Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is one of the most popular and treasured novels in English literature. Although I am not an Austen fan, I do love this book. I have read it myself twice, once when I was twelve and again last year when the latest one was released. So really it is not much of a surprise that quite a few British critics and viewers are a bit assy when it comes to this Hollywood 1940 version. I mean, one of Hollywood's greatest reputations is destroying the spirit of British works. However, when this was made, they wisely called on British talent to help film it.
Scripted by Sir Aldous Huxley, this version starred the greatest actor of all time Laurence Olivier as Mr Darcy. I would like to say he is the best Darcy, he was really the image I had of him in the book, tall dark, brooding, arrogant and he also added a touch of humour to the character. Sadly, this is one of his more underrated performances. I am sorry about that, because I think it is one of his best, while some go round saying that his performance lacked depth, it was only because he script didn't allow him to! The elegant and classy Greer Garson turned in a very good performance of the spirited Elizabeth Bennet, very much how Lizzie should be (although she DOES NOT pass for nineteen!). If you think about it, who else would really have been better for these roles at the time? The rest of the cast was quite impressive overall, I was particularly impressed by Edmund Gwenn's performance of the dry witted and long-suffering Mr Bennet, I found it very amusing. He was very much how Mr Bennet was in the book. I wasn't really impressed with Mary Boland's portrayal of Mrs Bennet, she just didn't seem to capture the essence of the character, se wasn't nearly as embarrassing nor as selfish as the character should be. I LOVED Melville Cooper's portrayal of Mr Collins. Although no way near as good as David Bamber's performance of him in the 1995 BBC version, it was still utterly hilarious. Edna May Oliver made a memorable and interesting portrayal of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, but was not nearly as chilling nor rude and impolite as she could have been. I was very impressed with Maureen O'Sullivan's performance of Jane Bennet, in fact she was perfect. She really made you feel sorry for her. Other supporting actors, Ann Rutherford as Lydia, Marsha Hunt as Mary, Edward Ashley as Mr Wickham, Frieda Inescort as Caroline Bingley, Bruce Lester as Mr Bingley, Heather angel as Kitty and Karen Morley as Charlotte Lucas all OK in their roles but lacking depth I think. As someone said, this is an Austen sugar coating with no bite.
But don't diss this one, please give it a go. The unfaithfulness of it, and the number of characters is in my opinion unforgivable, but it is worth watching for the performances of Olivier and Garson. On Hollywoods creditable side, it is quite funny. But un-doubtebly, the one to watch is the 1995 BBC version with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle.
Scripted by Sir Aldous Huxley, this version starred the greatest actor of all time Laurence Olivier as Mr Darcy. I would like to say he is the best Darcy, he was really the image I had of him in the book, tall dark, brooding, arrogant and he also added a touch of humour to the character. Sadly, this is one of his more underrated performances. I am sorry about that, because I think it is one of his best, while some go round saying that his performance lacked depth, it was only because he script didn't allow him to! The elegant and classy Greer Garson turned in a very good performance of the spirited Elizabeth Bennet, very much how Lizzie should be (although she DOES NOT pass for nineteen!). If you think about it, who else would really have been better for these roles at the time? The rest of the cast was quite impressive overall, I was particularly impressed by Edmund Gwenn's performance of the dry witted and long-suffering Mr Bennet, I found it very amusing. He was very much how Mr Bennet was in the book. I wasn't really impressed with Mary Boland's portrayal of Mrs Bennet, she just didn't seem to capture the essence of the character, se wasn't nearly as embarrassing nor as selfish as the character should be. I LOVED Melville Cooper's portrayal of Mr Collins. Although no way near as good as David Bamber's performance of him in the 1995 BBC version, it was still utterly hilarious. Edna May Oliver made a memorable and interesting portrayal of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, but was not nearly as chilling nor rude and impolite as she could have been. I was very impressed with Maureen O'Sullivan's performance of Jane Bennet, in fact she was perfect. She really made you feel sorry for her. Other supporting actors, Ann Rutherford as Lydia, Marsha Hunt as Mary, Edward Ashley as Mr Wickham, Frieda Inescort as Caroline Bingley, Bruce Lester as Mr Bingley, Heather angel as Kitty and Karen Morley as Charlotte Lucas all OK in their roles but lacking depth I think. As someone said, this is an Austen sugar coating with no bite.
But don't diss this one, please give it a go. The unfaithfulness of it, and the number of characters is in my opinion unforgivable, but it is worth watching for the performances of Olivier and Garson. On Hollywoods creditable side, it is quite funny. But un-doubtebly, the one to watch is the 1995 BBC version with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle.