The Children's Hour
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Movie Reviews of The Children's Hour
Movie Review: Exploration into Deceit
Summary: 5 Stars
William Wyler's THE CHILDREN'S HOUR is a multi-layered exploration into deceit and lies. The focus and origin of the deceit and lies is based on an accusation of lesbianism. Two schoolmistresses (Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine), as seen through the eyes of an affluent community, supposedly practiced this sexual deviation (circa 1961), at a girl's school. Initiated by a pouting pupil to her guardian, the accusation ultimately brings speculation and despair, which leads to an overbearing feeling of hopelessness for all concerned. Questions of behavior arise from outside and from within the various principal characters. Lies and deceit are perpetrated by characters unto other characters but these same lies and deceptions are held unto each characters' self. Director Wyler and screenwriter John Michael Hayes have elevated the focus of the plot away from the issue of lesbianism and have instead created a story on the devastating effects of falsehoods and unfounded accusations. What I found visually astounding about this film were the set and art designs by Edward G. Boyle and Fernando Carrere. Initially the school is seen as a place of well founded security where warm sunlight fills the homelike atmosphere of the rooms uplifting all in attendance. We see doors and windows open where we can hear the outside world and breath fresh air. Later, after the accusations have taken their toll, the school takes on a look of utter hopelessness. Its rooms are empty and cold. Doors and windows are bolted with drapes and blinds drawn. Sun no longer enters giving the rooms a look and feel of cold and stark hopelessness as Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine sit huddled talking idly in circles of a situation that they can not fully fathom but must also come to grips with. This is a devastating film.Movie Review: Sinful sexual knowledge...
Summary: 5 Stars
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."
Movie Review: Great performances and direction..as contemporaray as you gcan get.
Summary: 5 Stars
The Children's Hour comes from an older play by Lillian Hellmann (1920,s), and it was given a bad film And it treatment in the 30,s with Miriam Hopkins and Merle Oberon. This was not the play at all, and the performances are not that good.
William Wyler directed the 30;s version, and so he directs this version, so much better and very very close to the play.
Shirley MaClaine thinks that her role was watered down, and that Lesbians do not behave this way. Ms. Hepburn thought that it was very much to the point, and considered it a personal triumph, because of MaClaine's interaction with her. Hepburn is right, and the film builds to a climactic finish not seen in films of this genre, then or now.
This film also opens up the whole homophobic insanity with Garner and Miriam Hopkins and Fay Bainter. It suggests that gay people will teach children the ways of gays, and therefore they(Audrey and Shirley must be stopped, school closed etc.). Dated? Can anyone imagine this happening today? The women are chareged with sexual activity by a young girl who gets others in on the accusations, not the least her powerful grand mother. Then, bad, today a disaster. Today, the school would be burned down with Audrey and Shirley in it. But this does happpen here, in a figurative sense, and it is riveting.
Don't miss this film..compare the current stuff..way ahead of its time, and try to ignore the presence of James Garner..awful.
The ending, for 1961 or 2008, is remarkable. Catch the subtle homophobia throughout, and the overt hatred as well.
Movie Review: "There's always been something wrong...but I never knew what it was until all this happened..."
Summary: 5 Stars
Based on Lillian Hellman's controversial play (which had previously been filmed in 1936 as "These Three"), THE CHILDREN'S HOUR is a solid piece of dramatic filmmaking. Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine offer some of their most unguarded, riveting performances.
College chums Martha Dobie (Shirley MacLaine) and Karen Wright (Audrey Hepburn) have opened a small boarding school for girls in the idyllic New England countryside. Just beginning to break even, their joy is further elated when Karen's boyfriend, Dr. Cardin (James Garner) finally pops the question. But when trouble-making brat Mary Tilford (Karen Balkin) starts accusing her teachers of strange, "unnatural" conduct with each other, Martha and Karen's entire world comes crashing down...
THE CHILDREN'S HOUR, the story of how one malicious lie can destroy a whole life, is riveting from start to finish. It has always amazed me why Shirley MacLaine especially never received an Academy Award for her performance. It's a real heartbreaker. The rest of the cast follows suit, including Fay Bainter in her last major movie role; and Miriam Hopkins (who played the role of Martha in "These Three") as Martha's meddlesome Aunt Lily. Karen Balkin does such a great job at playing the hideous sociopath-in-training child terror Mary, that the audience simply wants to reach into the screen and throttle her! She's right up there with Patty McCormack's Rhoda in "The Bad Seed".
Beg, borrow or steal a copy of THE CHILDREN'S HOUR. You'll be eternally grateful that you did.
Movie Review: Masterpiece Movie
Summary: 5 Stars
Once upon a time, when I was a teenager filled with angst and rebellion, I decided to skip school one day and mope around the house contemplating my life's direction... or lack of. It was snowing outside and I knew sooner or later there would be school closings announced, so I turned on the tv and flipped thru the channels.... an advertisement came on announcing that an old Shirley MacClaine movie was comming up next, so I popped in a blank videotape and started taping what would turn out to be my absolute favorite B&W movie of all time- "The Children's Hour". I still have that old tape and every now and then I watch it... complete with a total of EIGHT weather alert interruptions, and SIX continuous running banners on the bottom of the screen announcing multiple local school closings due to the sudden unbearable snow storms.... and I'm talking the loud BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! LOOKEY HERE! LOOKEY HERE! WE'RE GONNA RUIN YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE WITH THESE TOTALLY OBNOXIOUS INTERRUPTIONS!! HA! HA! YOU SHOULD HAVE WENT TO SCHOOL TODAY BONEHEAD!, kind of messages. SO, it was a wonderful experience to watch this masterpiece on dvd and see the absolutely brilliant clarity and charm that only a B&W movie can show. I got the dvd version off ebay from a seller in Cheshire, United Kingdom and so I beat y'all to the U.S. December 3rd, 2002 release. Ahhh.... I think I'll call in sick to work tomorrow and watch this movie in bed... I heard there's suppose to a snow storm tomorrow. : )