Jane Eyre (1944 film)
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- For other uses, see Jane Eyre (disambiguation).
| Jane Eyre | |
|---|---|
 Original film poster |
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| Directed by | Robert Stevenson |
| Produced by | William Goetz Kenneth Macgowan Orson Welles (uncredited) |
| Written by | John Houseman Aldous Huxley Henry Koster Robert Stevenson Charlotte Brontë (novel) |
| Starring | Orson Welles Joan Fontaine Margaret O'Brien Peggy Ann Garner John Sutton Sara Allgood Henry Daniell Agnes Moorehead |
| Music by | Bernard Herrmann |
| Cinematography | George Barnes |
| Editing by | Walter Thompson |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release date(s) |  3 February 1944 |
| Running time | 97 min |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English language |
| IMDb profile | |
Charlotte Brontë's novel Jane Eyre (1847) has been the subject of numerous television and film adaptations.
This 1944 classic adaptation was made by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by Robert Stevenson and produced by William Goetz, Kenneth Macgowan and Orson Welles (uncredited). The screenplay was by John Houseman, Aldous Huxley, Henry Koster and Robert Stevenson from the novel by Charlotte Brontë. The music score was by Bernard Herrmann and the cinematography by George Barnes.
The film stars Orson Welles, Joan Fontaine, Margaret O'Brien, Peggy Ann Garner, Sara Allgood, Henry Daniell, Agnes Moorehead, John Sutton, with Betta St. John and Elizabeth Taylor making early, uncredited appearances.
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[edit] Production notes
- The film's screenplay was based on a radio adaptation of the novel by Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre on the Air, which John Houseman collaborated on.
- The film was acclaimed for its recreation of the Yorkshire Moors. It was actually filmed entirely in Hollywood on a heavily disguised sound stage. The long shadows and heavy fog, which added the air of a Gothic novel lacking in so many remakes, were rumoured to have been the brainchild of Orson Welles. He was offered a producer's credit as thanks for his contribution, but declined the offer, believing that a person who is not a director shouldn't be "just" a producer.
- This was the 7th film version of the novel.
Tagline: A Love Story Every Woman would Die a Thousand Deaths to Live!
[edit] Cast
- Joan Fontaine - Jane Eyre
- Orson Welles - Rochester
- Peggy Ann Garner - Jane Eyre as a child
- Elizabeth Taylor - Helen Burns (uncredited)
- Agnes Moorehead - Mrs. Reed
- Margaret O'Brien - Adele
- Sara Allgood - Bessie
- Henry Daniell - Brocklehurst
- Hillary Brooke - Blanche Ingram
[edit] Reception
Many critics commented negatively on the casting of the beautiful Joan Fontaine as the "plain, unlovely" heroine.
The elimination of many characters, such as Aunt Reed's cruel daughters, and plotlines, especially her discovery of her long-lost cousins and her courtship by Rev. St. John Rivers, did not go unnoticed in some quarters either. Although a character called Dr. Rivers (played by John Sutton) appears during the Lowood charity school scenes, he bears little resemblance to his namesake in the novel.
[edit] Quotes
[opening lines]:
- Jane Eyre (narrating): My name is Jane Eyre... I was born in 1820, a harsh time of change in England. Money and position seemed all that mattered. Charity was a cold and disagreeable word. Religion too often wore a mask of bigotry and cruelty. There was no place for the poor or the unfortunate. I had no father or mother, brother or sister. As a child I lived with my aunt, Mrs. Reed of Gateshead Hall. I do not remember that she ever spoke one kind word to me.
