The Children's Hour [Blu-ray]

Academy Award nominations: Supporting Actress-Fay Bainter, B&W Cinematography, B&W Costume Design, B&W Art Direction and Sound.March Boy nominations: Picture, Direction-William Wyler, Leading Actress-Audrey Hepburn, Supporting Actor-James Garner, Screenplay, B&W Cinematography, B&W Art Direction, Film Editing and Score.Wins: Leading Actress-Shirley MacClaine and Supporting Actress-Fay BainterThe Children's Hour made me desperately unhappy and yet I am unable to find a single flaw with it. I have seen several of William Wyler’s films and while most of them are quite good, none of them (with the exception of Ben-Hur) have had as much emotional impact on me as this one. When I saw it for the first time as a teenager, it stayed with me for years because of the powerful way it illustrated the paths the characters take; how each one touches the other like a group of lines connecting the dots and how the words they say have ripple effects--some for good, some for ill. Joe’s selflessness, Martha’s battle with depression, the guilt trips Lily pulls on Martha to build herself up that she will later regret for the rest of her life, the lies Mary tells to evade accountability at the expense of Karen and Martha’s good names--how can one forget them?I think the book of James says it best.“When we put bits in the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.The tongue is also a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body; it corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire and is itself set on fire by Hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father and with it we curse men who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both freshwater and saltwater flow from the same spring? Can a fig tree bear olives or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.”The screenplay is crafted in such a careful and complex manner that you will leave questioning the motives of the characters long afterwards. Does Martha really have ‘those feelings’ for Karen or does she just see her as a sister figure like Anne Shirley and Diana Berry and was being too hard on herself at the end because she was depressed at her circumstances? When she said “When I first saw you with your hair blowing in the wind I thought ‘What a pretty girl’” was she just paying Karen a compliment or was that a foreshadowing of the ‘revelation’ that was to come? Does Mary lie about Karen and Martha because she gets her thrills out of creating trouble, or is it because she wants revenge for being disciplined at school, or is it because she is afraid of her grandmother’s wrath when the teachers report her misconduct? Does Karen push Joe away because she is too prideful to accept his help or does she love him too much to let him marry her with a cloud of doubt over his head regarding her innocence? Does Joe refuse to stand by her side at Martha’s funeral because he is afraid of what the others will think or is it because he knows they just need time to be alone--her to grieve for her best friend and him to decide once and for all whether he believes to be innocent?Wyler’s generous direction and Robert Swink’s sharp, snazzy editing gives each of the actors plenty of room to shine (even the two little girls were great) and you can often tell what’s going on in the character’s minds without a single word being uttered. When Mary looks daggers at Rosalie in the big confrontation scene, Rosalie knows she better “play her part.” When Mrs. Tilford goes up the stairs after Mary on discovering she has been played for a fool, her face says “Time to go out to the woodshed.” When Karen breaks down Martha’s door you just KNOW what’s happened. And when Joe watches Karen leave the cemetery, you can tell he desperately wants to go after her but just can’t bring himself to do it.Alex North’s score is so ethereally beautiful, so achingly sad and yet so hopeful at the same time. Each piece perfectly fits the tone for each scene. When Karen and Joe kiss goodbye, the music is luscious and warm to portray his steadfast love and devotion. When Karen kisses Martha goodnight (on the cheek, of course) and leaves the room, the sweet hopeful theme slowly descends into sickening horrific chords as Mary watches them and we know what she’s thinking from the look on her face because those dissonances are indicative of the moral rottenness that has set in her mind from the book she was reading and hiding from them. When the film shows shots of the deserted school, a glockenspiel plays a ripple of dissonant chords. But this time instead of the nauseous feel when Mary spies on Karen and Martha, the music has an eerie, unearthly quality, as if the boarding school has become a ‘ghost house,’ the way the town in Fiddler on the Roof became a ghost town. And at the end when Karen marches out of the cemetery, the music is mournful but slowly grows in warmth and vibrancy and in the final chords, you’re left feeling, if not certain at least hopeful that Karen and Joe will come out on top of the ‘tragic loading of this bed.’This is not a film to make you feel good but it has a lot to say about the power of words and the reasons we say them.Oh, be careful little lips what you say.Be careful little lips what you say.For the Father up above is looking down with love.Oh, be careful little lips what you say.

I remember being utterly shocked at the fact that this was a movie made in 1961. I was almost as shocked at this as I was with the movie, "Freaks". I think the acting is superb and it shows what can happen when rumors are spread without knowledge of the truth. I found out the movie was not only based on a play and another film but also based on two Scottish women in Edinburgh who had a young girl, Jane Cumming (as Wikipedia pointed out she was of mixed race, Indian (from India) and white). She lied about the two ladies who were co-owners of her girl school having a lesbian relationship and hearing them at night having sex. The film got it right about the lawsuit, but in real life they were awarded 10,000 pounds, but after their legal fees they had less than or a little more than 1,000 pounds. One left finally finding a job in London. The other stayed and is said to probably have had a nervous breakdown. I am sure if it means like MacLaine's character, she committed suicide. I also wish the roles were reversed for Hepburn and MacLaine so we could see them play different roles from what they normally play. Overall, I loved this film and think it is great.

The Children's Hour (1961) stars Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine as college friends who teach at, run, and co-own, a boarding school for girls. This excellent film is a morality tale about how rumor and innuendo destroys lives; how abominable it is when 'perception becomes reality' and people are labeled and judged by a falsehood without any concern for investigation or eliciting the truth. "I've already formed my opinion, so don't bother me with the facts."There are many excellent films which illustrate the devastating consequences of acting on information you do not actually know to be true and the reality that appearances are deceiving. These films should be mandatory viewing for all citizens, especially young adults on the cusp of assuming adult responsibilities. The Children's Hour, based on the play by Lillian Hellman, is a film in this category. Here are a few others which come to mind:Henry Fonda's films To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) and The Wrong Man (1956). In The Wrong Man, based on the actual experience of Chris Balestrero, an honest working man's life is utterly destroyed when an 'eye-witness' mistakenly identifies him as the man who committed an armed robbery. Once accused, Balestrero is treated as if his guilt is an established fact, and no one pays his protests of innocence any attention whatsoever. His wife Rose is horrified, eventually loses her trust in him, and ends up suffering a nervous breakdown -- a negative health consequence from which she never fully recovered, even after Balestrero was fully exonerated. The film is shocking and eye-openingThe 2019 film Just Mercy starring Michael B. Jordan and based on the true story of Walter McMillan's wrongful incarceration on death row, is a film in this category, not only because it shines a light on a shocking injustice but also because it illuminates the appalling dark corners of racism that still need to be swept clean and eradicated.The 1993 film In the Name of the Father starring Daniel Day-Lewis (which received seven Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor) is based on a true story of four British citizens (known as the Guildford Four) forced to confess to bombings they didn't commit, simply because the local police were under pressure to make arrests. The bombings (of two pubs in Guildford, England) killed 5 and wounded 60+, and was eventually determined to be the work of the IRA (the Irish Republican Army).Being found guilty without sufficient evidence is an ongoing problem in America, both inside and out of the judicial system. From 1989 to early 2020, there have been at least 2,551 exonerations in the United States -- and that's only the cases where individuals were able to PROVE their innocence so many years after the fact. The actual number of innocent people incarcerated cannot help but be much higher. And what about people like the two main characters in this film, The Children's Hour, who are not subjected to criminal prosecution but still lose their livelihoods due to defamation, malicious gossip, or silent (behind the scenes) back-stabbing and scapegoating?Bottom line: to become a more just society, our children MUST be taught that there are two sides to every story, that every accused individual IS IN FACT innocent until proven guilty, often appearances are misleading, 'the truth is sometimes stranger than fiction', and . . . etc. Teaching our children these realities is a moral imperative, and good film is an extremely effective and easy tool. If God approves of filmmaking (and I believe He does), it is so we can inform one another through thoughtful fact-based films like these -- not so we can poison our brains with ephemeral trash loaded with sex, violence, and vengeance. Film can redeem us or destroy us: please, let's choose redemption.

In old, classic, movies there was no naked scenes or graphic sexuality; it was all implied, and it was great. That's why they are timeless classics. The good guys always won in the end and the bad guys got their comeuppance. Such is this brilliant, black and white, treasure. The actors were fantastic. The direction in each scene was deliberately evocative. Audrey Hepburn was very tall; so they always had her in flats and kitten heels. In the graveyard scene they had her walking in the distance, so that she would appear small in relation to the people in front. Yes, there were bloopers but the story was told and told exceptionally well.

The Children’s Hour adorns the innocence of youth to manipulate the mature through increasingly captivating fabrications. The Wright-Dobie School for Girls, a private school operated by mutual friends and former classmates Karen and Martha. A secluded establishment of education where youthful female individuals are raised to become proficiently independent women against the masculinity of 60s America. Elocution above all else. The limited teaching space and claustrophobic educational methods inciting wealthy families to send their spoiled conniving children to this particular abode. One such child is Mary, an overindulged bully whom supplies fabrications to wriggle her way out of trouble. After being uncovered, she is consequently punished through the removal of her privileges. Enraged, she rampantly returns home to her grandmother and eagerly twists a rumour that accuses school owners Karen and Martha as lesbian lovers, despite the former being engaged to a reputable obstetrician. The grandmother’s lavished influence tarnishes the school’s reputation, ultimately obliterating the lives of two innocent individuals whom have apparently participated in the ultimate sin of homosexuality.Wyler’s second dramatic adaptation of Hellman’s ‘34 Broadway production, in which the slightest mention of homosexuality on stage was deemed illegal at the time, granted the director an opportunity to fully embellish the central fabricated love story. His first adaptation, ‘36’s ‘These Three’, was forced to alter the lie to revolve around adultery instead of homosexuality, given the Hays Code would never permit lesbianism on screen. Fortunately the freedom of speech in art had been liberalised, allowing screenwriter Hayes to restore the original intent of the falsehood. Despite various scenes being cut, with Wyler concerned about the critical reaction, the bulk of the alleged homosexuality and the resulting societal abandonment were captured beautifully with adequate sensitivity regarding the subject matter. The primary focus of Hellman’s story is the unlimited capabilities that children have over adults. Their divine irreproachable conduct transforming them as conduits for false allegations, with the tainted parents unable to withdraw their stance. One menial lie has the omnipotence to devastate others. Children are unable to see the repercussions of such actions, enlisting a sensitively dangerous aura. Hayes undoubtedly convinces, with Balkin’s ostentatious exaggerative stares swiftly manipulating all those who stare back. Her virginal persona perfectly inducing agitation when predicting the inevitable consequences of her actions.Yet beneath the manipulative fabrications is a tale that corresponds to societal segregation. The incredulity of homosexuality, despite being just allegations, and how devout Christian suburban communities are meteoric to neglect such sexual orientation. A perpetuation of reality. Hayes, boasting the plot with intoxicating dialogue exchanges that manifests power amongst the powerless, clearly understood this LGBT issue by offering a palpably emotional third act that attempts to allow assured heterosexuality to dissuade homosexual postulations. Yet, the alleged sexual orientation was never discussed amongst the cast and crew. Almost as forbidden in reality as it was theatrically, evidently a poignant significance in LGBT cinema.The outstanding performances from both Hepburn and MacLaine bring forth substantial depth to the pivotal chemistry of the leading characters. The former sensitively projecting emotional fragility beneath her posture of elegance, but it’s the latter’s performance equaling that by vocally commanding every scene with the rich ferocity of a hurricane. What a performance! Incredible. The two complement each other extraordinarily, preventing this feature from falling into the realms of melodrama.Wyler’s direction significantly imitates a stage production, with actor and set positions resembling a clinical aesthetic. Such as MacLaine or Hepburn effortlessly turning away when their dialogue had been completed, or Planer’s static cinematography encompassing all actors in the same frame without experimenting with motion. For that, it does lose a cinematic quality that would’ve enhanced the muted drama had it been less rehearsed and more personable. The courtroom scenario would also have been a substantial addition to the story, offering a required completeness.The Children’s Hour’s technicalities may be somewhat stilted, however the societal issues beings raised, that of LGBT dissociation and the fostering of narcissism through youthful fabrications, create pivotal moments of drama that operate concurrently. Accompanied by outstandingly emotive performances and a screenplay that seamlessly connects these characters, Wyler’s second adaptation provides much scintillating justice for the true nature of Hellman’s source material. “We’ve cleaned your house”.

I don't know. I've watched it a couple of times and realise that it captures well the world of my grand parents and the taboo that surrounded homosexuality... Not so long ago, it was not even mentioned... It was known to exist bur not acknowledged... It was the elephant in the room... The mere thought of it profoundly traumatised a society that had yet know the high points and the low points of the sexual revolution. Makes me wonder if this was the world of my celibate aunts... So happy that we are in a very different place today. To all: enjoy this movie for what it is and what it represents... Much like Tea & Sympathy you'll never forget the experience & sometimes even wonder what the big deal was anyway... The only thing missing in this movie was religion...

I love Audrey Hepburn in everything, but this small and quiet film is something quite special I think. Many of her films are great in a number of different ways, but not all of the them deal with a subject as urgent as this. Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine plays two close friends running and teaching at a boarding school for girls. They are accused by one of the girls of being in an "inappropriate" relationship with one another and this immediately has severe consequences on their lives. It's wonderfully acted and the photography is amazing. Although the term homophobia is never used, I feel that the film discusses the issue in a delicate and poignant way. It's well worth watching!

Audrey Hepburn at her sweetest and loveliest, with beautiful expressive doe eyes, narrow fragile wrists, long aristocratic hands, a huge Victorian bun on top of a slender, graceful swan-like neck, and a neat, petite, frail frame. The camera just loves her.To play her role, Shirley MacLaine manages to look plain and dowdish. The range of expressions she has to display is really wide, and the dark, brooding moods of her character are particularly well carried across. You can see that she was trained in the theatre. One of her best performances.Very good supporting child actors.

I personally hate reviews which tell me the plot of a book or film. I would advise you to ignore them and view this superb film without any knowledge of what it's about. The film is adapted from Lillian Hellman's fine play and has a superb cast. There's not one weak performance. I've watched this film so many times and it never fails to impress or move me. Highly recommended.