TV and Movies

[Oznell]

12:45 p.m. Eastern--  "Pride and Prejudice"   Greer Garson, Laurence Olivier, Edna May Oliver, Maureen O'Sullivan, Mary Boland, Ann Rutherford, Edmund Gwenn, Bruce Lester

MGM's near-perfect adaptation of Austen's "Pride and Prejudice".    The perennial comedy of manners is done so well by the cast, the script and production values!  Greer Garson is as spirited and substantial and intelligent a "Lizzie Bennett" as you'd ever want.  And she handles comedy here as elegantly as a twirl of her parasol.  Perfect foil for proud, condescending, suspicious patrician Laurence Olivier. 

I think "Mr. Darcy" is a fine showcase role for any decently talented young actor-- that removed, "unattainable male" type has been tantalizing and inviting female pursuit since long before Austen.  But the peerless Olivier invests him with his own magnetism and rather mysterious glamour, along with a slightly comical sort of obtuse, 'dunderhead' quality, that makes him a delicious target for the mercurial Lizzie...

Excellent stock company MGM cast, and lots of giggles, sharp Austenian insights, sparkling dialog and wit.  Nice lunchtime interlude!

   

[QVCkitty1]

Greer Garson is my favorite Lizzie of them all !  Great movie. 

[spiderw]

I have seen this movie a few times and it is indeed an excellent production.  How can it not be when you have Olivier and Garson in it!  I love the story and the settings are just so lovely and in my taste zone. Thanks for the heads up on this one, I will DVR it and enjoy again!

[PA Mom-mom]

@Oznell  I love that film! I've read Pride And Prejudice every year for the past 40 years. I know the film is not verbatim, but it is true to the sentiment of the book. The characters are memorable. So memorable, in fact, that I cannot get them out of my mind when I read the book.

[QVCkitty1]

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@PA Mom-mom wrote:

@Oznell  I love that film! I've read Pride And Prejudice every year for the past 40 years. I know the film is not verbatim, but it is true to the sentiment of the book. The characters are memorable. So memorable, in fact, that I cannot get them out of my mind when I read the book.

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I first read Pride and Prejudice when I was 14. I had such a mad crush on Mr. Darcy. 🥰

[drizzellla]

Thanks, Oznell

I am setting the timer now. 

This is a movie I could watch over and over again. I like the dialog and Laurence Olivier, Greer Garson and Edna May Oliver. So well done.

I saw an interview with Ann Rutherford and she was talking about doing a scene inside a room of their house. The room was small and had numerous chairs and tables and all the difficulties they had moving around the room in their hoop skirts. 

But they are professional and the scene is flawless. 

Thanks for mentioning it.

PS "That Hamilton Women" is on right before "Pride and Prejudice" . It is a touching film. 

[Venezia]

I tried to watch this once and gave up.  I couldn't get past the fact that the fashions were completely wrong for Jane Austen's Regency period.

I know it's a Hollywood production, but...

Maybe I'll try it again, if it repeats.  I love the BBC production which is more faithful to the book, but that's just my personal choice.

[Desert Lily]

@Oznell  Thanks for the heads-up!

[Oznell]

@PA Mom-mom,  your long, productive engagement as a reader with the novel, shows the rewards and genius of Jane Austen-- her writing never palls!

[PA Mom-mom]

@Oznell  I know I might be crazy, but I read Austen's major works each year. It helps to remind me how the English language should be used.