Pride and Prejudice (1940)

Mr. and Mrs. Bennet have five unmarried daughters, and Mrs. Bennet is especially eager to find suitable husbands for them. When the rich single gentlemen Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy come to ... See full summary »

Director:

Robert Z. Leonard

Writers:

Aldous Huxley (screen play), Jane Murfin (screen play)

Stars:

Greer Garson, Laurence Olivier, Mary Boland

Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Greer Garson	...	Elizabeth Bennet
Laurence Olivier	...	Mr. Darcy
Mary Boland	...	Mrs. Bennet
Edna May Oliver	...	Lady Catherine de Bourgh
Maureen O'Sullivan	...	Jane Bennet
Ann Rutherford	...	Lydia Bennet
Frieda Inescort	...	Miss Bingley
Edmund Gwenn	...	Mr. Bennet
Karen Morley	...	Mrs. Collins
Heather Angel	...	Kitty Bennet
Marsha Hunt	...	Mary Bennet
Melville Cooper	...	Mr. Collins
Edward Ashley	...	Mr. Wickham
Bruce Lester	...	Mr. Bingley
E.E. Clive	...	Sir William Lucas

Storyline

Mr. and Mrs. Bennet have five unmarried daughters, and Mrs. Bennet is especially eager to find suitable husbands for them. When the rich single gentlemen Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy come to live nearby, the Bennets have high hopes. But pride, prejudice, and misunderstandings all combine to complicate their relationships and to make happiness difficult.

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Plot Keywords:

pride | flute | looking out a window | garden | marriage engagement | 

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Taglines:

Five charming sisters on the gayest, merriest manhunt that ever snared a bewildered bachelor! Girls! Take a lesson from these head hunters.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 July 1940 (USA)

Also Known As:

Más fuerte que el orgullo

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

MGM imagined this movie as a romantic comedy, in contrast to Jane Austen's novel, which was a sharp social satire. As a result, dance scenes were added, a pivotal plot point set at Pemberly was removed, and some of Elizabeth's witty and biting dialogue was softened.

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Goofs

Traffic in the film is shown driving on the right. However, traffic in England drives on the left.

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Quotes

Elizabeth Bennet: I tremble and obey.

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: It happened in OLD ENGLAND . . . . in the village of Meryton . . . .

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Connections

Followed by Pride and Prejudice (1980)

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Soundtracks

Flow Gently Sweet Afton
(1786) (uncredited)
Music by Alexander Hume
Lyrics by Robert Burns (1786)
Performed by Marsha Hunt

User Reviews

Whether to laugh or cry? That's an easy one!

Even ignoring my new-found passion for Austen (yes, I'm one of those) and the fact that I had just finished reading P&P literally days before viewing this version of it, I find it hard to believe that so many reviewers find anything of value in this unfortunate production - clearly stamped out on the MGM studio factory line, with little care or thought, like so many of the films of the period. Fortunately, my love of the novel, and of the superior Ehle/Firth version, allowed me to dismiss this with very little pain.

With that said, though, I still must comment on one thing that really seemed to miss the mark, and that I don't see mentioned elsewhere, and that was the way the Bennet sisters were presented. They ALL seemed like silly little girls and, although Garson's Elizabeth had an opportunity to demonstrate how "modern" her thinking was, she still came off as comical, not to be taken seriously. Austen made a very clear distinction in her work, between Lizzy and Jane on the one hand (intelligent, reflective, serious and sensitive) and their 3 younger sisters (flighty, man-hungry, vacuous), and that difference provided a potent (frequently humourous) backdrop to the character development and plot in her work. This version didn't even come close to presenting such a distinction.

Others' comments take care of the rest of my objections to this drivel, so I won't repeat them here. But I will add that even Olivier couldn't save it for me. He seemed the same person throughout the entire movie. Charming, yes, but did he show any sign of having accomplished the transformation that Elizabeth helps bring about in him in the real story? Did he learn anything about himself in the course of his relationship with her - other than her superior skill at archery (which, in its attempt to show her to be full of surprises and quite capable of upsetting Darcy's composure, only added to all the silliness).

The novel helps us understand how bright, intelligent and introspective individuals can accept their limitations, change their way of thinking about others and themselves and grow tremendously in the process. This MGM outing was more like an Andy Hardy movie with pretty costumes and a faux British setting.