrap it all up with a sappy happy ending, the absolute opposite of the real ending. And so it went in Hollywood in the old days.
The 1961 movie version stays much more true to the play, and is thus rather more depressing. But far more realistic. Once you have destroyed someone's reputation and livelihood, you can never take it back. You can never make things right again, no matter how you try to atone for your mistakes.
This is a bit like a combination of The Bad Seed and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, although it predates both of those novels by at least a couple of decades.
A spiteful sociopathic girl and her wealthy grandmother destroy the life's work of two women who run a successful boarding school. Mary Tilford, evil girlchild demon, tells her grandmother vague lies about possible lesbian love between Miss Wright and Miss Dobie. Tragedy ensues.
About a month ago I watched the 1961 film adaptation of The Children's Hour with Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine. I then wanted to read this original play to see how it differed from the movie. Before I got the chance to do that, I discovered that there was a 1936 film called These Three that was also an adaptation of this play, with the screenplay by Lillian Hellman herself. So I watched that movie about week ago.
Although both films stick with the basic core of the story, and much of the dialogue comes directly from the play, they differ quite a bit on key plot points and presentation of the main issue. So then I really wanted to read the play, to see which film adhered most closely to the original story.
I would have guessed that the 1936 film would have been more faithful to the play. And I would have been very wrong. Much of that I'm sure is due to the Motion Picture Production Code, which in 1936 prohibited "any inference of sexual perversion." And that, of course, would have included mention of homosexuality. So they substituted a muddy sort of insinuation of Miss Dobie engaging in hanky panky with Miss Wright's fiance. And then they wrap it all up with a sappy happy ending, the absolute opposite of the real ending. And so it went in Hollywood in the old days.
The 1961 movie version stays much more true to the play, and is thus rather more depressing. But far more realistic. Once you have destroyed someone's reputation and livelihood, you can never take it back. You can never make things right again, no matter how you try to atone for your mistakes.
demo's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Lesbophobia
Moderate: Suicide
strdrw's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
jessiejonesbentley's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia and Suicide
florapants84's review against another edition
4.0
About 8 years ago, I had a sort of emotional crisis. I just couldn't deal with the compounded pressures of life, and most especially the breakdown of an intimate relationship, along with the sudden onset of serious illness of a parent. I quit my job, and camped out on my bed for a month watching the AMC and TCM network nonstop. I'm sure you're picturing an unbathed, unshaven me, in weeks old Garfield pajamas, and dirty cereal bowls piled precariously high on one nightstand. I assure you, it was a neater affair, but that's exactly how I felt on the inside. Beaten.
I've always been a film geek, and had a passion for the classics, but during this dark period of my life, film took on a deeper, lifelike meaning for me. Sometimes I felt like I'd literally stepped into another time period, and I took comfort in completely losing myself in a director's imaginary playground. I also fondly remember discovering Wes Anderson for the first time. I love that man!
I'm sitting here, index finger poised over the backspace key, debating about whether to erase this and start over again, on account of the "naked-in-front-of-the-class-dream-sequence-ish" feeling that's come over me. Waiting. Wait-ing. Bravery won out! It's a good day to be alive.
So I've set the scene, and now you know why I was primed to fully appreciate the genius of Hellman's mind! I woke up early one morning during that month, in time to catch a wonderful film called These Three, filmed in 1936, that was based on the play The Children's Hour by Lillian Hellman, who also wrote the screenplay. The two main characters, a young pair of best friends, have pooled their resources to run a girls' boarding school in a small town. One mean-spirited student starts a vicious rumor about the teachers, that has unforeseeable consequences. Due to content and the audience at that time, Hellman had to revise a major plot element of her play for the screenplay, in order for it to be accepted by a production studio. Later in 1961, director William Wyler took Hellman's original play and created a poignant, atmospheric film gem, starring Audrey Hepburn and Shirley McClaine.
I think what most got to me was that long after you watch these films, or read the play, you will be thinking about it. Although it seems like a pretty simple, straightforward story, it's so complex! Read the play, watch the films, see for yourself. Reading the play for the first time now, I feel this surging protective affection for that scared, beaten person of 8 years ago. Like Karen and Martha in the play, I wish I could tell her that things aren't as bleak as they seem, and that the sun really will come out tomorrow.
I've always been a film geek, and had a passion for the classics, but during this dark period of my life, film took on a deeper, lifelike meaning for me. Sometimes I felt like I'd literally stepped into another time period, and I took comfort in completely losing myself in a director's imaginary playground. I also fondly remember discovering Wes Anderson for the first time. I love that man!
I'm sitting here, index finger poised over the backspace key, debating about whether to erase this and start over again, on account of the "naked-in-front-of-the-class-dream-sequence-ish" feeling that's come over me. Waiting. Wait-ing. Bravery won out! It's a good day to be alive.
So I've set the scene, and now you know why I was primed to fully appreciate the genius of Hellman's mind! I woke up early one morning during that month, in time to catch a wonderful film called These Three, filmed in 1936, that was based on the play The Children's Hour by Lillian Hellman, who also wrote the screenplay. The two main characters, a young pair of best friends, have pooled their resources to run a girls' boarding school in a small town. One mean-spirited student starts a vicious rumor about the teachers, that has unforeseeable consequences. Due to content and the audience at that time, Hellman had to revise a major plot element of her play for the screenplay, in order for it to be accepted by a production studio. Later in 1961, director William Wyler took Hellman's original play and created a poignant, atmospheric film gem, starring Audrey Hepburn and Shirley McClaine.
I think what most got to me was that long after you watch these films, or read the play, you will be thinking about it. Although it seems like a pretty simple, straightforward story, it's so complex! Read the play, watch the films, see for yourself. Reading the play for the first time now, I feel this surging protective affection for that scared, beaten person of 8 years ago. Like Karen and Martha in the play, I wish I could tell her that things aren't as bleak as they seem, and that the sun really will come out tomorrow.
eunicez's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Homophobia, and Bullying
blueeye217's review against another edition
5.0
I would love to see this produced. But would love to be in it more! This is going on my wish list of parts. Reminds one of The Crucible, but still good.
olivetree614's review against another edition
4.0
4.5
everyone says that brutus & cassius dwell in the final circle of hell but that's not true because mary tilford is there
everyone says that brutus & cassius dwell in the final circle of hell but that's not true because mary tilford is there
irmelalovesreading's review against another edition
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5