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 1 win & 6 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 influential 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 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 ...

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Plot Keywords:

lesbian | spoiled child | bigotry | false accusation | tragedy | 

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Taglines:

What Made These Women Different?

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

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:

The Mirisch Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The start of the movie implies that Mary gets the idea to "accuse" Karen and Martha of lesbianism from a forbidden book that gets passed around secretly among the school's students. Although this book is not identified by title in the movie, Hellman's play specifies that the book is Mademoiselle de Maupin by Théophile Gautier, a French novel published in 1835. The novel concerns a woman who disguises herself as a man and has both a woman and a man fall in love with her, so it did contain at least the concept of lesbianism and therefore answers the question of how Mary could have conceived of the charge she levels against Martha and Karen without ever actually seeing them engage in any romantic or sexual activity.

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Goofs

At 1:11:05, Martha's hands change position on the mantle.

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Quotes

Mrs. Amelia Tilford: I don't believe this talk of jealousy between Miss Dobie and Miss Wright.
Mary Tilford: But I didn't say she was jealous of Miss Wright. I said that Mrs. Mortar said that Miss Dobie was jealous of cousin Joe.

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Connections

Version of These Three (1936)

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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

Lillian Hellman's Women

Lillian Hellman is an American Icon. A woman ahead of her time, in every department. Her women are never easy to read but they are real. From the icy Regina in "The Little Foxes" to the sisters of "Toys In The Attic" - Jane Fonda played her, brilliantly, in "Julia", Here, her women walked a slightly edgier plane."The Children's Hours" was a big Broadway success and William Wyler, one of the best, directed the film version as "These Three" in the 1930's, washing away any reference to homosexuality. I think that may be one of the reasons why he remade it in 1961 under its original title "The Children's Hour" Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine, James Garner, Fay Bainter and Miriam Hopkins who also was in the original in Shirley MacLaine's part. The film is compelling and looks wonderful and I think it's more a document of its day by one of the most courageous writers of her day. The strange thing here is that the women are the ones who remain firmly in their day, they show us the outrage from their perspective and that's why it feels "dated" They would behave very differently today but not the rich southerners. I believe, they would also remove their children from the school. just like they did then. The oppressed have move on but the oppressors, have diminished in numbers, but they havent changed much. A fascinating film.