Customer Reviews

The Children's Hour [VHS]

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4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Written and first staged in the 1930s, THE CHILDREN'S HOUR was master playwright Lillian Helman's first great success. It also provoked a scandal: the story concerned two women who run a school for girls--and who suffer scandal and personal tragedy when an unruly student accuses them of having a lesbian affair. The play was such a success that Hollywood wasted little time in buying the film rights, but the material was too hot for the 1930s film industry; the story was significantly rewritten into a fairly insipid love-triangle melodrama and was released under the title THESE THREE. It would be another thirty years before American film was ready to tackle the play head on.

Many critics have noted that THE CHILDREN'S HOUR is not about lesbianism, but about the power of a lie. There is some truth to this, for the entire plot rests on the child's lie and its devasting effect. But Helman was not a superficial writer: once the knife goes in, she twists it several times, first in a series of emotional revelations between the leading characters and finally in a portrait of society that attacks any one perceived as different in any way--even to the point of driving them to death. Some complain that this is merely another Hollywood stereotype in which the gay character has to be punished by the film's conclusion, but I disagree; if anything, Helman's point remains as unfortunately valid today as it was in the 1930s and again in the 1960s.

The cast ranges from solid to exceptional, and the supporting cast is exceptionally fine. Fay Bainter and Mirian Hopkins, both legendary actresses, give truly memorable performances in supporting roles; child actresses Karen Balkin and Veronica Cartwright also give remarkably powerful performances. And Audrey Hepburn and James Garner are rock solid as school teacher Karen Wright and her beau Dr. Cardin. But the raw power of the film comes from Shirley MacLaine, who gives one of the most inspired performances of her career as school teacher Martha Dobie. In this case superlatives are not enough: no one who sees the film will easily forget her tortured, passionate performance. Director William Wyler tells the story with great simplicity and to tremendous effect. Strongly recommended.

It is a very good movie that deals with a very difficult social issue in a very believable plot. It will keep you in suspense all the time. I felt a great deal of empathy for the leading ladies as they were falsely accused based on the lies of a wicked child. Lesbianism was the issue but, the way it was handled in the film, it would apply to any other delicate matter. Just imagine how difficult would be to prove wrong or attack the credibility of a child.

Excellent performances by all the actors, especially Ms. Hepburn who portrays one of her most dramatical roles. Pay special attention to the last scenes, the conclusion is superb, both in plot resolution and in cinematography. Observe Ms. Hepburn in the final shots, she is as graceful as ever with a black coat and a black beret, just in simple clothes.

William Wyler was excellent in directing this movie and he is able to show his special touch with a surprising ending as he did with Roman Holiday. Viewers are left with a wistful yearning. He is successful in portraying that unhappy endings are sometimes much better in regards to the story and cinematically, and also better reflect reality.

I definitely remember seeing this movie as a youngster, well before I had come out to friends and family, and it left an indelible impression on me and actually provided me with survival tools, all people, regardless of their differences would invariably need to effectively deal with societal intolerance. (As a matter of fact, being gay and African-American, an excellent companion piece to this film would be the original film production of "A Raisin in the Sun." This constitutes inspiration of the highest order!!)

The performances are spellbinding, most notably, Audrey Hepburn and Shirley McClaine. It was indeed ahead of its time and quite frankly I am surprised it has not been re-done. But on second thought, regardless of cast, there would be very little that a remake could lend. This would be a classic example of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." This version does exactly what it was intended to do: open up a dialogue. It is uncomprimising and tastefully done with wrenching performances and is just as timely today as when it was first produced. I heartily recommend it as a thought-provoking and important film.

This is one of those movies I didn't expect to hit me the way that it did. I love Hepburn and MacLaine and so I was anticipating finally getting to sit down and watch this film, but I truly had no idea what to expect. Hepburn was such a wonderfully light actress, an actress who filtered in and out of breezy comedies with such effortless charisma, so I was expecting something a little less dramatic and little more entertaining. What I got instead was one of those films that socks you in the gut and leaves you pondering issues and consequences that never seem to leave your head afterward.

`The Children's Hour' is haunting.

The film tells the story of Karen Wright and Martha Dobie, two young women who run a boarding school for young girls. Little Mary Tilford is quite the troublemaker and is constantly finding herself in trouble, and this moves her to tell a little lie (or more like a major embellishment) in order to free herself of trouble. This lie spreads quickly and threatens to destroy the lives of Karen and Martha.

What is so amazing and in the end captivating about `The Children's Hour' is that it never becomes predictable but from beginning to end keeps the audience in anticipation. The relationship between Karen and Martha is a huge question mark to the audience, which helps with our understanding of the lie, and this also keeps us wondering how much validity there is to the accusation. This is a brilliant tactic used to keep the audience hooked, and it works on all levels.

Thanks to some brilliant acting as well, `The Children's Hour' skyrockets to the top of the pack, delivering a very heartfelt and moving drama about deception and regret. Audrey Hepburn floored me with her ability to retain her screen charm while attacking a character that is so unlike the darlings she usually played. Karen is deeply bothered by her predicament, and her emotional distress is brought to life by Hepburn's masterful performance. As good as Audrey was though, MacLaine was ten times better. The character of Martha is definitely the most interesting, especially in the final act, and Shirley's character development is essential to the last impression made by the film. I was blown away by her ability to create a character that was so likable and so infectious while never losing her dark secrets and guilt ridden conscience. You felt the revelations before they were revealed, yet she never gave them away too early; and that takes talent.

The supporting performances are also wonderful. James Garner is impressive as Joe, Karen's fiancé, but this movie uses him more as a prop than anything else. Fay Bainter received an Oscar nomination for her performance, and rightfully so, for her devilish mix of inhumanity and uncompromising maternal love is outstanding. Young Karen Balkin is perfect as Mary, the young child you love to hate.

In the end `The Children's Hour' is a brilliant character study on the after effects of the lie. The final twist of the knife will leave you breathless, speechless and broken, but it's that final twist that elevates the film drastically and makes it such an important masterpiece. This may very well be Hepburn's finest film and this may very well sport MacLaine's finest performance; two reasons right there to see this movie immediately.

Whenever one hears the name Audrey Hepburn, they often think of Sabrina, My Fair Lady, or Breakfast At Tiffany's. THIS film is one of Hepburn's greatest, and even as one of her biggest fans, I never heard of this movie...until I saw it at blockbuster.

At first, my mom didn't want me to see it. She claimed that the themes were too mature and about "women loving women." About a month or two later, I saw The Hours. I think I was ready for this 1961 movie.

I began The Children's Hour automatically thinking that Audrey Hepburn would be my favorite character. I was wrong. I'd never seen Shirley MacLaine in a film before, and now, not only do I suspect that she's Renee Zellweger's mother, but I believe she is an amazing actress of the screen.

I was also quite impressed with the performance of Veronica Cartwright, who played Rosalie (is she the sister of Nancy Cartwright, who played Brigita or someone in the Sound of Music?? they look exactly alike!!). The girl who played Mary was also a good little actress, I was just bugged by her "confused" and "scared" looks. They cracked me up, because they were so bad.

Sure, it's kinda cheesy that since they can't say the word "lesbian" on screen they have to whisper it, or say it behind a door or something. But that's what you have to respect. Nowadays, you can just SAY something in a movie, and everyone knows what you're talking about. Back then, there were certain words that couldn't be said. Words that you had to express through acting. And Shirley MacLaine did an unbelievable job at it.

Fay Bainter was nominated for her role as the evil grandma (not really evil; mary is, but whatever). What I want to know is why Shirley MacLaine didn't get nominated!! She was excellent!! Amazing!! Her performance blew me away and had me sobbing SO hard at the end of the movie!! (WAAAAAAAH!!!)

Shocking, twisted, captivating and an unbelievable achievement for one of Hollywood's very first movies about lesbians, The Children's Hour is something you really don't want to miss.

What the maliciously whispered lies of one nasty little kid can do! What can it do? I recall Malcolm McDowell's character in if... saying how one bullet in the right place could change the world. Well, something similar happens here, only the world that is shattered results in the discrediting of three innocent people.

Mary is an aggressive troublemaker at the Wright-Dobie School For Girls, run by Karen Wright and Martha Dobie, women who graduated from college together. The school's actually a large two-story house where the children sleep upstairs and have classes downstairs. Mary lies, steals, blackmails, and even overracts just to get out of trouble. Karen, who has been patient with her, finally decides to punish her, and that's when Mary decides to act. She uses gossip she hears from other girls, blackmails a girl with a penchant for stealing, but the second worst thing she does is manipulate her caring but strict grandmother, Ms. Amelia Tilford, into being the agent for the destruction of innocent lives. It is Tilford's spreading the lie of the schoolteachers being lovers that causes the school to collapse.

For the two women, assisted by Martha's meddlesome aunt Lily Mortar, running a school's not easy, but things are looking up. They've finally made a profit, expecting some more students, and Joe Cardon, the local doctor and cousin of Mary's, has finally agreed on a date to marry Karen. All this though has been surrounded by tensions. Joe has been snappish, Martha is a bit sharp with Joe, and everybody's tired from running this school. And tensions boil when Lily berates Martha for being possessive and jealous of Karen to the point that Martha dismisses her own aunt from the school. But the scandal brings with it the mind-twisting madness of how certain words spoken have a different connotation. "Everything I say is meant to mean something else," Joe says in frustration. To which Karen says, "Every word has a new meaning. Child, love, friend, woman...not many safe words anymore."

The darkly lit interior scenes in the empty schoolhouse, once bustling with activity, mirrors the somber atmosphere after the scandal breaks. Based on Lillian Hellman's play on an actual incident in early 19th century Scotland, and initially filmed in 1936 under the title These Three, and also directed by William Wyler, it was a perfect opportunity to test the waters of the newly liberated Production Code, but the word "lesbian" was never used, mainly because Hepburn was nervous about content. There were some scenes that played up on a potential relationship that were cut, and Shirley MacLaine regretted that Wyler didn't keep the ball rolling in that regard. As a result, it's not the film it could have been.

The stars are all good, with even James Garner showing some emotional depth when things between Joe and Karen finally become strained as a result of the scandal. Miriam Hopkins, who played Martha Dobie in These Three, plays the role originally done by Catherine Doucet. Audrey is laudable enough here, but for her, saying no to Wyler, who directed her to fame in Roman Holiday, was tantamount to saying no to God, otherwise, she probably wouldn't have come out in this. But Fay Bainter (Ms. Tilford) turns in a role for which she was given a Best Supporting Actress nomination, as someone concerned, and too trusting to be blinded from the truth. When it does hit her, there is a scene when she collapses. She shrugs off any assistance, rises, and stares imperiously while her granddaughter stares in fear at being finally revealed.

While not one of Hepburn's most memorable movies, it's certainly one of the most depressing, and thus seems longer than it's 1:47 running time.

What can a single lie do? That is the question that is examined in Lillian Hellman's The Children's Hour.

Martha (Shirley Maclaine) and Karen (Audrey Hepburn) run a small boarding school in a small New England town. Karen is engaged to a local doctor (James Garner). When Karen punishes a malicious student, the little girl decides to get revenge. The way the girl does this is repeat a out of context statement made by Martha's aunt (Miriam Hopkins). To complicate matters, she blackmails another girl (Veronica Cartwright) into confirming the story.

This lie immediately destroys the Martha and Karen's school. But their life's are destroyed soon thereafter when their slander suit is rejected. But when the lie exposed it is too little too late.

When the play opened in the late 50's it was daring and very controversial. When the film opened in 1961, it was still controversial. But 40 years later, it is not the lesbian story line that is interesting but how little has changed.

Hepburn gives her usual excellent performance and would have gotten an Oscar nomination if she hadn't made Breakfast at Tiffany's that year. Shirley Maclaine was fresh off her success in The Apartment and was ready to stretch her dramatic legs. She proved that she could handle drama just as well as comedy. But it would be 15 years for her to get another great dramatic role (The Turning Point).

Fay Bainter and Miriam Hopkins were major character actors in the 30's and 40's and were given one final chance to show what they had left. Bainter received an Oscar nomination for this film.

William Wyler had nothing to prove in the 60's yet he continued to select great films with bite that featured women in strong roles. This was another triumph for him.

DVD EXTRAS: NONE

Lillian Hellman's play is brought to the screen a second time here. (The first time in a retitled "These Three," which did not even approach the real subject matter of the play. Hays office intimidation, I presume.) Hepburn and MacLaine play beautifully off one another, and Miriam Hopkins is simply amazing. James Garner is wooden, as he often tends to be, but this does not diminish the impact of the film. Groundbreaking in its sympathetic portrayal of a gay character, it explores the damage people can do to one another and to themselves when a simple child's lie is told, and layer after layer of human decency is peeled back, exposing something raw and dreadful. It's uncomfortable to watch, and devastatingly sad; but if only for the three astounding performances (MacLaine, Hepburn and Hopkins) it's worth seeing. Shirley MacLaine has since remarked that she and Hepburn never even really discussed the gay angle of the script, which seems incredible, considering how straightforwardly (for its time) it is handled here.

The Children's Hour was quite a daring film for its time and is based on Lillian Hellman's play of the same name, the first show on Broadway to deal with the subject of lesbianism when it was a success in the 1930s.

Karen (Audrey Hepburn) and Martha (Shirley MacLaine) are good friends and run a boarding school for girls. Karen is dating Joe (James Garner) and agrees to marry him, upsetting Martha in the process. Martha's aunt tells her that her jealousy is unnatural.

Enter super brat Mary (Karen Balkin), one of the students who has just been disciplined for not telling the truth. She lies and elaborates to her grandmother about the conversation between Martha and her aunt, telling her about late night visits and kisses between the two women and putting into motion accusations that Martha and Karen are lovers having "sinful sexual knowledge of one another."

The ending is predictable for a film about lesbians made in this era. Martha feels sick and dirty by a society that tells her she is so. The last five minutes of the film are tough to watch, since we know what's coming. It's the kind of thing that makes me sick and angry to see, but I recommend watching this film for two reasons: understanding the realities and attitudes of the time and getting a good cry over those who still might have to deal with such feelings; and MacLaine's performance.

*See Shirley MacLaine's 1995 interview in The Celluloid Closet. "We might have been forerunners, but we weren't really because we didn't do the picture right. We were in the mindset of not understanding what we were basically doing. These days there would be a tremendous outcry, as well there should be."

This is one of the most powerful films I ever saw. Acting of everyone was great but the leading actors should have gotten the Oscars, all of them. This film has a perfect combination of everything: the screenplay, the filming, the casting, the performance. I rented this movie two days ago and I watched for three times already. That should tell you something. This is a very good film and I recommend it very much.