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The Scarlet Letter (1934)
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Overview
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Release Date:
18 September 1934 (USA) moreTagline:
Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic tale of sin & redemption!Plot:
In the seventeenth century, in Massachusetts, a young woman is forced to wear a scarlet "A" on her dress for bearing a child out of wedlock. full summary | add synopsisUser Comments:
Oddly faithful little relic moreCast
(Complete credited cast)| Colleen Moore | ... | Hester Prynne | |
| Hardie Albright | ... | Arthur Dimmesdale | |
| Henry B. Walthall | ... | Roger Chillingworth | |
| Cora Sue Collins | ... | Pearl | |
| Alan Hale | ... | Bartholomew Hockings | |
| Virginia Howell | ... | Abigail Crakstone | |
| William Kent | ... | Sampson Goodfellow (as William T. Kent) | |
| William Farnum | ... | Gov. Bellingham | |
| Betty Blythe | ... | Innkeeper | |
| Al O. Henderson | ... | Master Wilson | |
| Jules Cowles | ... | Beadle | |
| Mickey Rentschler | ... | Digerie Crakstone | |
| Shirley Jean Rickert | ... | Humility Crakstone |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
69 minCountry:
USALanguage:
EnglishColor:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 moreSound Mix:
MonoFun Stuff
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I was struck by how faithful this film is to the original novel, comparatively speaking anyway (I've seen versions of Jane Eyre with a beautiful Jane, and versions of Moby Dick where Ahab wins!). The three main characters - Hester, Chillingworth, and the tortured Reverend, are all sensitively and accurately portrayed. The story is compacted, of course, but the essential elements are there.
The only real let-down is the inclusion of strange, slapstick comic characters who show up every ten minutes, like clockwork, to perform some unfunny bit of business. A perverse part of me kinda liked them, maybe because they were so crass, and such an obvious attempt to lighten the mood. I also got a strange joy out of seeing some totally inappropriate costumes among the villagers, including what appeared to be a group of Conquistadors (!) loitering in the background.
It's amazing that, despite these horribly incongruous elements, the film works pretty well.