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52 out of 77 people found the following review useful:
Very Realistic (Unfortunately!!), 8 January 2006

Author: edwinalarren from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

A well respected spawn of Chicago society, George Hurstwood ,(Lawrence Olivier) from outward appearances, seems to have it all!! Money, stature, and prestige!! Being a deservedly integral facet of a well renowned Lincoln Park restaurant in the late 1890's suggests a comfortable and justified complacency in the aggregate scheme of events...Why would anyone risk all of this? TRUE LOVE!!!...Misery in George's (Lawrence Olivier's) life has a very ubiquitous disposition, and necessitates the desire for George Hurstwood to be intimately nurtured, as well as thoroughly appreciated for what he is as a man!! His wife, (Miriam Hopkins) the perennial virago, is consumed by social facades, and pretentious aristocratic Chicago register acquaintances, as a means of furthering the family's societal plight!! Lawrence Olivier senses the unfortunate reveille with the fact that his family is pieced together by coercively orchestrated affluent trappings, and upscale pecuniary circle obligations...Now enters Carrie into his life, he falls in love with Carrie!! She is young and impressionable, and develops a precocious infatuation for him!!

Carrie (Jennifer Jones) is the main character in the movie, quite a bit of this film is through her eyes!..Initially, Charlie's (Eddie Albert's) wife, she does not feel comfortable with him entirely!! A good friend perhaps, but not sustenance material for an indefinite marriage commitment!! Carrie becomes enthralled with Lawrence Olivier's character, she is easily cajoled, and thus very susceptible to George Hurstwood's professional charm!!...So now, Carrie wants to be married to an older, more distinguished man, whom she feels she can devote her life to!!...What is the problem with falling in love with this married man? The problems are too numerous to count!! Now propagates a myriad of emotional nightmares!!

Lawrence Olivier loses his job, his money, his status in Chicago society, his family and his friends...To top things off, he is earmarked for grand larceny!! From there, things go from bad to worse....George and Carrie move to the Big Apple!! New York capriciously beats them up, financial circumstances dictate that they get resorted to the New York City slums, there they are effortlessly mangled!! Such a situation depicts the apocalyptic ramifications incurred as a result of George and Carrie's quest for true love!!!! Lawrence Olivier is relegated to becoming a hobo on the street, while Carrie makes it in the theater world, and attempts to make restitution on the fact that she too neglected Lawrence Olivier in her own manner!! The flop house scene at the end of the movie was very poignant as a way of illustrating the despondent indigence that Lawrence Olivier was plagued with!!!

Nobody should have any delusions of grandeur about this situation turning around...To say that this is an unhappy ending for Lawrence Olivier would be a masterpiece of understatement!! This is indeed a living horror to the point where Lawrence Olivier's suicide attempt, which he backs down on, is viewed by the movie audience as a good way of quelling his tragically pathetic existence on earth!! He was a totally ruined man, and inevitably, he will be relegated by the population to the unfortunate status of an educated derelict!!

This movie is extremely powerful and gripping!! It effectuates a sympathy and fear for an unencumbered social plummet that devastates George Hurstwood!! He abandons everything just because he felt his marriage emotionally neglected him, and as a result,he sought an opportunity for spousal contentment and gratification with another woman!! Performances by Jennifer Jones, Eddie Albert, Miriam Hopkins and of course Sir Lawrence Olivier, were to say the least, phenomenal!!. "Carrie" is one of the stellar films in all of American cinema history !!! Without a doubt, SENSATIONAL!! William Wyler directed this film ("Director of Best Years of Our Lives") This movie stands behind his fabulous reputation, and ultimately delivers with noteworthy critical acclaim as well!! I was very impressed with this movie, depressed as well, as it was very realistic!! (unfortunately)...See this movie!!!! I give it five stars out of five stars, a perfect ten!!

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26 out of 36 people found the following review useful:
Olivier Elevates This Solid Soaper Big-Time, 28 October 2005

Author: ccthemovieman-1 from United States

This was a pretty powerful melodrama, thanks to the great performance of Sir Laurence Olivier.

Olivier plays an unhappily-married older man who falls for the young and beautiful Jennifer Jones (not hard to understand!).....and pays a huge price for his adultery. Olivier is near-mesmerizing in this film and Jones is absolutely gorgeous, as she was in "Portrait Of Jennie," made about five years prior to this film.

Eddie Albert was a bit annoying (but effective) in his role and Miriam Hopkins is downright brutal in her small part as Olivier's wife.

The shocking thing about this film was the subject matter, rare for its day. It was ahead of its day in one respect: it makes the adulterers into the sympathetic "good guys." I'm surprised that got by the censors of the day. Jones' character is oddly innocent for someone "shacking up" with Albert.

I am not a fan of soap operas, but this was highly involving, a tough story to put down once it started I didn't particularly like the ending, but are you gonna do? Note: One of the scenes near the end was inserted on the DVD. It had previously been cut out of the theatrical release. That "flophouse" scene was one that was not passed over by the censors.

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18 out of 25 people found the following review useful:
Cruel Classic Romance, 5 October 2006

Author: Claudio Carvalho from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

In Columbia Clay, Missouri, the young and naive Carrie Meeber (Jennifer Jones) boards the train expecting to meet her older sister in Chicago and have a better life in the big city. While traveling in the train, she meets the fabric salesman Charles Drouet (Eddie Albert), who gives her his card. Once in Chicago, she finds a simple job in a shoe factory sewing shoes, but when she injures a finger, she is fired. Unable to find another job, she looks for Charles, and he invites her to have dinner at the Fitzgerald's, the most expensive restaurant of Chicago, where she meets the elegant middle-age manager George Hurstwood (Laurence Olivier). Carrie moves to Charles' apartment and becomes her lover due to the lack of options, and later George falls in love for her. Pressed by his wife and by the owner of the restaurant to forget Carrie, George leaves all his possessions behind and embezzles a fortune from the restaurant, traveling with Carrie to New York expecting to rebuild his life, but the shadows of his past are cruel with him. Meanwhile, Carrie matures and becomes successful in her business.

"Carrie" is a cruel classic romance, with a stunning performance of the great British actor Laurence Olivier, who surprisingly was not nominated as Best Lead Actor to the Oscar. I am really impressed with his acting in this movie, being perfect either as an elegant upper class man or as a beggar. The direction of William Wiler is brilliant and stylist as usual, supported by magnificent costumes and decorations. Jennifer Jones, Eddie Albert and Miriam Hopkins give credibility to their characters with their great performances. The romantic and dramatic story does not have the usual commercial happy end of Hollywood movies, but a credible and realistic conclusion, and maybe that is why I loved this film. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Perdição Por Amor" ("Perdition for Love")

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17 out of 24 people found the following review useful:
The Things We Do For Love, 23 May 2006

Author: Jem Odewahn from Australia

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

William Wyler's 'Carrie' is an excellent film that seems to have been passed by over the years. It is generally not considered a classic, perhaps because only a small number have actually viewed it (in it's entirety- with the 'flophouse' scene). It has suffered in comparison to that other film adaptation of a Dreiser work, the 1951 Stevens' offering 'A Place In The Sun'. Comparison is expected, but ultimately unfair in this case, as 'Carrie' is unique in it's own right.

Olivier gives possibly the best film performance of his career as George Hurstwood, the tragic figure of the tale. His love for the much-younger Carrie Meeber (Jennifer Jones, in a powerhouse performance also) ignites his passion for existence, but ultimately proves to be the catalyst for his downfall. Hurstwood genuinely loves Carrie, but is his love for her more due to the way she makes feel than anything else? He may be one of cinema's unluckiest protagonists; everything seems to go wrong for George in the second half of the film. His downfall has an inevitable feeling to it, making it doubly painfully to watch. This is human nature and sacrifice at it's most harrowing.

Olivier is absolutely brilliant in the role. Every gesture, every word, is perfectly executed, and he quells any doubts about his ability to emote on screen when a a scene calls for him to weep with anguish and regret. He does it perfectly. Jones is just as good as Carrie, the unknowing young girl who is first taken up one older man (Eddie Albert), than is the objective of affection and/or lust for another (Olivier). Jones must surely be one of the greatest film actresses of all time; her ability to play such a range of characters (Carrie, Pearl Chavez, Bernadette) on screen is compelling. In every scene she is compelling with Olivier, they share terrific chemistry. Miriam Hopkins is also great as Olivier's hateful wife, who will stop at nothing to ensure George is ruined for his foolishness.

The content of the novel is pretty heavy stuff, and there are some big issues touched upon here. Carrie, when she first comes to the city, is a 'kept' woman. The Production Code in place ensures reference to her situation is mild, but it is quite easy to figure out the true nature of her relationship with the Albert character. It deals with marital problems, affairs, economic woes, lack of employment and the topic of bigamy. Olivier's descent into so many of these avenues is heartbreaking to watch, because he portrays Hurstwood so well. Wyler's direction is flawless; the film has a perfectly moody, dark atmosphere. It starts a little slow, setting up the story, but Wyler really hits his stride when the big drama sets in. While depressing to watch at times, this film is one of my favorites.

More people NEED to see this film. It is an absolute essential for romantics, even though the romance is ultimately doomed. Film buffs everywhere and admirers of the cinema- I implore you to see this.

10/10.

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19 out of 31 people found the following review useful:
Romance At Its Best, 26 April 2003

Author: jan-conant2 from Haverhill, MA

I read the book at 17 and picked it up again. I remember seeing the film many years ago and decided to buy the video. What a find. I had never realized how romantic Sir Olivier could be. Talk about how desperate love can destroy a life at any age. When George Hurstwood, a wealthy manager of a prominent drinking establishment meets naive, trusting Carrie Meeber from Columbia City he is smitten. Right from the moment he spies her entering the men's bar entrance you know from his eyes he is hooked. When he attempts to seduce her away from Charles Drouet I believe he plans to just keep her as a mistress to satisfy his need for love. When he finds she is not to be won over he must sacrifice everything to have her, including forfeiting his property and assets to a shrew of a wife, played unmercifully by Miriam Hopkins.

Olivier's eyes are captivating in every scene with Jennifer Jones, his manners are impeccable the chemistry between them is dazzling. Watch his eyes especially when Carrie declares her love for him in the park. I love this film and it is much more idealistic than the book which describes Carrie as disillusioned when Hurstwood can't support her and thinks him old and useless. In the film her love endures even in poverty. When Hurstwood's son surfaces Carrie encourages him to seek him out for help and decides to leave only for his benefit.

Carrie is not portrayed in the film as the selfish character in Dreiser's novel. You truly believe her love for Hurstwood but at what cost. Hurstwood has the class and wealth Carrie is looking for. Problem is she loves nice things and her respectability is compromised when thinking Hurstwood unmarried chooses him. Jennifer Jones is marvelous going from a poor young, innocent girl with an education but it's her looks that help her along. Eddie Albert is fine as the self assured drummer who wins her over with his charm. I also picked up on the "green acres" bit. It's Olivier who steals the film, going from a respectable gentleman to a tragic figure who holds onto his dignity to the end. For all you romantics see this film. It's fifty years old and Olivier and Jones can still burn up the screen.

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20 out of 33 people found the following review useful:
The Hollywood studio system at its finest, 15 February 2002

Author: John Simpson (jandesimpson@btinternet.com) from Hastings, U.K.

At a time when many cineasts are beginning to respond to the beauties of Powell and Pressburger's "Gone to Earth", Wyler's "Carrie", that other most underrated masterpiece, continues to attract too little appreciative attention. It is not difficult to see why insofar that its depressing subject material is incompatible with audience expectations of its genre, Hollywood studio romanticism. It has a hero who slides into despair and degradation whilst the heroine succeeds in her chosen profession as an aspiring actress. Women who take their handkerchiefs to the cinema have always seemed indifferent to the film: indeed the only admirers I have personally found have been male, possibly identifying with the debonaire restaurateur, Hurstwood (magnificently played by Laurence Olivier), sowing the seeds of his downfall through human weakness which destroys everything except his innate dignity. Had the film been set in its own period (mid 20th century) and directed by, say, a De Sica or Kurosawa, we might still be talking about it. Instead it is set shortly after the beginning of the century, a transitional period when the romantic past was rapidly being overcome by the grainy realism of a new mechanised age. However, far from being weakened by the genre conventions of a highly romantic approach,the superbly crafted direction by William Wyler, photography perfectly composed by Victor Milner and a wonderfully lyrical score by David Raksin are elements that serve to enhance the material. They never sentimentalise it, somehow proving that when as here the Hollywood romantic cinema was given a really mature theme and text, it could, in the hands of some of its greatest craftsmen, be responsible for producing a work of the highest cinematic art.

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26 out of 45 people found the following review useful:
Magnificent film featuring Laurence Olivier's best film performance., 16 August 2001

Author: David Atfield (bits@alphalink.com.au) from Canberra, Australia

This is a superb film, directed with great style by William Wyler. A tough film for romantics, it's about how following your heart will not always lead to living "happily ever after". A very mature film about becoming middle-aged but still yearning for romance - and a very uncompromising film in which love and forgiveness are sometimes just not enough. An unusual film to come out of Hollywood in the Fifties, it now emerges as one of the finest American films of that period.

Jennifer Jones, Eddie Albert and Miriam Hopkins all deliver top-notch performances - subtle, believable, multi-dimensional and real. Hopkins remains one of the most under-rated of all Hollywood stars - her reputation sadly damaged by her real-life feud with Bette Davis. But she was a brilliant actress. Jones looks stunning, and portrays her character's development from naivety to worldliness with intelligence and strength. Albert is likeable, but also quite menacing, as her salesman lover.

But towering above all is the great Laurence Olivier, in what I venture to say is his best screen performance. As the ageing restauranter who finds true love too late, he gives an unbearably moving performance. His astonishing physical transformations match perfectly his character's downward fortunes - but there is also a complete truth to his emotion here. One wonders how much he was drawing on his own tragic marriage to Vivien Leigh to find that truth.

This is a ten star film.

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11 out of 16 people found the following review useful:
Olivier and Jones at their best., 24 January 2007

Author: Kara Dahl Russell from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

*** I think you can not write about this movie without it containing a spoiler. The advertising makes it look like a glossy romance, and it is much deeper and darker.***

Do not miss this one, it is highly regarded for all the right reasons.

This movie really should have been called "George,"as it is the story of a man (Laurence Oliver) who ruins his life for love. Olivier is essentially different here, a humble man who suffers silently, simply wonderful, and shows here in his youth moments of the great acting of his last years (important, because he was aged up for this role). It is a simply brilliant film for him.

Jennifer Jones, playing Carrie, also gives one of her best performances, and their chemistry is fantastic. She was in her 30s and still looks 18, which helps a film where she ages from about 18 to 36.

I did not know anything of this "girl comes to the big city, gets compromised, and rises above" story. It is far more than this trite outline. This wonderful script dips and turns with the complexities of life relationships, legal relationships, and the things we don't tell each other.

Miriam Hopkins, even in her perky youth, was always rather arch and tart. This is used to fantastic advantage here in a very dislikable role. Eddie Albert is also used to best advantage as a flirty traveling salesman and lady killer.

In black and white, the story is about the divisions of poverty and wealth, and how life can take us through levels. Edith Head's magnificent costuming takes the leads from highs to lows, tenements to townhouses to the glamour of the stage in the early 1900s.

The score is by David Raksin, who did such memorable scores as WHIRLPOOL, THE BIG COMBO, FALLEN ANGEL, and PAT AND MIKE. While heavy handed by today's standards, it is musically complex and eloquent, and truly augments the emotional journey of the action. It is some of the best of it's time, evocative of the dissonant soundtracks of ON THE WATERFRONT, and REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE.

The released film had a section removed set in poverty row/homeless men's housing. This section has been restored on the DVD, which reinstates yet another level of complexity, the mixture of poverty, humiliation and pride.

All this makes this film wrenching, memorable and complete.

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12 out of 18 people found the following review useful:
beautifully made drama with a staggering performance by Olivier, 29 September 2006

Author: blanche-2 from United States

Not for nothing is Laurence Olivier heralded as one of the greatest actors of our time, and if ever a film proved it, it's "Carrie," an adaptation of Theodore Dreiser's "Sister Carrie." Dreiser is the man who brought us "An American Tragedy," remade as "A Place in the Sun." Poor Dreiser - he must have been one miserable human being to write such stories of man's desolation.

"Carrie" is the story of a distinguished man, George Hurstwood (Olivier) who runs a large Chicago restaurant, and how his obsession with a beautiful young woman, Carrie (Jennifer Jones) destroys his social standing, his reputation, and his life.

Miserable in a loveless marriage to Julie (Miriam Hopkins), George meets Carrie while she is living with a salesman, Charlie (Eddie Albert). One thing that the film points out is that there were so very few opportunities for women in the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th. After losing her job due to injury at a shoe-making factory, Carrie drifts into friendship and then is seduced into a relationship with Charlie. She is never comfortable with the arrangement and wants to get married. Very naive and inexperienced at life, when she falls in love with George, she expects him to marry her, not realizing that he's already married. An angry, vicious Julie goes to George's boss with the tale of her husband's immorality. After a confrontation with his boss and Julie, George panics, takes money he intended to give to the restaurant owner, and runs away with Carrie. Thus, he becomes a fugitive. But his troubles are just beginning.

William Wyler skillfully directed this film, which has one of Olivier's best screen performances as George. "I want love!" he screams at his wife. "And I intend to have that before I die!" Desperate, obsessed, weak, but proud, Olivier gives a fully fleshed-out portrayal of a man at the end of his rope whose great passion - in a more devastating way - will ruin his life almost as surely as his suppression of passion would have. How he wasn't nominated for an Oscar is a true mystery; it is one of the all-time great film portrayals. He will break your heart.

As Carrie, Jennifer Jones is excellent as an unhappy young woman who, because of poverty, innocence, and George's determination, is dragged into a downward spiral. She is dazzlingly beautiful and one can see her grow from a vapid, victimized girl into a woman who hides her resentment and has a strong resolve. Jones has been criticized for being passive in this part - but it's a passive role. She's a young country girl in the big city at a time when society was totally male-oriented and most doors were closed to her. She is the cause of George's destruction, but not on purpose. George is such a weak man that the only type of person he could ever dominate would be someone like Carrie - and finally, he isn't even able to dominate her.

Hopkins was a master at playing a shrew, but more than that, she was a brilliant actress who knew the art of playing period pieces, as she demonstrated so admirably in "The Heiress." Eddie Albert is good in the familiar role of a likable salesman, but it had an added twist - this one had ulterior motives, but he was so smiley and gregarious, you almost couldn't believe it.

Well worth seeing but have a box of tissues nearby. You'll ask yourself, too, how Olivier and the film could have been overlooked at Oscar time.

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3 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Mixed Bag, 16 March 2009

Author: kenjha

In this adaptation of a Dreiser novel, a small-town girl in the 19th century goes to Chicago and becomes involved with a married man. Given the time in which it was made, the film is surprising frank in dealing with adultery. While it boasts fine cinematography, this is a rare misfire for Wyler, mainly due to an uninspiring script. After a good start, it turns into a soap opera that drags on far too long. Jones is well-cast in the title role while Olivier appears somewhat aloof as the married man who falls for her. Olivier's character is meant to be tragic but is pathetic instead. Albert turns in a fine performance as a smarmy traveling salesman who makes the move on Jones.

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