Did you know The Children's Hour was a remake? The original was titled These Three, and due to the Production Code, Lillian Hellman's plot had to be altered. In 1936, lesbianism was a no-no, so instead, one woman is accused of having an affair with her friend's fiancé. That was scandal enough!
Merle Oberon and Miriam Hopkins run a girls' boarding school and live in separate rooms upstairs. Merle is engaged to Joel McCrea, and he frequently comes over for visits. When one disgruntled pupil, Bonita Granville, gets angry at Miriam, she lies and spreads it around that she saw Joel disappear into the wrong bedroom one night. It's vicious and mean-spirited, and it shows how awful some children can be. While both film adaptations are very good, it's hard for me to watch them because Bonita's character is so awful. Children can be careless creatures without awareness for the damage they do. Those who believe kids to be sweet, innocent cherubs haven't seen this movie.
A fun fact about the film: In the remake, Miriam Hopkins played her own aunt! Shirley MacLaine took her part, and Miriam played the self-centered aunt. It was fun to see her come out of the woodworks to act in the remake, and she was joined by another silver screen veteran: Fay Bainter.
Merle Oberon and Miriam Hopkins run a girls' boarding school and live in separate rooms upstairs. Merle is engaged to Joel McCrea, and he frequently comes over for visits. When one disgruntled pupil, Bonita Granville, gets angry at Miriam, she lies and spreads it around that she saw Joel disappear into the wrong bedroom one night. It's vicious and mean-spirited, and it shows how awful some children can be. While both film adaptations are very good, it's hard for me to watch them because Bonita's character is so awful. Children can be careless creatures without awareness for the damage they do. Those who believe kids to be sweet, innocent cherubs haven't seen this movie.
A fun fact about the film: In the remake, Miriam Hopkins played her own aunt! Shirley MacLaine took her part, and Miriam played the self-centered aunt. It was fun to see her come out of the woodworks to act in the remake, and she was joined by another silver screen veteran: Fay Bainter.