Watching this film is like testing how far a character can go before you see no merit in them whatsoever. This is further exacerbated by the realization that this is a true story and that little poetic license was used to depict the events herein. Edward Moulton-Barrett was a hard man who believed that his children should not be allowed to marry because marriage brought with it sexual desire, a dragon that must be strangled and never allowed to exist in one’s life. He, himself, however, fathered eight sons and four daughters in what he described as a loveless marriage. He also insinuates, in the film, that for most of his married life, those children were fathered through marital rape. Any of his children that disobeyed and got married were cut off from the family and fortune, although the realities of such a “punishment” would have probably been temptation enough to go out and find a mate.
Their story was dramatized in a play entitled The Barretts of Wimpole Street, which opened in 1930 and focused on the romance that develops between Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Sheerer, a romance that blossomed against all odds. This play was popular upon release and was soon picked up by MGM to be developed into a feature film. As this was a pre-code film, albeit during a time when the code existed but wasn’t being strictly enforced, there are many elements at play that would not be allowed on screen just a few years later. The filmed version does suffer the fate of many of these play adaptations by being confined to just a few settings. However, this is also an asset to the film because it helps develop a sense of claustrophobia that drives Elizabeth’s emotional state.
The story focuses on Elizabeth Barrett (Norma Shearer), the eldest daughter of Edward Moulton-Barrett (Charles Laughton). She is recovering from an unknown illness and is weak, unable to leave her room. At the beginning of the film, she is being consulted on by her doctor, who tells her that a full recovery is possible and that a change of scenery would greatly help in her recovery. This change, however, is denied her by her father, who is a hard man who refuses to allow her or any of his children to leave the home lest he disinherit them.
Elizabeth has a brilliant mind, especially for poetry, which she frequently publishes. She also loves fooling around with her siblings, especially her youngest sister, Henrietta (Maureen O’Sullivan). Henrietta is interested in marrying one of her brothers’ friends, Surtees (Ralph Forbes), but because of her father’s possessive nature, she cannot see a way to make that happen. When he does find out about her feelings for Surtees, he forces her to swear on a Bible that she will never see him again. She swears, but makes it known to Elizabeth that she has no intention of keeping her word on that one.
Robert Browning (Fredric March), a poet himself, enters the picture. For some time, he and Elizabeth have been corresponding through the mail, and now he has arrived to meet the woman he has fallen in love with through the mail and her published works. She, too, is falling in love with him but knows that her illness, coupled with her father, may keep the two apart. Things come to a head when Edward has his confrontation with Henrietta and then later makes a revelation to Elizabeth that shocks her to her core. She discovers that, without his blessing, she needs to escape if she is ever expected to live a happy life. With the assistance of her faithful maid Wilson (Una O’Connor), she sets out to make that happen.
The most heartbreaking thing about this picture is that it really happened. I can look at a sad movie and not really be affected by it. But when it is a true story, that adds an element to the mixture that makes me more susceptible to the emotional manipulation films inherently bring. This story was pieced together in part by utilizing the many love letters that Robert and Elizabeth exchanged before their marriage, much of it long before they even met in person. Many of these letters have since been published over the years, giving us a unique glimpse into their relationship.
Edward’s relationship with his children, including his refusal to allow them to marry, is a well-established, if bizarre, trait of his. However, there is no record of him having been sexually aggressive towards any of his children, as is briefly depicted in this film. That is poetic license, extrapolated by the filmmakers as a way to explain his behavior towards his children. This has also been toned down significantly from the play, which wasn’t beholden to the Hays Code and could more overtly reference such things as incest and rape.
Charles Laughton believed that his performance here was guaranteed another Oscar nomination to the point that he openly expressed his surprise and disappointment when that didn’t happen. He had won the previous year playing Henry VIII and would be nominated again the next year for Mutiny on the Bounty. But his performance in The Barretts of Wimpole Street went mostly ignored by the Academy, with the prevailing opinion being that it was too broad. In hindsight, that is a fair assessment, but the same can also be said about Henry VIII and Captain Bligh.
The Barretts of Wimpole Street competed at the Oscars against It Happened One Night, the film that pioneered the Screwball comedy and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning all of them. While Barretts may tackle a more important subject with deeper emotional stakes, the Academy sided with the comedy instead. This is one of the few years where the ballot details have been made available, and we know for certain that Barrettscame in second place, so they did see greatness in it. It just didn’t have the strength to beat out Frank Capra’s timeless classic in the end. Barretts is not that well known of a film anymore, which is a shame because it is a well-made drama that tells an interesting and historical story that deserves to be told. It didn’t, however, need to be told a second time, as director Sydney Franklin did more than twenty years later. In 1957, he made a word-for-word Metrocolor remake much along the lines of the Gus Van Sant equally unnecessary remake of Psycho. This remake bombed at the box office, and ended up being the final film the acclaimed director ever made.
Academy Award Nominations:
Outstanding Production: Irving Thalberg
Best Actress: Norma Shearer
____________________________________________________
Release Date: September 14, 1934
Running Time: 110 Minutes
Not Rated
Starring: Norma Shearer, Fredric March, and Charles Laughton
Directed By: Sidney Franklin
Comments
Post a Comment