The Children's Hour (1961)

A troublemaking student at a girls' school accuses two teachers of being lesbians.

Director:

William Wyler

Writers:

Lillian Hellman (play), John Michael Hayes (screenplay),

Stars:

Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine, James Garner

Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Audrey Hepburn	...	Karen Wright
Shirley MacLaine	...	Martha Dobie
James Garner	...	Dr. Joe Cardin
Miriam Hopkins	...	Mrs. Lily Mortar
Fay Bainter	...	Mrs. Amelia Tilford
Karen Balkin	...	Mary Tilford
Veronica Cartwright	...	Rosalie Wells
Mimi Gibson	...	Evelyn
Debbie Moldow
Diane Mountford
William Mims	...	Mr. Burton
Sally Brophy	...	Rosalie's Mother (as Sallie Brophy)
Hope Summers	...	Agatha (Tilford's maid)

Storyline

Karen Wright and Martha Dobie are best friends since college and they own the boarding school Wright and Dobie School for Girls with twenty students. They are working hard as headmistresses and teachers to grow the school and make it profitable. Karen is engaged with the local doctor Joe Cardin, who is the nephew of the powerful and influent Mrs. Amelia Tilford. While the spiteful and liar Mary, who is Amelia's granddaughter and a bad influence to the other girls, is punished by Karen after telling a lie, Martha has an argument with her snoopy aunt Lily Mortar in another room. Lily accuses Martha of being jealous and having an unnatural relationship with Karen. Mary's roommate Rosalie Wells and a friend overhear the shouting and tells Mary what Mrs. Mortar had said about her niece. The malicious Mary accuses Karen and Martha of being lesbians to her grandmother and Amelia spreads the gossip to the parents of the students that withdraw them from the school. Karen and Martha lose a ...

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Plot Keywords:

school | girl | teacher | lesbian | lie | 

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Taglines:

One simple lie destroyed everything they had.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 December 1961 (USA)

Also Known As:

Infamous!

Filming Locations:

Shadow Ranch, Vanowen Street, West Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$3,600,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mirisch Corporation, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film gets its name from a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

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Goofs

The position of Martha's arms changes between shots in the last scenes when she is trying to sleep in her room.

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Quotes

Mrs. Lily Mortar: God will punish you.
Martha: He's doing all right.

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Connections

Referenced in Rec: Uwasa no futari (2006)

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Soundtracks

"Comin' through the Rye"
(uncredited)
Traditional Scottish children's song
Lyrics from a poem by Robert Burns (1782)
Included in piano medley

User Reviews

Cruel and Heartbreaking Story about the Destructive Power of a Lie

Karen Wright (Audrey Hepburn) and Martha Dobie (Shirley MacLaine) are best friends since college and they own the boarding school Wright and Dobie School for Girls with twenty students. They are working hard as headmistresses and teachers to grow the school and make it profitable. Karen is engaged with the local doctor Joe Cardin (James Garner), who is the nephew of the powerful and influent Mrs. Amelia Tilford (Fay Bainter). While the spiteful and liar Mary (Karen Balkin), who is Amelia's granddaughter and a bad influence to the other girls, is punished by Karen after telling a lie, Martha has an argument with her snoopy aunt Lily Mortar (Miriam Hopkins) in another room. Lily accuses Martha of being jealous and having an unnatural relationship with Karen. Mary's roommate Rosalie Wells (Veronica Cartwright) overhears the shouting and tells Mary what Mrs. Mortar had said about her niece. The malicious Mary accuses Karen and Martha of being lesbians to her grandmother and Amelia spreads the gossip to the parents of the students that withdraw them from the school. Karen and Martha lose a lawsuit against Amelia and have their lives destroyed. Further, Karen calls off her engagement with Joe when he asks her if what was said about Martha and she was true. The lie ends in a tragedy.

"The Children's Hour" is a cruel and heartbreaking story that shows how destructive power of a lie may be. William Wyler is among my favorite directors and this film is a little gem with a magnificent screenplay. Shirley MacLaine has awesome performance in the role of a woman that does not accept her (homo) sexual preference and the girl Karen Balkin is amazing in the role of one of the meanest characters I have ever seen. In the mid 90's, in São Paulo, Brazil, the owners of the Escola Base were falsely accused of pedophilia in a national scandal and had their lives destroyed. Years later, it was proved that they were innocent, in a case of life copycatting fiction. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Infâmia" ("Infamy")