Hindsight

Classic kids, or 100 films that the kids in your life have to see by 13 or else!

Day 90:  Pride and Prejudice (1940)

Okay, I love the BBC production (1995) with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle, but this earlier adaption is surprisingly good in its own little way.  One, you have Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier as Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, respectively.  Two, this version cuts right to the point, at only one hour and fifteen minutes.  Three, it is a version often eclipsed by later versions, and this should NOT be the case. It is a lovely little film, that captures the spirit of Austen perfectly.   This film represents the best of the studio system, where it all comes together, with great acting, writing, (Aldous Huxley, the great sci-fi writer, worked on the screenplay) and direction by Robert Z. Leonard (an under-appreciated director of the time).  Now as a Jane Austen aficionado I must tell you, that while the BBC version stays true to the original story, this version, in an effort to be concise, diverges in some unique ways.  One, the costumes of the women match the style of England in the 1820s, quite different than from the Regency style of Jane Austen's era.  This was probably done, because this later style, with turned up hair, and 'Leg of Mutton' arms for sleeves, more closely mimicked the dress of American women in the late 1930s with rolled hair and bigger shoulder pads.  Secondly, some characters are conflated, and the ending is drastically different, in that Lady Catherine de Bourgh does not exile Elizabeth.  Even with this changes, this film still rocks!   Some great character actors fill in the rest of the cast:  Mary Boland as Mrs. Bennet, Edna May Oliver as Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and Edmund Gween as Mr. Bennet.  

Themes:  Arrogance, Class, Gender, Marriage, Money, Estates, England

Media Literacy Questions for Kids:  Why did the filmmakers conflate and condense so much of the original story?  Even with the changes why is this adaption so successful?  How do Elizabeth and Darcy change by the end of the story?