The Children's Hour
by William Wyler
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DVD details
Actor: Audrey Hepburn, Fay Bainter, James Garner, Miriam Hopkins, Shirley MacLaineDirector: William Wyler
Brand: Sony
Cinematographer: Franz Planer
Producer: William Wyler
Editor: Robert Swink
Producer: Robert Wyler
Producer: Walter Mirisch
Writer: John Michael Hayes
Writer: Lillian Hellman
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language); French (Dubbed)
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 107 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-12-03
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
DVD Reviews of The Children's Hour
DVD Review: Effective drama
Summary: 3 Stars
This 1961 melodrama tackles the daring (for then) subject of lesbianism between two teachers, and what happens when whispers of it reach the ears of a small town public. For all it's datedness (which isn't actually very much), the situation could be re-filmed quite successfully even today without much need for changing a lot of the details. Due to the good performances, it still stands as a film worthy of your attention.
The two teachers in question are Martha (Shirley MacLaine) and Karen (Audrey Hepburn), who run a small school for girls which has just started to flourish. Karen has a long standing fiance, while all that Martha has is a washed out old actress of an aunt. But they both have each other, and have become close friends - which unfortunately is the very thing that starts off the trouble.
If you are unfamiliar with the plot, you should find this film entertaining. You will find out early on that the gossip about the two women is started by a particularly obnoxious girl at school who decides to get back at the two teachers for punishing her spoilt ways. The havoc that the child manages to cause is quite well documented and carries the film through from it's half way mark right until the end. I won't tell you any more about the plot, as it's much more rewarding to watch the film unprepared, although I will say that the general air of doom and gloom does seem to be laid on with a trowel at some points, but in fairness this is simply down to the time the film was made. Even so, you can still sympathise with the two women as the plight they are in is still relevant enough even by modern standards. However, I predict that you will be rolling your eyes at certain aspects of the film that probably wouldn't be filmed the same way now, such as the discreet hushed whispering, or a convenient "out of earshot" positioning for certain conversations, and even the very obvious closing of a door whenever the topic of what the two women actually "did" ever gets mentioned. Phrases such as "in my room" and "late at night" take on huge gravity, and it would be rather easy to poke fun at the level of horror that is evoked by the accusations, but the film luckily manages to keep it's dignity for most of the time, and to keep your interest up at all times.
As I mentioned, the performances are all very good, notably from the two leads of course, but also from the whole cast, with special mention for the young actress who plays the vile brat Mary who makes up the lies in the first place. And there's a great turn from a young Veronica Cartright (from "The Birds") who plays a more timid child, also caught up in the web of deceit. The film also looks very good, in lovely crisp black and white, although I did find a few scene edits very odd when instead of cutting away and back again, the film occasionally just cut parts of the same angle together so that scenes seemed to be jumping frames. I did have a few reservations towards the end of the film as the script seems to be saying (albeit sympathetically) that to be a lesbian is to be doomed rather than accepted, and at times it was hard to fathom how the two leads characters were supposed to be reacting to the central topic. More than anything else, the closing shot of one of the lead actresses walking away from the final scene left me totally clueless about her character's reaction to what forms the (very important) climax to the film. Too much unsaid here (and I do mean explicitly in the script) makes me think the film shied away from being as sympathetic as it should have been here. I can't explain what I mean without giving away huge spoilers, but if you feel unsatisfied by the film at all, I would wager this last scene would have a lot to do with it.
But to sum up, the film is as much about a well-created lie from a child managing to poison their lives of innocent adults as it is about the subject of the lie itself. The fact that the lie is such a juicy and forbidden topic for a serious film of 1961 like this is what makes "The Children's Hour" a remarkable tale. Try and consider the plight of these two women in the time that the film was written rather than now, and you may be able to immerse yourself in what is actually a pretty good drama.
Description of The Children's Hour
A child's lie has life-shattering consequences in this OscarŽ-nominated* daring adaptation of Lillian Hellman's celebrated play from legendary director William Wyler. Starring Academy AwardŽ winners** Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine and co-starring James Garner, Miriam Hopkins and Fay Bainter, this landmark film is "one of the most finely wrought dramas in the history ofthe screen" (Motion Picture Herald). Karen (Hepburn) and Martha (MacLaine) are theheadmistresses of an exclusive school for girls. When they discipline a malicious little girl, the vindictive child twists an overheard comment into slander and accuses her teachers of questionable behavior. Soon the scandalous gossip engulfs the school's community, with repercussions that are swift, crushing and tragic. *1961: Supporting Actress (Bainter), Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design, Sound **Hepburn: Actress, Roman Holiday (1953); Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award (1992); MacLaine: Actress, Terms of Endearment (1983)Bestsellers in DVD
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