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Carrie (1952 film)
Encyclopedia
Carrie is a 1952 feature film based on the novel Sister Carrie
by Theodore Dreiser
.
Directed by William Wyler
, the film stars Jennifer Jones in the title role and Laurence Olivier
as Hurstwood. Carrie received two Academy Award Nominations: Costume Design
, (Edith Head
) and Best Art Direction
(Hal Pereira
, Roland Anderson
, Emile Kuri
). Additionally, Laurence Olivier received a BAFTA nomination for his performance.
to make a better life for herself. On the train to Chicago, Charles Drouet (Eddie Albert
) approaches her. Although Carrie is reluctant to speak to him, the salesman persists and the two chat until they reach Chicago. Carrie gets off in South Chicago, the slums as Charles Drouet points out, after taking Drouet's business card
.
In South Chicago, Carrie stays with her sister, who is married and has one child. Her sister's husband takes $5 from her for room and board and Carrie works at a factory sewing shoes. When she gets her finger caught in the sewing machine
she is fired. After an exhausting and fruitless day of job hunting, Carrie looks up Charles Drouet. He not only talks her into having dinner with him at Fitzgerald's, an upscale restaurant, but also gives her $10. Carrie knows that this is more than "compromising" but she doesn't see any other possibilities.
Her sister and brother-in-law won't take "that kind of money." So Carrie, in order to stay with her sister, heads to Fitzgerald's to return the money to Drouet. While there she meets George Hurstwood (Laurence Olivier
), the manager of the restaurant, who is immediately smitten with her. Instead of taking the money and returning it on her behalf to Drouet, he brings the two together, seats them himself and sends them a bottle of champagne.
Carrie ends up moving in with Drouet. He is a big talker but basically harmless. She pressures Drouet to marry her because the neighbors are talking about them. He tries to distract her and invites Hurstwood, whom he had run into by sheer coincidence, into their home. With Drouet's permission, Hurstwood takes Carrie to the theater while Drouet is on one of his many business trips. Hurstwood and Carrie end up spending every free minute together, and the two fall in love. Just before she is about to run off with Hurstwood, she finds out that he is married. She is distraught and confronts Hurstwood, who admits that he is married although terribly unhappy.
At the restaurant, Hurstwood cashes up for the night and, by accidentally locking a timed safe, finds himself stuck with $10,000 of his boss's money. He goes home with the money and is initially pleased to find his boss there. He tries to give the money to his boss, but when he learns that his boss intends to give his salary directly to his wife because of his relationship with Carrie, he decides to take the money to run away with Carrie. He leaves an I-O-U intent on paying his boss back as soon as he made it on his own feet.
He coaxes Carrie, who initially refuses to see him, out of the house by telling her that Drouet had injured himself and that he would take her to see him. On the train to Drouet, Hurstwood tells her that he loves her and that the wants to be with her, asking her to leave Drouet. Carrie is torn, she does love Hurstwood and so she decides to stay with him.
The first few days are blissful, but then reality catches up with them. Hurstwood's boss sends an officer from the bond company after Hurstwood to collect the money Hurstwood took. Hurstwood, who has already been looking for work, finds out quickly that word of him stealing the money has gotten around. Unable to find a job, Hurstwood and Carrie soon find themselves living in poverty
.
When Carrie finds out that she is pregnant, the two think that things might take a turn for the better. But Hurstwood's wife shows up, wanting his signature and allowing her to sell the house they own jointly. Hurstwood wants his share of the proceeds but she says she will press charges against him for bigamy
if he insists. Carrie is devastated. Hurstwood's wife refused to get a divorce
and Hurstwood didn't know how to tell Carrie.
Hurstwood tells his wife, he will sign and won't ask for money if she'll grant him a divorce. She does but it is too late. Carrie loses the baby and decides to try her luck at acting. Hurstwood reads in the newspaper that his son is due in New York after his honeymoon and decides to see him at the docks. While he is there, Carrie leaves him (even though she still loves him) because she thinks he will use this opportunity to re-enter his family's life.
While Hurstwood drifts further and further into poverty and ends up living on the streets, Carrie's star in the theatre rises until she is a well-regarded actress on the cusp of fame.
Hurstwood, entirely starved, visits her at the theatre stage door, and she wants to take him back. She had found out from Drouet that Hurstwood had taken the money to start a life with her and blames herself for his predicament. She wants to make it up to Hurstwood but he won't take more than a quarter and disappears after toying with the gas burner in her dressing room.
's novel of the same name
, nor with Brian De Palma
's 1976 film version Carrie, which is not a remake
of Wyler's movie.
Sister Carrie
Sister Carrie is a novel by Theodore Dreiser about a young country girl who moves to the big city where she starts realizing her own American Dream by first becoming a mistress to men that she perceives as superior and later as a famous actress...
by Theodore Dreiser
Theodore Dreiser
Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser was an American novelist and journalist of the naturalist school. His novels often featured main characters who succeeded at their objectives despite a lack of a firm moral code, and literary situations that more closely resemble studies of nature than tales of...
.
Directed by William Wyler
William Wyler
William Wyler was a leading American motion picture director, producer, and screenwriter.Notable works included Ben-Hur , The Best Years of Our Lives , and Mrs. Miniver , all of which won Wyler Academy Awards for Best Director, and also won Best Picture...
, the film stars Jennifer Jones in the title role and Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
as Hurstwood. Carrie received two Academy Award Nominations: Costume Design
Academy Award for Costume Design
The Academy Award for Best Costume Design is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for achievement in film costume design....
, (Edith Head
Edith Head
Edith Head was an American costume designer who won eight Academy Awards, more than any other woman.-Early life and career:...
) and Best Art Direction
Academy Award for Best Art Direction
The Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. The Academy Award for Best Art Direction recognizes achievement in art direction on a film. The films below are listed with their production year, so the Oscar 2000 for best art direction went to a film from 1999...
(Hal Pereira
Hal Pereira
Hal Pereira was an American art director and production designer....
, Roland Anderson
Roland Anderson
Roland Anderson was an acclaimed movie art director, famous for receiving 15 Academy Award nominations but never winning an Oscar. Anderson's fist Oscar nomination was for his first film in 1933, "A Farewell to Arms". A frequent collaborator with Cecil B...
, Emile Kuri
Emile Kuri
Emile Kuri was a Mexican-born American set decorator of Lebanese parentage. He won two Academy Awards and was nominated for six more in the category Best Art Direction....
). Additionally, Laurence Olivier received a BAFTA nomination for his performance.
Plot
Carrie Meeber (Jennifer Jones) leaves her family in a small rural town and heads to ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
to make a better life for herself. On the train to Chicago, Charles Drouet (Eddie Albert
Eddie Albert
Edward Albert Heimberger , known professionally as Eddie Albert, was an American actor and activist. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1954 for his performance in Roman Holiday, and in 1973 for The Heartbreak Kid.Other well-known screen roles of his include Bing...
) approaches her. Although Carrie is reluctant to speak to him, the salesman persists and the two chat until they reach Chicago. Carrie gets off in South Chicago, the slums as Charles Drouet points out, after taking Drouet's business card
Business card
Business cards are cards bearing business information about a company or individual. They are shared during formal introductions as a convenience and a memory aid. A business card typically includes the giver's name, company affiliation and contact information such as street addresses, telephone...
.
In South Chicago, Carrie stays with her sister, who is married and has one child. Her sister's husband takes $5 from her for room and board and Carrie works at a factory sewing shoes. When she gets her finger caught in the sewing machine
Sewing machine
A sewing machine is a textile machine used to stitch fabric, cards and other material together with thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolution to decrease the amount of manual sewing work performed in clothing companies...
she is fired. After an exhausting and fruitless day of job hunting, Carrie looks up Charles Drouet. He not only talks her into having dinner with him at Fitzgerald's, an upscale restaurant, but also gives her $10. Carrie knows that this is more than "compromising" but she doesn't see any other possibilities.
Her sister and brother-in-law won't take "that kind of money." So Carrie, in order to stay with her sister, heads to Fitzgerald's to return the money to Drouet. While there she meets George Hurstwood (Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
), the manager of the restaurant, who is immediately smitten with her. Instead of taking the money and returning it on her behalf to Drouet, he brings the two together, seats them himself and sends them a bottle of champagne.
Carrie ends up moving in with Drouet. He is a big talker but basically harmless. She pressures Drouet to marry her because the neighbors are talking about them. He tries to distract her and invites Hurstwood, whom he had run into by sheer coincidence, into their home. With Drouet's permission, Hurstwood takes Carrie to the theater while Drouet is on one of his many business trips. Hurstwood and Carrie end up spending every free minute together, and the two fall in love. Just before she is about to run off with Hurstwood, she finds out that he is married. She is distraught and confronts Hurstwood, who admits that he is married although terribly unhappy.
At the restaurant, Hurstwood cashes up for the night and, by accidentally locking a timed safe, finds himself stuck with $10,000 of his boss's money. He goes home with the money and is initially pleased to find his boss there. He tries to give the money to his boss, but when he learns that his boss intends to give his salary directly to his wife because of his relationship with Carrie, he decides to take the money to run away with Carrie. He leaves an I-O-U intent on paying his boss back as soon as he made it on his own feet.
He coaxes Carrie, who initially refuses to see him, out of the house by telling her that Drouet had injured himself and that he would take her to see him. On the train to Drouet, Hurstwood tells her that he loves her and that the wants to be with her, asking her to leave Drouet. Carrie is torn, she does love Hurstwood and so she decides to stay with him.
The first few days are blissful, but then reality catches up with them. Hurstwood's boss sends an officer from the bond company after Hurstwood to collect the money Hurstwood took. Hurstwood, who has already been looking for work, finds out quickly that word of him stealing the money has gotten around. Unable to find a job, Hurstwood and Carrie soon find themselves living in poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
.
When Carrie finds out that she is pregnant, the two think that things might take a turn for the better. But Hurstwood's wife shows up, wanting his signature and allowing her to sell the house they own jointly. Hurstwood wants his share of the proceeds but she says she will press charges against him for bigamy
Bigamy
In cultures that practice marital monogamy, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. Bigamy is a crime in most western countries, and when it occurs in this context often neither the first nor second spouse is aware of the other...
if he insists. Carrie is devastated. Hurstwood's wife refused to get a divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
and Hurstwood didn't know how to tell Carrie.
Hurstwood tells his wife, he will sign and won't ask for money if she'll grant him a divorce. She does but it is too late. Carrie loses the baby and decides to try her luck at acting. Hurstwood reads in the newspaper that his son is due in New York after his honeymoon and decides to see him at the docks. While he is there, Carrie leaves him (even though she still loves him) because she thinks he will use this opportunity to re-enter his family's life.
While Hurstwood drifts further and further into poverty and ends up living on the streets, Carrie's star in the theatre rises until she is a well-regarded actress on the cusp of fame.
Hurstwood, entirely starved, visits her at the theatre stage door, and she wants to take him back. She had found out from Drouet that Hurstwood had taken the money to start a life with her and blames herself for his predicament. She wants to make it up to Hurstwood but he won't take more than a quarter and disappears after toying with the gas burner in her dressing room.
Principal cast
- Laurence OlivierLaurence OlivierLaurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
- George Hurstwood - Jennifer Jones - Carrie Meeber
- Miriam HopkinsMiriam HopkinsEllen Miriam Hopkins was an American actress known for her versatility in a wide variety of roles.Hopkins was born in Savannah, Georgia, and raised in Bainbridge, a town in the state's southwest near the Alabama border...
- Julie Hurstwood - Eddie AlbertEddie AlbertEdward Albert Heimberger , known professionally as Eddie Albert, was an American actor and activist. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1954 for his performance in Roman Holiday, and in 1973 for The Heartbreak Kid.Other well-known screen roles of his include Bing...
- Charles Drouet - Ray TealRay TealRay Teal was an actor who appeared in more than 250 movies and some 90 television programs in his 37-year career. His longest running role was as Sheriff Roy Coffee on NBC's most successful western, Bonanza...
- Allen - Barry KelleyBarry KelleyBarry Kelley was an actor on Broadway in the 1930s and '40s and in movies during the 1940s, '50s, and '60s. The heavy-set actor created the role of Ike in Oklahoma! on Broadway....
- Slawson - William Reynolds - George Hurstwood, Jr.
- Mary MurphyMary Murphy (actress)Mary Murphy was an American film actress of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. She was born in Washington, D.C. and spent most of her early childhood in Cleveland, Ohio. Her father, James Victor Murphy, died in 1940. Shortly afterwards, she and her mother moved to Southern California...
- Jessica Hurstwood - Basil RuysdaelBasil RuysdaelBasil Ruysdael was an American film actor and opera singer.-Early life:He was born in Jersey City, New Jersey and started as a bass-baritone in the Metropolitan Opera Company from 1910 to 1918...
- Mr. Fitzgerald - Walter Baldwin - Carrie's father
- Dorothy AdamsDorothy AdamsDorothy Adams was an American character actress. She was married to character actor Byron Foulger from 1921-1970. She was the mother of soap opera actress Rachel Ames...
- Carrie's mother
Unrelated film of the same name
The movie should not be confused with Stephen KingStephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
's novel of the same name
Carrie (novel)
Carrie is American author Stephen King's first published novel, released in 1974. It revolves around the eponymous Carrie, a shy high-school girl, who uses her newly discovered telekinetic powers to exact revenge on those who tease her...
, nor with Brian De Palma
Brian De Palma
Brian Russell De Palma is an American film director and writer. In a career spanning over 40 years, he is probably best known for his suspense and crime thriller films, including such box office successes as the horror film Carrie, Dressed to Kill, Scarface, The Untouchables, and Mission:...
's 1976 film version Carrie, which is not a remake
Remake
A remake is a piece of media based primarily on an earlier work of the same medium.-Film:The term "remake" is generally used in reference to a movie which uses an earlier movie as the main source material, rather than in reference to a second, later movie based on the same source...
of Wyler's movie.