The Barretts of Wimpole Street
Encyclopedia
The Barretts of Wimpole Street is a 1934 American film depicting the real-life romance between poets Elizabeth Barrett
(Norma Shearer
) and Robert Browning
(Fredric March
), despite the opposition of her father Edward Moulton-Barrett (Charles Laughton
). The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture
. It was written by Ernest Vajda
, Claudine West and Donald Ogden Stewart
, from the play by Rudolf Besier. The film was directed by Sidney Franklin
.
The play that it was based upon, The Barretts of Wimpole Street
, was made famous by Katharine Cornell
.
In 1957, Sidney Franklin filmed a word-for-word, and nearly shot-for-shot Metrocolor
remake
, of The Barretts of Wimpole Street, in CinemaScope
. This version starred Jennifer Jones
as Elizabeth, John Gielgud
as her father, Bill Travers
as Robert Browning, and Keith Baxter
in his film debut.
Both of the films were released by MGM
.
) and his adult children. Upstairs, Elizabeth (Norma Shearer
), called "Ba," the oldest girl, consults with her doctor. She is recovering from an undisclosed illness and is extremely weak - standing and walking are painful - but the doctor advises that a full recovery is possible.
She has a vivacious and brilliant mind, her poetry is frequently published, she has a cute cocker spaniel named Flush, and she loves fooling around with her siblings, especially her youngest sister, Henrietta (Maureen O'Sullivan
). However, Edward - her father - is displeased by the rambunctiousness in Elizabeth's room. He wastes no opportunity to remind Elizabeth that she is very ill and possibly in danger of death. Perversely, he seems determined to keep her confined, as though he does not want to allow her to make a full recovery; he even goes so far as to defy the doctor's orders. When she complains that the porter
which she has been advised by the doctor to take is making her feel worse, the doctor takes her off it and puts her on hot milk instead, but Edward forces her to continue drinking porter. His tyranny over the boys is more sketchily shown, but clearly, they are just as terrified of him as the girls.
Meanwhile, Henrietta is interested in marrying her brothers' friend Surtees (Ralph Forbes
), who has a promising career in the military. But she discourages him. She cannot see any way around her insanely possessive father, who has forbidden any of his children - including his six boys - to marry.
Robert Browning (Fredric March
) arrives in a snowstorm, and immediately sweeps Ba off her feet. Her poetry has caused him to fall madly in love with her. When she expresses her fear that death may be at hand, he laughs it off and encourages her to seize the day. When he leaves her room, she rises from her settee for the first time and drags herself to the window so she can see him as he departs.
Months pass; Ba is able to walk slowly and to go downstairs to see Robert. Edward warns her not to overdo it and tells her it's just a temporary recovery. The doctors prescribe a trip to Italy for the winter. Edward is considering it, when chatty Cousin Bella (Marion Clayton) spills the beans that Ba's relationship with Robert isn't just a meeting of minds. Edward immediately vetoes the trip and leaves the house, saying he's got another idea that may help her get the fresh air and sunshine she needs without having to leave the country. While he's out, Robert and Ba meet in Kensington Gardens. He assures her that he will take her himself to Italy and that she should be ready by the end of the month. She says she'll think about it.
Edward's plan turns out to be a scheme to get Ba out of London, away from friends and activity (all for the good of her health, of course). He writes, bidding her tell her siblings that he's about to sell the house and move them all out to Surrey, six miles from the nearest railway station. Ba relays the message but doesn't tell Henrietta, who is now firmly committed to Surtees.
Unexpectedly, Edward returns early, catching Henrietta and Surtees modeling his dress uniform for Ba in her room. Brutally grasping her wrists, he forces Henrietta to confess her secret affair. Denouncing her as a whore, he makes her swear on the Bible never to see Surtees again and to lock herself in her room. Ba witnesses all of this. When Edward starts in on the blame game against her, for aiding and abetting Henrietta's illicit relationship, she reveals her true feelings, smashing the facade that has allowed her father to keep a dictatorial control over every minute of her waking life - she says that, far from obeying him out of love, she hates him, and denounces him as a tyrant. Unrepentant, her father walks out of the room, saying she can send for him when she has repented of her sins.
Ba conspires with her maid Wilson to let Robert know she will elope with him and Wilson is coming along. Henrietta, when set free, runs to Ba and exclaims that she will break her Bible oath, lie to her father if necessary, and run away with Surtees if she must.
Edward enters and dismisses Henrietta to speak to Ba alone. He opens up to her and confesses his real feelings and the motivation for his "dragon" behavior. Edward apparently thinks of himself as having a sex addiction, and although the language in this scene is extremely euphemistic, we can gather that he tyrannized his wife as well, and that some of the children may actually have been conceived through marital rape. Edward now suppresses all his desires, equating all sex with sin, and he wants his children never to fall prey to carnal passion. As he goes into detail about how he wants Ba all to himself, to have her confide in him all her thoughts and feelings, he embraces her and actually comes close to making a sexual pass. Horrified by his inhuman behavior, Ba repulses him, and cries out that he must leave her. He apologizes and leaves, saying he'll pray for her.
Ba summons Wilson, puts on her cloak and hat, takes her little dog Flush and departs. As the two sneak down the stairs, we hear Edward saying grace over dinner. A few moments later, we hear the hysterical laughter of Ba's sister Arabel (Katharine Alexander
). The boys rush upstairs, followed by Henrietta, to find that Ba has left one letter for each of the siblings and Edward. Edward reads his letter and staggers to the window. As if drunk, he insanely mutters "I'll have her dog," and bids his son Octavius take Flush to the vet and have her killed. Octavius cries out that it is unjust, and Henrietta triumphantly drives the final blow; "In her letter to me Ba writes that she has taken Flush with her..." The film closes with a brief scene of Elizabeth's and Robert's marriage, with Wilson as a witness and Flush waiting patiently by the church door.
Relationship to the Real Story of the Brownings' Courtship=
Although the names of the individuals involved are correct in the play and films, by definition motivations of individuals cannot be known. The numerous love letters that Robert and Elizabeth exchanged before their marriage, however, can give readers a great deal of information about this famous courtship in their own words. The correspondence was well underway before they ever met in person, he having admired the collection Poems that she published in 1844. He opens his first letter to her, 'I love your verses with all my heart, dear Miss Barrett,' and a little later in that first letter he says 'I do, as I say, love these books with all my heart--and I love you too' (January 10, 1845).
Several editions of these letters have been published, starting with one by their son in 1898. Flush: A Biography
. The version by Virginia Woolf
, from the perspective of Elizabeth's dog, is also an imaginative reconstruction, though more closely based on reading the letters. Both the play and film reflect popular concerns at the time, particularly Freudian analysis. Although Edward Barrett's behavior in disinheriting any of the children who married seems bizarre, there is no evidence of his being sexually aggressive toward any of the family members.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Elizabeth Barrett Browning was one of the most prominent poets of the Victorian era. Her poetry was widely popular in both England and the United States during her lifetime. A collection of her last poems was published by her husband, Robert Browning, shortly after her death.-Early life:Members...
(Norma Shearer
Norma Shearer
Edith Norma Shearer was a Canadian-American actress. Shearer was one of the most popular actresses in North America from the mid-1920s through the 1930s...
) and Robert Browning
Robert Browning
Robert Browning was an English poet and playwright whose mastery of dramatic verse, especially dramatic monologues, made him one of the foremost Victorian poets.-Early years:...
(Fredric March
Fredric March
Fredric March was an American stage and film actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1932 for Dr. Jekyll and Mr...
), despite the opposition of her father Edward Moulton-Barrett (Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton was an English-American stage and film actor, screenwriter, producer and director.-Early life and career:...
). The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
. It was written by Ernest Vajda
Ernest Vajda
Ernest Vajda was a Hungarian actor, playwright and novelist, but is more famous today for his screenplays. He co-wrote the screenplay for the film Smilin' Through , based on the hit play by Jane Cowl and Jane Murfin...
, Claudine West and Donald Ogden Stewart
Donald Ogden Stewart
Donald Ogden Stewart was an American author and screenwriter.-Life:His hometown was Columbus, Ohio. He graduated from Yale University, where he became a brother to the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity , in 1916 and was in the Naval Reserves in World War I.After the war he started to write and found...
, from the play by Rudolf Besier. The film was directed by Sidney Franklin
Sidney Franklin (director)
Sidney Franklin was an American film director and producer. His brother Chester Franklin also became a director during the silent film era best known for helming the early Technicolor film Toll of the Sea....
.
The play that it was based upon, The Barretts of Wimpole Street
The Barretts of Wimpole Street
The Barretts of Wimpole Street is a 1934 American film depicting the real-life romance between poets Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning , despite the opposition of her father Edward Moulton-Barrett . The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture...
, was made famous by Katharine Cornell
Katharine Cornell
Katharine Cornell was an American stage actress, writer, theater owner and producer. She was born to American parents and raised in Buffalo, New York.Cornell is known as the greatest American stage actress of the 20th century...
.
In 1957, Sidney Franklin filmed a word-for-word, and nearly shot-for-shot Metrocolor
Metrocolor
Metrocolor is the trade name used by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for films processed at their laboratory. Virtually all of these films were actually shot on Kodak's Eastmancolor film.-External links:* at Internet Movie Database...
remake
The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1957 film)
The Barretts of Wimpole Street is a 1957 film originating from the United Kingdom, and was a re-make of the earlier 1934 version by the same director, Sidney Franklin. Both films are based on the play The Barretts of Wimpole Street by Rudolf Besier...
, of The Barretts of Wimpole Street, in CinemaScope
CinemaScope
CinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically...
. This version starred Jennifer Jones
Jennifer Jones
Phylis Lee Isley , better known by her stage name Jennifer Jones, was an American actress. A five-time Academy Award nominee, Jones won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in The Song of Bernadette .-Early life:Jones was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the daughter of Flora Mae and...
as Elizabeth, John Gielgud
John Gielgud
Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...
as her father, Bill Travers
Bill Travers
William Lindon-Travers was an English actor, screenwriter, director and an animal rights activist, known professionally as Bill Travers.-Life and career:...
as Robert Browning, and Keith Baxter
Keith Baxter (actor)
Keith Baxter is a Welsh theatre, film and television actor.- Early years & RADA :Born in Newport, Wales in 1933. Baxter was educated at Newport High School and Barry Grammar School, Baxter studied at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, during which period he shared a flat with classmate Alan...
in his film debut.
Both of the films were released by MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
.
Summary
The bulk of the story takes place in the lavish home of Edward Barrett (Charles LaughtonCharles Laughton
Charles Laughton was an English-American stage and film actor, screenwriter, producer and director.-Early life and career:...
) and his adult children. Upstairs, Elizabeth (Norma Shearer
Norma Shearer
Edith Norma Shearer was a Canadian-American actress. Shearer was one of the most popular actresses in North America from the mid-1920s through the 1930s...
), called "Ba," the oldest girl, consults with her doctor. She is recovering from an undisclosed illness and is extremely weak - standing and walking are painful - but the doctor advises that a full recovery is possible.
She has a vivacious and brilliant mind, her poetry is frequently published, she has a cute cocker spaniel named Flush, and she loves fooling around with her siblings, especially her youngest sister, Henrietta (Maureen O'Sullivan
Maureen O'Sullivan
Maureen Paula O’Sullivan was an Irish actress.-Early life:O'Sullivan was born in Boyle, County Roscommon, Ireland, the daughter of Roman Catholic parents Mary Lovatt and Charles Joseph O'Sullivan, an officer in The Connaught Rangers who served in The Great War...
). However, Edward - her father - is displeased by the rambunctiousness in Elizabeth's room. He wastes no opportunity to remind Elizabeth that she is very ill and possibly in danger of death. Perversely, he seems determined to keep her confined, as though he does not want to allow her to make a full recovery; he even goes so far as to defy the doctor's orders. When she complains that the porter
Porter (beer)
Porter is a dark-coloured style of beer. The history and development of stout and porter are intertwined. The name was first used in the 18th century from its popularity with the street and river porters of London. It is generally brewed with dark malts...
which she has been advised by the doctor to take is making her feel worse, the doctor takes her off it and puts her on hot milk instead, but Edward forces her to continue drinking porter. His tyranny over the boys is more sketchily shown, but clearly, they are just as terrified of him as the girls.
Meanwhile, Henrietta is interested in marrying her brothers' friend Surtees (Ralph Forbes
Ralph Forbes
rightRalph Forbes was an English actor in the American cinema. He was also a noted stage actor....
), who has a promising career in the military. But she discourages him. She cannot see any way around her insanely possessive father, who has forbidden any of his children - including his six boys - to marry.
Robert Browning (Fredric March
Fredric March
Fredric March was an American stage and film actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1932 for Dr. Jekyll and Mr...
) arrives in a snowstorm, and immediately sweeps Ba off her feet. Her poetry has caused him to fall madly in love with her. When she expresses her fear that death may be at hand, he laughs it off and encourages her to seize the day. When he leaves her room, she rises from her settee for the first time and drags herself to the window so she can see him as he departs.
Months pass; Ba is able to walk slowly and to go downstairs to see Robert. Edward warns her not to overdo it and tells her it's just a temporary recovery. The doctors prescribe a trip to Italy for the winter. Edward is considering it, when chatty Cousin Bella (Marion Clayton) spills the beans that Ba's relationship with Robert isn't just a meeting of minds. Edward immediately vetoes the trip and leaves the house, saying he's got another idea that may help her get the fresh air and sunshine she needs without having to leave the country. While he's out, Robert and Ba meet in Kensington Gardens. He assures her that he will take her himself to Italy and that she should be ready by the end of the month. She says she'll think about it.
Edward's plan turns out to be a scheme to get Ba out of London, away from friends and activity (all for the good of her health, of course). He writes, bidding her tell her siblings that he's about to sell the house and move them all out to Surrey, six miles from the nearest railway station. Ba relays the message but doesn't tell Henrietta, who is now firmly committed to Surtees.
Unexpectedly, Edward returns early, catching Henrietta and Surtees modeling his dress uniform for Ba in her room. Brutally grasping her wrists, he forces Henrietta to confess her secret affair. Denouncing her as a whore, he makes her swear on the Bible never to see Surtees again and to lock herself in her room. Ba witnesses all of this. When Edward starts in on the blame game against her, for aiding and abetting Henrietta's illicit relationship, she reveals her true feelings, smashing the facade that has allowed her father to keep a dictatorial control over every minute of her waking life - she says that, far from obeying him out of love, she hates him, and denounces him as a tyrant. Unrepentant, her father walks out of the room, saying she can send for him when she has repented of her sins.
Ba conspires with her maid Wilson to let Robert know she will elope with him and Wilson is coming along. Henrietta, when set free, runs to Ba and exclaims that she will break her Bible oath, lie to her father if necessary, and run away with Surtees if she must.
Edward enters and dismisses Henrietta to speak to Ba alone. He opens up to her and confesses his real feelings and the motivation for his "dragon" behavior. Edward apparently thinks of himself as having a sex addiction, and although the language in this scene is extremely euphemistic, we can gather that he tyrannized his wife as well, and that some of the children may actually have been conceived through marital rape. Edward now suppresses all his desires, equating all sex with sin, and he wants his children never to fall prey to carnal passion. As he goes into detail about how he wants Ba all to himself, to have her confide in him all her thoughts and feelings, he embraces her and actually comes close to making a sexual pass. Horrified by his inhuman behavior, Ba repulses him, and cries out that he must leave her. He apologizes and leaves, saying he'll pray for her.
Ba summons Wilson, puts on her cloak and hat, takes her little dog Flush and departs. As the two sneak down the stairs, we hear Edward saying grace over dinner. A few moments later, we hear the hysterical laughter of Ba's sister Arabel (Katharine Alexander
Katharine Alexander
Katharine Alexander was an American actress. She appeared in 44 films between 1930 and 1951.She was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas and died in Tryon, North Carolina. She was one eighth Cherokee Indian...
). The boys rush upstairs, followed by Henrietta, to find that Ba has left one letter for each of the siblings and Edward. Edward reads his letter and staggers to the window. As if drunk, he insanely mutters "I'll have her dog," and bids his son Octavius take Flush to the vet and have her killed. Octavius cries out that it is unjust, and Henrietta triumphantly drives the final blow; "In her letter to me Ba writes that she has taken Flush with her..." The film closes with a brief scene of Elizabeth's and Robert's marriage, with Wilson as a witness and Flush waiting patiently by the church door.
Relationship to the Real Story of the Brownings' Courtship=
Although the names of the individuals involved are correct in the play and films, by definition motivations of individuals cannot be known. The numerous love letters that Robert and Elizabeth exchanged before their marriage, however, can give readers a great deal of information about this famous courtship in their own words. The correspondence was well underway before they ever met in person, he having admired the collection Poems that she published in 1844. He opens his first letter to her, 'I love your verses with all my heart, dear Miss Barrett,' and a little later in that first letter he says 'I do, as I say, love these books with all my heart--and I love you too' (January 10, 1845).
Several editions of these letters have been published, starting with one by their son in 1898. Flush: A Biography
Flush: A Biography
Flush: A Biography, an imaginative biography of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's cocker spaniel, is a cross-genre blend of fiction and nonfiction by Virginia Woolf published in 1933 and reprinted in 2005 by Persephone Books...
. The version by Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolf
Adeline Virginia Woolf was an English author, essayist, publisher, and writer of short stories, regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century....
, from the perspective of Elizabeth's dog, is also an imaginative reconstruction, though more closely based on reading the letters. Both the play and film reflect popular concerns at the time, particularly Freudian analysis. Although Edward Barrett's behavior in disinheriting any of the children who married seems bizarre, there is no evidence of his being sexually aggressive toward any of the family members.
Cast
- Norma ShearerNorma ShearerEdith Norma Shearer was a Canadian-American actress. Shearer was one of the most popular actresses in North America from the mid-1920s through the 1930s...
as Elizabeth Barrett - Fredric MarchFredric MarchFredric March was an American stage and film actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1932 for Dr. Jekyll and Mr...
as Robert Browning - Charles LaughtonCharles LaughtonCharles Laughton was an English-American stage and film actor, screenwriter, producer and director.-Early life and career:...
as Edward Moulton-Barrett - Maureen O'SullivanMaureen O'SullivanMaureen Paula O’Sullivan was an Irish actress.-Early life:O'Sullivan was born in Boyle, County Roscommon, Ireland, the daughter of Roman Catholic parents Mary Lovatt and Charles Joseph O'Sullivan, an officer in The Connaught Rangers who served in The Great War...
as Henrietta Barrett - Katharine AlexanderKatharine AlexanderKatharine Alexander was an American actress. She appeared in 44 films between 1930 and 1951.She was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas and died in Tryon, North Carolina. She was one eighth Cherokee Indian...
as Arabel Barrett - Ralph ForbesRalph ForbesrightRalph Forbes was an English actor in the American cinema. He was also a noted stage actor....
as Captain Surtees Cook - Marion Clayton as Bella Hedley
- Ian WolfeIan WolfeIan Wolfe was an American actor whose films date from 1934 to 1990. Until 1934, he worked as a theatre actor. Wolfe mostly found work as a character actor, appearing in over 270 films...
as Harry Bevan - Ferdinand Munier as Dr Chambers
- Una O'ConnorUna O'ConnorUna O'Connor was an Irish actress who worked extensively in theatre before becoming a notable character actress in film.-Life and work:...
as Wilson - Leo G. CarrollLeo G. CarrollLeo Gratten Carroll was an English-born actor. He was best known for his roles in several Hitchcock films and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Topper.-Early life:...
as Dr Waterlow