Children's Clock (released as The Loudest Whisper in English) is a 1961 American drama film directed by William Wyler. Screenplay by John Michael Hayes is based on the 1934 game of the same title by Lillian Hellman. Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine, and James Garner.
Video The Children's Hour (film)
Plot
Former classmates Martha Dobie (Shirley MacLaine) and Karen Wright (Audrey Hepburn) open a private school for girls. Martha Bibi Lily (Miriam Hopkins), an elderly actress, lives and teaches painting at school. After a two-year engagement to Joe Cardin (James Garner), a prominent obstetrician, Karen finally agreed to set a wedding date. Joe is associated with influential Amelia Tilford (Fay Bainter), whose grandson Mary (Karen Balkin) is a student at school. Mary is a spoiled child, a cheater who bluffs her classmates, especially Rosalie Wells (Veronica Cartwright), whom she chews when she finds she has a missing bracelet.
When Mary gets caught in a lie, Karen punishes her by refusing to let her attend the weekend boat race. Mary goes back to her grandmother's house and plays the story so she does not have to go back to school that day. Karen learns what her story from the father of a disciple who went and confronts Amelia about Maria accusing Martha and Karen as lovers. Mary was foiled to convince others that she personally saw the interaction between Martha and Karen. Mary forced Rosalie to corroborate her story. Joe is frustrated by the situation, says that he has finished cleaning up his grandmother's house, and retains his engagement with Karen and his friendship with Martha. Both ladies intend to file a libel and slander lawsuit against Mrs. Tilford.
Martha and Karen are isolated in school. Aunt Lily returns after the suit is gone because she will not return to testify on her nephew's name and Karen. The incident has been widely circulated by the media. Joe wants to continue his intention to marry Karen and wants Martha to restart life with them in the countryside where she finds practice.
Karen insists that Joe tells her if she believes there is a connection between Martha and Karen. Joe tells Karen that she believes it is not true. He then says that nothing happened and he can not continue the engagement.
Rosalie's mother (Sally Brophy) finds things in between her daughter's belongings, including a bracelet that reads Evelyn. Mrs. Wells took his daughter to Mrs. Tilford who, walking to meet his grandson, Mary, on the collapsed staircase on the floor.
Karen tells Martha that Joe will not come back. Martha was desperate with Karen's vague explanation and urged her not to let Joe go. Karen, however, wanted to leave town with Martha the next day. He believes they can go where they will not be recognized and can start a new life, but Martha does not. When Martha tries to speak for herself to believe that she and Karen are just good friends, she realizes that she really loves Karen. While Karen does not believe her, tries to persuade her and maintain her own heterosexuality, Martha comes to believe that she has loved Karen since they met and that she is totally unaware of the true nature of her feelings. Despite Karen's assurance to the contrary, Martha felt responsible for ruining their lives and was shocked by her feelings for Karen.
Mrs. Tilford visited the two teachers. He had learned about the falseness of his; litigation will be canceled and the verdict is settled. Karen refused Mrs. Tilford.
Martha no longer wanted to continue the conversation. Karen left her for a walk in the schoolyard. Aunt Lily asked Karen about Martha's whereabouts when the door was locked. Karen unlocks the sliding door with a candle and finds Martha hanging herself in her room. After Martha's funeral, Karen walked away alone, while Joe watched her from a distance.
Maps The Children's Hour (film)
Cast
- Shirley MacLaine as Martha Dobie
- Audrey Hepburn as Karen Wright
- James Garner as Dr. Joseph "Joe" Cardin
- Miriam Hopkins as Lily Mortar, Martha's aunt she dubbed "the duchess"
- Fay Bainter as Madam Amelia Tilford
- Karen Balkin as Mary Tilford, Amelia's grandson
- Veronica Cartwright as Rosalie Wells
- Mimi Gibson as Evelyn
- William Mims as Mr. Burton
- Sally Brophy as Mrs. Wells, Rosalie's mother.
- Hope Summers as Agatha
Production
Playing Hellman was inspired by the true story of two Scottish schoolmasters whose lives were shattered when one of their students accused them of being involved in a lesbian relationship, but in the Scottish case they eventually won their lawsuit, even though it did not alter the ruin of their lives. At the time of the premiere (1934) the mention of homosexuality on stage was illegal in New York State, but authorities chose to ignore the subject when Broadway production was recognized by critics.
The first film adaptation of this drama is The Three, directed by Wyler and released in 1936. Since the Hays Code, which was in force at the time of the original film production (1936), will never allow the film to focus on or even clues to lesbianism, Samuel Goldwyn is the only producer interested in buying rights. She signed Hellman to adjust her game to the screen, and the playwright changed the lies about two school teachers who became lovers into a rumor that one of them had slept with another fiancee. Since the Production Code refused to allow Goldwyn to use the game's original title, it was changed to The Lie , and then Three It .
By the time Wyler was ready to film a remake in 1961, Hays Code had been liberalized to allow screenwriter John Michael Hayes to restore the true nature of the lie. In addition to having Martha hanging rather than shooting herself as she did in the drama, she remains faithful to Hellman's work, retaining much of her dialogue.
In the 1995 documentary film The Celluloid Closet, Shirley MacLaine says she and Audrey Hepburn never talked about homosexuality that their characters suspect. He also claimed Wyler cut some scenes hinting of Martha's love for Karen due to concerns about critical reactions to the film.
The film is the first James Garner after suing Warner Bros. to win his release from the Maverick television series. Wyler broke the unauthorized blacklist of actors by casting him, and Garner continued to appear in movies and television shows for the next few decades, including immediately playing the lead in four different major films released in 1963.
Miriam Hopkins, who described Lily Mortar in the remake, appeared as Martha in This Three .
The shooting location of the film was performed at the historic Shadow Ranch, in the West Hills currently in the west of San Fernando Valley.
Reception
Bosley Crowther dari The New York Times mengamati:
In short, there are some striking holes in the plot fabric, and it is clear Miss Hellman, who did the adaptation, and John Michael Hayes, who wrote the manuscript, knew they were there, as they clearly resigned from the biggest. They did not tell us what the boy whispered to the grandmother who panted him angrily and rushed to the phone... And they did not let us into the courtroom where the critical lawsuit for defamation had been tried. They only report the trial and the verdict is quickly thrown. So this drama is supposed to be so new and brave because the theme that is silenced is really very unrealistic and embarrassing in a polite and pricy way. What's more, it's not very good at acting, except by Audrey Hepburn in the younger roles of school teachers... Shirley MacLaine as an older school teacher... tends to be too kittenish in some scenes and too many vocal hand wringing towards the end... James Garner as Miss Hepburn's fiancee and Miriam Hopkins as Miss MacLaine's aunt gave such a show of hard work that Mr. Wyler should hang his head in shame. In fact, there is nothing about this picture to be proud of.
Variety says, "Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine... are beautifully complementary to each other.Hepburn's gentle sensitivity, extraordinary projections and emotional statements produce an impressive portrayal.The role of MacLaine is almost as rich in depth and substance. TV Guide rated the movie 3½ out of four stars, adding "Performances ranging from adequate (Balkin) to very beautiful (MacLaine's)." Rotten Tomatoes gave 86% movies based on seven critics reviews.
Nominated
The film was nominated for five Academy Awards.
- Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress (Fay Bainter)
- Academy Award for Best Black-White Cinematography (Franz Planer)
- Academy Award for Best Black-and-White Costume Design (Dorothy Jeakins)
- Academy Award for Best Black-and-White Art Direction (Fernando Carrere and Edward G. Boyle)
- Academy Award for Best Sound (Gordon E. Sawyer)
- Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Moving Drama (Shirley MacLaine)
- Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Fay Bainter
- Golden Globe Award for Best Director
- Guild of America Award Director for Extraordinary Direction - Feature Film
The film is recognized by the American Film Institute in this list:
- 2008: 10 Top 10 AFI:
- Nominated Movie Drama Movie Movie
See also
- List of American films in 1961
References
- References
- Balio, Tino (1987). Unified Artist: Company Changing Movie Industry . Univ of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 978-0-299-11440-4.
External links
- Children's Clock on IMDb
- Children's Clock at AllMovie
- Children's Clock in the TCM Film Database
- Children's Clock at Rotten Tomatoes
- James Garner interviews on the Archive of American Television
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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