Scan barcode
A review by jeanetterenee
The Children's Hour by Lillian Hellman
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.