The Children's Hour (film)

The Children's Hour is set at an exclusive girl's school managed by best friends Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine. When student Karen Balkin is punished for one of her many misdeeds, the mean-spirited youngster rushes to her wealthy aunt Fay Bainter, and, randomly choosing a phrase she has undoubtedly lied.

Based on the 1934 play by Lillian Hellman, The Children's Hour is set at an exclusive girl's school managed by best friends Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine. When student Karen Balkin is punished for one of her many misdeeds, the mean-spirited youngster rushes to her wealthy aunt Fay Bainter, and, randomly choosing a phrase she has undoubtedly read in some magazine, accuses Hepburn and MacLaine of having an "unnatural relationship." As Balkin's lies grow in viciousness, the student's parents withdraw their children from the school. Hepburn and MacLaine sue Bainter for libel, only to lose their case when MacLaine's aunt Miriam Hopkins refuses to testify as a character witness. The trial takes its toll on the relationship between Hepburn and her boyfriend James Garner. When Bainter discovers that her niece has been lying, she tries to make amends, but it is too late. Director William Wyler had also helmed the first film version of Children's Hour, 1936's These Three, which due to censorship restrictions of the time did without the lesbian angle (the little girl's accusations involved a supposed romantic triangle between the two ladies and a male friend). Miriam Hopkins, who plays a supporting role in The Children's Hour, originally essayed the Shirley MacLaine role in These Three.

First produced on Broadway in 1934, The Children's Hour is a cross between The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and The Crucible, being partly a study of deportment and partly an example of what happens when a malicious whispering campaign gets out of hand. It is also a classic, if slightly creaky, example of the American gunshot tragedy, in which a central character delivers a confessional exit speech, followed by a loud bang.

It is not often revived, for the obvious reason that boarding-school plays require a large contingent of actors with little to do except fill out the classroom scenes. Director Sarah Frankcom skirts the issue by having the girls eavesdrop on the action throughout, passing comments that become amplified like Chinese whispers. Maxine Peake and Charlotte Emmerson portray the teachers implicated in the scandal with commanding subtlety. But the one to watch is the outstanding newcomer Kate O'Flynn. Her portrayal of Mary Tilford, the heinous teen at the heart of the affair, is horribly plausible.

Plot summary

Martha Dobie (MacLaine) and Karen Wright (Hepburn), who met when they were seventeen and in school together, co-own a school for girls. Karen is engaged to Joe (Garner), a doctor, and when they finally decide on a date to wed, because the school is finally making a profit, Martha becomes jealous.

After overhearing a series of quarrels, a vindictive child named Mary spreads a rumor that the two women are involved in a lesbian affair. Martha and Karen's livelihood is ruined as the girls are taken away, the school is closed, and even Joe begins to question Martha and Karen's relationship.

Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine play a pair of teachers who run an exclusive girls boarding school for pre-teens. One girl in particular (Karen Balkin) is a trouble maker who, when sent home with her rich grandmother (Fay Bainter), concocts a lie to cover her mischief. The girl claims that the two school marms are lovers and the busybody grandma is too dull to see through the little girl's obvious manipulations. She spreads the word to all the families and soon all the girls are pulled out of the school, leaving the two women pariahs with no source of income. When confronted, the little girl implicates another girl in her lie to cover a slip up and it's given because she threatens to reveal the girl's hidden secret.

The women's world is shattered and as time goes on even they believe the lie may have some truth to it after their libel suit fails because the prize witness, MacLaine's ditzy aunt (Miriam Hopkins), who could refute the lie, fails to appear in court. Audrey Hepburn abandons her upcoming marriage to her long term boyfriend played by James Garner and finally the truth comes out when the corroborating girl is found by her mother to be a kleptomaniac and supporting the liar because of fear of exposure. The old busybody grandmother apologizes and tries to make things right but too many feelings have been wounded. MacLaine ultimately makes a half hearted confession of "feelings" for Hepburn and hangs herself in remorse.

Production

The play was originally filmed under the title These Three in 1936 but the strictures of the Production Code resulted in an adaptation of the story into a conventional heterosexual love triangle. By 1961 the Code allowed for the alleged lesbian affair between Hepburn's and MacLaine's characters but references to it were allusionary and non-specific.

In an interview for the documentary The Celluloid Closet (1996), Shirley MacLaine said she and Hepburn never talked about their characters' alleged lesbianism. She also claimed Wyler cut some scenes hinting at her character's love for Hepburn because of concerns about press reaction to the film.

The movie was James Garner's first film after suing Warner Bros. to leave the television series Maverick and break into movies. Wyler broke an unspoken blacklist by hiring Garner and the actor appeared steadily in films and television shows over the following decades.

Miriam Hopkins, who plays Aunt Lily Mortar in the 1961 film, had starred as Martha Dobie in These Three, the earlier screen adaptation of the play.

Cast

Audrey Hepburn as Karen Wright (the teacher)

Shirley MacLaine as Martha Dobie

James Garner as Dr. Joe Cardin

Miriam Hopkins as Mrs. Lily Mortar

Fay Bainter as Mrs. Amelia Tilford

Karen Balkin as Mary Tilford

Veronica Cartwright as Rosalie Wells

Mimi Gibson as Evelyn(age 13)

Debbie Moldow

Diane Mountford

William Mims as Mr. Burton

Sally Brophy as Rosalie's mother

Hope Summers as Agatha (Tilford's maid)

For other uses, see The Children's Hour.

Awards and nominations

The film was nominated for five Academy Awards in 1962, including Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, and Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Fay Bainter). It was also nominated for three Golden Globes in the same year, including Best Motion Picture Director and Best Motion Picture Actress - Drama (Shirley MacLaine).

Excerpt

Martha: There's always been something wrong. Always, just as long as I can remember. But I never knew what it was until all this happened.
Karen: Stop it Martha! Stop this crazy talk!
Martha: You're afraid of hearing it, but I'm more afraid than you.
Karen: I won't listen to you!
Martha: No! You've got to know. I've got to tell you. I can't keep it to myself any longer. I'm guilty!
Karen: You're guilty of nothing!

(Redirected from The Children's Hour (1961 film)

All Movie Guide profile

The Children's Hour is a 1961 film adaptation of the play of the same name written by Lillian Hellman. It was directed by William Wyler and stars Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine, and James Garner in the leading roles.