IMDb >
Pride and Prejudice (1940)
Watch It
Buy it at Amazon
Rent it at Blockbuster.com
Discuss in Boards More at IMDb Pro Add to My Movies Update Data
BETA
Discuss in Boards More at IMDb Pro Add to My Movies Update Data
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotesOverview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv scheduleAwards & Reviews
user commentsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage boardPlot & Quotes
plot summarysynopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotesFun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQOther Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDeskPromotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo galleryExternal Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clipsPride and Prejudice (1940) More at IMDbPro »
| Photos (see all 12 | slideshow) |
Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
26 July 1940 (USA)
more
Tagline:
The Gayest Comedy Hit of the Screen! Five Gorgeous Beauties on a Mad-Cap Manhunt! With the Stars of "Mr. Chips" and "Rebecca"...and a Superb Cast! more
Plot:
Mr. and Mrs. Bennet have five unmarried daughters, and Mrs. Bennet is especially eager to find suitable husbands for them...
more
| add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Pride
|
Social Life
|
Elopement
|
Opposites Attract
|
Suitor
more
Awards:
Won Oscar.
more
User Comments:
Wonderful for its time
more (90 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) more
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
117 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Certification:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
According to Edward Maeder, Adrian, the costume designer, asked director Robert Z. Leonard to place the film in a later time period than that of the novel so that the costumes might be more opulent than those of Jane Austen's time.
more
Goofs:
Anachronisms: The story takes place in the early Victorian Era (mid 1830's) but the costumes, recycled from Gone with the Wind (1939) according to Greer Garson, are from the US Civil War era with wide hoops and corseted bodices.
more
Quotes:
Elizabeth Bennet:
Oh Mr. Darcy, Miss Bingley here is eager for her lesson. I hope you will enjoy it, Miss Bingley, and that you will learn to direct your darts with greater accuracy.
more
Soundtrack:
Wedding March
more
FAQ
What is Darcy's Christian name?more
more (90 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Pride and Prejudice (1940) moreRecommendations
If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
Show more recommendations
|
|
|
|
|
| Pride & Prejudice | Gone with the Wind | Bride & Prejudice | Sense and Sensibility | Emma |
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
Related Links
| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| IMDb Comedy section | IMDb USA section | Add this title to MyMovies |










Is the 1995 television version superior? Yes - every historical period is better recreated since Stanley Kubrick took up the reins with Barry Lyndon in the mid 1970s. Lighting, dress, authentic settings, more faithful adaptations - though not better acting. In the last thirty years, we've been treated to the re-making of all that Hollywood and television had adapted from much of Thackeray, Austen, Balzac, Dickens, Eliot, Hardy, James, Wharton, Twain, Zola, DeMaupassant, even Leopardi. and in virtually every case, the movies are more faithful to their books, the spirit better represented.
Why? I think because movies and television have been more segmented. In 1940, Hollywood was appealing to everyone attending their weekly movies - from the 8 year old girl to the 60 year old man, from the miner to the mine owner, banker and sewer worker. In America alone, 90 million people attended the movies EACH WEEK in the early 1940s. As a result, Hollywood felt it had to appeal to all - and that some aspects of classics could be made more palatable in making them more mainstream.
"Horrors" say the purists. Well, I don't think so - but yes I do prefer the more recent version (of everything).
And yet this is a delightful, charming, humorous, moving film. Greer Garson and Maureen O'Sullivan, Laurence Olivier, Frieda Inescourt (what a voice!), Edna May Oliver, Gwenn and all the rest of the cast are fun, great fun to watch.
In watching this movie, you're watching Hollywood at its top at the time - the same studio that produced the Wizard of Oz and Gone With the Wind in the years immediately preceding this. And you get to see the glowing Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier.
So, this is very enjoyable - except to the purists.