Producer: Hunt Stromberg. Copyright 11 July 1940 by Loew's Inc. Presented by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. U.S. release: 2 August 1940. New York opening at the Radio City Music Hall: 8 August 1940 (ran 4 weeks). Australian release: 2 January 1941. 12 reels. 10,595 feet. 117½ minutes.
SYNOPSIS: "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." So runs the opening paragraph of Jane Austen's novel which is then dedicated to proving the falsity of this popular notion.
NOTES: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Award, Art Direction (black-and-white) — the only category in which the film was nominated. Greer Garson was cited for Best Acting (along with sixteen other players) by the National Board of Review. Declaring that it was "one of the most charming and elegant costume pictures ever made", Bosley Crowther of The New York Times ranked Pride and Prejudice as one of his "Ten Best Films of 1940".
A musical remake was planned by producer Arthur Freed in 1947. Both Sally Benson and Sidney Sheldon completed scenarios, but the project never came to fruition. However, a musical version entitled "First Impressions" (which was actually the original Jane Austen title of her book) debuted on Broadway in 1959. It starred Polly Bergen as Elizabeth, Farley Granger as Darcy, and Hermione Gingold as Mrs. Bennett.
COMMENT: This witty if somewhat broad comedy of late 18th century manners is hardly the type of movie one would expect from that factory of common denominator escapist entertainment — MGM. Faithful to the mood and tone as well as the plot of the book, the amusing script (much of its dialogue lifted straight from the Jane Austen novel) provides wonderful opportunities for its superb cast. Garson and Olivier are ideal in the principal roles, and it is hard to imagine the roles of Lady Catherine De Bourgh, Mr. Collins and Mr. Bennet in more perfect hands than those of Edna May Oliver, Melville Cooper and Edmund Gwenn, respectively.
The rest of the players are equally skillful — no thanks to director Robert Z. Leonard whose direction is so determinedly unobtrusive and bland that when he occasionally relies on process screen and glass shot effects these devices seem clumsy and heavily artificial.
The movie has been lavishly produced and costumed, with sparkling photography by Karl Freund, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences award-winning sets (a deserving win despite stiff competition from a dozen other most attractively designed nominees), and a delightful music score so full of musical cues that it's no surprise that a musical remake was seriously considered.
SYNOPSIS: "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." So runs the opening paragraph of Jane Austen's novel which is then dedicated to proving the falsity of this popular notion.
NOTES: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Award, Art Direction (black-and-white) — the only category in which the film was nominated. Greer Garson was cited for Best Acting (along with sixteen other players) by the National Board of Review. Declaring that it was "one of the most charming and elegant costume pictures ever made", Bosley Crowther of The New York Times ranked Pride and Prejudice as one of his "Ten Best Films of 1940".
A musical remake was planned by producer Arthur Freed in 1947. Both Sally Benson and Sidney Sheldon completed scenarios, but the project never came to fruition. However, a musical version entitled "First Impressions" (which was actually the original Jane Austen title of her book) debuted on Broadway in 1959. It starred Polly Bergen as Elizabeth, Farley Granger as Darcy, and Hermione Gingold as Mrs. Bennett.
COMMENT: This witty if somewhat broad comedy of late 18th century manners is hardly the type of movie one would expect from that factory of common denominator escapist entertainment — MGM. Faithful to the mood and tone as well as the plot of the book, the amusing script (much of its dialogue lifted straight from the Jane Austen novel) provides wonderful opportunities for its superb cast. Garson and Olivier are ideal in the principal roles, and it is hard to imagine the roles of Lady Catherine De Bourgh, Mr. Collins and Mr. Bennet in more perfect hands than those of Edna May Oliver, Melville Cooper and Edmund Gwenn, respectively.
The rest of the players are equally skillful — no thanks to director Robert Z. Leonard whose direction is so determinedly unobtrusive and bland that when he occasionally relies on process screen and glass shot effects these devices seem clumsy and heavily artificial.
The movie has been lavishly produced and costumed, with sparkling photography by Karl Freund, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences award-winning sets (a deserving win despite stiff competition from a dozen other most attractively designed nominees), and a delightful music score so full of musical cues that it's no surprise that a musical remake was seriously considered.