Major Barbara (1941 film)
Encyclopedia
Major Barbara is a 1941
British
film
starring Wendy Hiller
and Rex Harrison
. The film was produced
and directed
by Gabriel Pascal
and edited by David Lean
. It was adapted for the screen by Marjorie Deans and Anatole de Grunwald
, based on the 1905 play Major Barbara by George Bernard Shaw
. It was both a critical and financial success.
, Barbara Undershaft (Hiller), an idealistic major in the Salvation Army
, is deeply troubled by the fact that her father, Andrew Undershaft (Robert Morley
), is a wealthy weapons manufacturer. Meanwhile, Andrew is looking for an heir for his industrial empire, in particular a foundling like himself.
bombing of 1941. During air raids, the crew and cast had to repeatedly dodge into bomb shelters. The film's producer-director, Pascal, never stopped the production and the film was completed on schedule.
1941 in film
The year 1941 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Citizen Kane, consistently rated as one of the greatest films of all time, was released in 1941.-Top grossing films :-Academy Awards:...
British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
starring Wendy Hiller
Wendy Hiller
Dame Wendy Margaret Hiller DBE was an Academy Award-winning English film and stage actress, who enjoyed a varied acting career that spanned nearly sixty years. The writer Joel Hirschorn, in his 1984 compilation Rating the Movie Stars, described her as "a no-nonsense actress who literally took...
and Rex Harrison
Rex Harrison
Sir Reginald Carey “Rex” Harrison was an English actor of stage and screen. Harrison won an Academy Award and two Tony Awards.-Youth and stage career:...
. The film was produced
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
and directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by Gabriel Pascal
Gabriel Pascal
Gabriel Pascal was a Hungarian film producer and director.Born 1894 in Arad, Austria-Hungary , Pascal was the first film producer to bring the plays of George Bernard Shaw successfully to the screen. His most famous production was Pygmalion, for which Pascal himself received an Academy Award...
and edited by David Lean
David Lean
Sir David Lean CBE was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor best remembered for big-screen epics such as The Bridge on the River Kwai , Lawrence of Arabia ,...
. It was adapted for the screen by Marjorie Deans and Anatole de Grunwald
Anatole de Grunwald
Anatole "Tolly" de Grunwald was a British film producer and screenwriter.Anatole de Grunwald was born in Petrograd , Russia, the son of a diplomat in the service of Tsar Nicholas II. He was seven years old when his father was forced to flee with his family to England during the 1917 Bolshevik...
, based on the 1905 play Major Barbara by George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
. It was both a critical and financial success.
Plot
In this social satireSatire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
, Barbara Undershaft (Hiller), an idealistic major in the Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
, is deeply troubled by the fact that her father, Andrew Undershaft (Robert Morley
Robert Morley
Robert Adolph Wilton Morley, CBE was an English actor who, often in supporting roles, was usually cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment...
), is a wealthy weapons manufacturer. Meanwhile, Andrew is looking for an heir for his industrial empire, in particular a foundling like himself.
Cast
- Wendy HillerWendy HillerDame Wendy Margaret Hiller DBE was an Academy Award-winning English film and stage actress, who enjoyed a varied acting career that spanned nearly sixty years. The writer Joel Hirschorn, in his 1984 compilation Rating the Movie Stars, described her as "a no-nonsense actress who literally took...
as Major Barbara Undershaft - Rex HarrisonRex HarrisonSir Reginald Carey “Rex” Harrison was an English actor of stage and screen. Harrison won an Academy Award and two Tony Awards.-Youth and stage career:...
as Adolphus Cusins - Robert MorleyRobert MorleyRobert Adolph Wilton Morley, CBE was an English actor who, often in supporting roles, was usually cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment...
as Andrew Undershaft - Robert NewtonRobert NewtonRobert Newton was an English stage and film actor. Along with Errol Flynn, Newton was one of the most popular actors among the male juvenile audience of the 1940s and early 1950s, especially with British boys...
as Bill Walker - Sybil ThorndikeSybil ThorndikeDame Agnes Sybil Thorndike CH DBE was a British actress.-Early life:She was born in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire to Arthur Thorndike and Agnes Macdonald. Her father was a Canon of Rochester Cathedral...
as The General - Emlyn WilliamsEmlyn WilliamsGeorge Emlyn Williams, CBE , known as Emlyn Williams, was a Welsh dramatist and actor.-Biography:He was born into a Welsh-speaking, working class family in Mostyn, Flintshire....
as Snobby Price - Stanley HollowayStanley HollowayStanley Augustus Holloway, OBE was an English stage and film actor, comedian, singer, poet and monologist. He was famous for his comic and character roles on stage and screen, especially that of Alfred P. Doolittle in My Fair Lady...
as Policeman - Donald CalthropDonald CalthropDonald Calthrop was an English stage and film actor. He starred as the title character in the hit musical The Boy in 1917. He then appeared in 63 films between 1916 and 1940, including five films directed by Alfred Hitchcock.He was born in London and died in Eton from a heart attack.He was the...
as Peter Shirley - Marie LohrMarie LohrMarie Lohr was an Australian film and stage actress.-Biography:Marie Löhr was born in Sydney to Lewis J. Löhr, treasurer of the Melbourne opera house, and his wife, the English actress Kate Bishop...
as Lady Britomart - Marie AultMarie AultMarie Ault was a British actress.Born at Wigan, Lancashire, she was a star in many British films of the silent era but is most remembered for her role as Daisy Bunting's mother in The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog directed by Alfred Hitchcock.She also had bit parts in films such as Jamaica...
as Rummy Mitchens - Penelope Dudley-Ward as Sarah Undershaft
- Walter HuddWalter HuddWalter Hudd was a British actor.According to the Filmgoer's Companion by Leslie Halliwell, in 1936 Hudd was cast as T.E...
as Stephen Undershaft - David TreeDavid TreeDavid Tree was an English stage and screen actor from a distinguished theatrical family whose career in the 1930s included roles in numerous stage presentations as well as in thirteen films produced between 1937 and 1941, among which were 1939's Goodbye Mr...
as Charles Lomax - Deborah KerrDeborah KerrDeborah Kerr, CBE was a Scottish film and television actress from Glasgow. She won the Sarah Siddons Award for her Chicago performance as Laura Reynolds in Tea and Sympathy, a role which she originated on Broadway, a Golden Globe Award for the motion picture The King and I, and was a three-time...
as Jenny Hill
Production
Major Barbara was filmed in London during The BlitzThe Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
bombing of 1941. During air raids, the crew and cast had to repeatedly dodge into bomb shelters. The film's producer-director, Pascal, never stopped the production and the film was completed on schedule.