The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934) User Reviews

Embracing Life: The Story of Elisabeth Barrett

[nycritic · 8/10 · 25 August 2005]

Although 1934 was the year of Claudette Colbert, Bette Davis, and IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT, MGM successfully translated this heavy-handed stage drama into a hit. Norma Shearer plays poet Elisabeth Barrett, who is virtually s shut-in, but has a will to live and in one touching scene, she looks through the window in her room to the outside, a flurry of emotions just shifting through her marble face, hinting of much inner pain.

That she later becomes the object of the affections of writer Robert Browning (Fredric March) sparks the already over-protectiveness of her father Edward Moulton Barrett into showing his true colors is part of the drama; he plans on keeping her home, and one look at his fierce eyes reveal a lot more than the Studio and the censors were allowing to actively display on camera except for one scene, in which he confronts Elisabeth near the end. One only has to watch at both actors' body language to know that they understood their characters: he is a control-freak who has sublimated designs on his own daughter and she knows it and is horrified.

If it's a little too tied to its flowery origins on the stage, this is permissible, because it does make for entertaining viewing and despite some of the performances showing their age, it doesn't tire. If the Academy had introduced the Supporting Actor/Actress category Una O'Connor would have won by default, giving a strong performance as Elisabeth's maid and confidant. One of the strong productions of 1934 and one of Norma Shearer's most textured performances as a woman of indomitable will who refuses to be tied down, not just to a chair, but to her own life at home under her father's unhealthy shadow.

A Difficult Romance

[Paul-250 · 8/10 · 3 May 1999]

The beautiful Canadian actress Norma Shearer starred in this tense and unusual love story based on the true-life romance of Elizabeth Barrett and the poet Robert Browning. Charles Laughton's performance as her possessive and pathologically jealous father was one of the finest in his outstanding career. Although incest was the film's unspoken subtext, contemporary sensitivities prevented it from being spelt-out. That was not to deter Laughton who famously remarked that though they could prevent him from speaking of it, they could not censor the glint in his eye! An outstanding film.

Norma Schearer shines as Elizabeth Barrett

[sdave7596 · 7/10 · 1 December 2008]

"The Baretts of Wimpole Street" released in 1934, has the stamp of MGM's great production values. Norma Schearer wonderfully plays Elizabeth Barrett, the invalid poet. She is overly protected by her father, brilliantly played by Charles Laughton. We later learn Laughton is really a tyrant of a man who is incapable of really loving anyone or being loved. Elizabeth meets the fellow poet Robert Browning (Frederic March), and they fall in love. Maureen O'Sullivan give one of her finest performances as Elizabeth's sister, who also falls in love with a Captain. Her father finds out and forbids her to see him again, in a cruel and heartbreaking scene where he makes her swear on a bible. The interplay between Laughton and O'Sullivan and Schearer is fascinating, as the family dynamics are brought to the foreground. "The Barretts of Wimpole Street" was originally a stage play, but translates just fine to the screen. The supporting case is top notch, but this is Norma Schearer's show. It is difficult to take your eyes off her. Laughton is great, as is O'Sullivan. Frederic March at times seems a bit off as Robert Browning, although he is very handsome and the chemistry between he and Schearer is credible. It is a shame that Norma Schearer left the movies by the 1940's. But we are fortunate that this gifted actress left such an amazing legacy of films - "The Barrets of Wimpole Street" is certainly one of them.

Simply Amazing

[EightyProof45 · 14 January 2004]

The Barretts of Wimpole Street is one of the finest play-to-film adaptations of the 1930s. Although its script, photography, and direction are all first-rate, it is still the grand performances that make this film appealing even today. The above-the-title trio had all won Academy Awards in the two or three years prior, and demonstrate their supreme thespian abilities in their roles. Towering above all is Norma Shearer, as bedridden invalid Elizabeth "Ba" Barrett. Although she speaks the lines in that sophisticated voice of hers, the scenes that strike the viewer greatest are ironically those without dialog at all. Take for example the scene immediately following her first visit with Browning. After he leaves her bedroom, the invalid struggles to her feet, and in one take, tries with all her heart to get over to the window so she can see him once more, leaving. In another scene, set a few months later, she is informed that Mr. Browning has come to visit her. Again, overcoming her bedridden state, she not only gets up, but also decides to go to see him downstairs instead of having him come up. Her eyes and hands express so much, and as she descends (without much dialog), her whole self-sense seem to elevate. Only a short while later, however, her domineering father orders her back upstairs. He wishes to carry her, but she insists on walking. In a magnificent William Daniels close-up, the camera stays on her face as her father tells her off camera that she will not succeed. Shearer's genius here lies in the change of facial expressions, as her reactions to her father's criticisms finally take their toll and she collapses. Quite simply, its another of Norma Shearer's brilliant characterizations, and one of the most different roles the actress ever played. March, second-billed as Browning, is a little histrionic. He gave a better performance opposite Shearer in 1932's Smilin' Through, but his performance here does not detract from the film, and his forcefulness seems strangely potent at times. As the glowering father, Laughton is amazing. The infamous "gleam" in his eye is there in many scenes, and when he carries his daughter up the stairs, its almost perverted (albeit brilliant). Maureen O'Sullavan is phenomenal as Elizabeth's young-and-in-love, rebellious sister, and Una O'Connor is in great form as her graceful maid.

A feast for fine acting, The Barretts of Wimpole Street is one of the most appealing of all costume dramas of Hollywood's golden age. It still stands (as it shall for many years to come) as a lasting tribute to two larger-than-life literary icons.

****point of interest****in 1957, Barretts was admirably remade by the same director (Sidney Franklin) at M-G-M (as was this version). Although not nearly as good as the original, fine performances from Jennifer Jones (Elizabeth) and John Gielgud (Papa Barrett) again captured on film Rudolph Besier's classic roles.

The earlier and better of the two films

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 14 July 2006]

This film was later remade by the same director twenty-three years later using nearly the same script. In fact, they are so similar that I definitely would NOT recommend you watch both--it would be way too repetitive. So, instead, I think you should watch this one. My biggest reason is I rarely like remakes unless there was something wrong with the original film and I know it takes little energy or talent to just remake an idea and script that already exist. Plus, in a case like this where two of the stars do such a great job compared to those in the remake (Charles Laughton as the over-controlling patriarch of the family instead of John Gielgud, and Frederic March as the love-struck Robert Browning instead of the totally unknown Bill Travers in the remake). I think that Jennifer Jones might have done a marginally better job than Norma Shearer in the original, but it's awfully close to tell. There have also been two made for TV versions, though I have never seen them and unless the story is much different, I have no desire to see them.

Once again, why see a re-tread when the original is a very, very good film.

Laughton is brilliant, but film could have used more of Robert and Elizabeth's relationship

[gbill-74877 · 7/10 · 1 December 2016]

The love story between Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett is legendary, and her 'Sonnets from the Portuguese' contains some of the beautiful love poetry ever written. They were both already established poets when they began corresponding, but she was an invalid, and had doubts and insecurities that he helped overcome with steady, persistent, genuine love. What I had forgotten about their story was how poorly her father behaved towards her and the rest of his children, and this movie really shows us that, in what appears to be a pretty accurate way.

Charles Laughton is brilliant as the overbearing, controlling, overprotective, borderline incestuous Mr. Barrett, father of 12, whose wife had passed away, and whose own frustrations in love had led him to forbid his children to marry. He's hard to watch at times, but certainly gives the best performance, and the movie is probably more about his inability to let his children go – indeed, he disinherited each one who married – than it is about the extraordinary love between Robert and Elizabeth, though Frederic March and Norma Shearer do have some tender scenes. I enjoyed watching it, but I suppose that's the reason I didn't give a higher rating. How much better would it have been had they incorporated even more of their relationship, and some of their letters and poetry. The movie would be remade 23 years later by the same director, Sidney Franklin, and would be a great choice to be remade (with script changes) again today.

Fine ensemble acting...Shearer at her best...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 23 October 2007]

THE BARRETTS OF WIMPOLE STREET was remade in the '60s with Jennifer Jones as Elizabeth Barrett Browning, but most movie fans prefer this earlier version of the tale starring NORMA SHEARER as the ailing poetess, FREDRIC MARCH as her lover and CHARLES LAUGHTON as the control freak of a father. MGM gave it lavish production values and Sidney Franklin's direction is first rate. He would later direct the remake.

MAUREEN O'SULLIVAN is charming as Elizabeth's spirited sister in love with a soldier, RALPH FORBES. Performance-wise, it's probably Shearer's best screen performance, ranking with her MARIE ANTOINETTE as the best work of her career. Her quiet resignation to living under the firm domination of her father is well realized, even in the earliest scenes.

Trivia note: I don't understand why the decision was made to have UNA O'CONNOR floating into the room as though she was on a track and appears not to be walking at all. It does nothing more than create an artificial effect, especially since O'Connor's performance is more understated than usual.

The character-driven story is heavy with stage dialog, moves leisurely and is not likely to find much appeal with today's film-goers. FREDRIC MARCH, who makes his entrance into the story after the first half-hour, is a lively presence but almost overdoes the youthful eagerness in his first scene with Shearer. His boundless energy seems a bit forced.

CHARLES LAUGHTON is convincingly devious as the stern parent but looks a bit too young beneath the whiskers and age make-up. Shearer seldom looks as sick as she's supposed to be and is given some radiant close-ups, as if to prove that MGM's make-up department was as efficient as ever.

Summing up: Never one of my favorite stories--or films--but worth watching for the performances of an excellent cast.

True Story Well Told

[Ron Oliver · 10/10 · 15 July 2005]

Love brings both ecstasy and turmoil to the troubled home of THE BARRETTS OF WIMPOLE STREET.

With its usual opulent style, MGM relates the story of the romance between two of England's most celebrated poets of the 19th Century, Elizabeth Barrett & Robert Browning. Not at all stuffy, the film lets the especially strong performances and the (mostly) true facts of the case propel the drama. It's inspiring to see what adversities real people have had to overcome to still achieve happiness and contribute to society.

Three vivid performances dominate the film. As Elizabeth, Norma Shearer is radiant, conveying the emotions of a woman grasping at the chance for sudden, unbelievable love, while still having to fight off paternal attentions which have become sickly & diseased. Fredric March as Browning fairly explodes on the screen, full of energy and vitality, anxious to express his honest adoration for Shearer, come what may. His great enthusiasm is played with effective contrast as compared to Shearer's enforced languor.

But stealing his every scene is Charles Laughton, fascinatingly perverse as Mr. Barrett, whose warped personality & twisted sensual ego forces him to demand complete, unswerving obedience from his terrified offspring. His eyes hint at passions best left undisturbed and even in his final screen moments he's utterly unrepentant, still plotting pain to punish others.

An excellent supporting cast adds immensely to the film: lovely Maureen O'Sullivan as Elizabeth's sister Henrietta, desperate for freedom from her awful home; affable Ralph Forbes, one of the most under-appreciated actors of the era, as her earnest suitor; birdlike Una O'Connor as Shearer's loyal maid; genial Ferdinand Munier & blunt Leo G. Carroll as Shearer's supportive doctors; flighty Marion Clayton as Laughton's silly niece; and Ian Wolfe as her foppish suitor.

The other Barrett siblings are portrayed by Katharine Alexander (Arabel), Vernon Downing (Octavius), Neville Clark (Charles), Matthew Smith (George), Robert Carleton (Alfred), Allan Conrad (Henry) & Peter Hobbes (Septimus).

************************

Elizabeth Barrett (1806-1861), the eldest of ten children, lived a very happy childhood by all accounts, free to write and pursue her intellectual interests. But after the death of her mother, Mary, and a serious spinal injury resulting from a fall, her life began to darken. The death by drowning of her brother, Edward, brought on an emotional reaction so severe that she became a virtual recluse. Financial problems eventually brought her family to reside at 50 Wimpole Street, London, in 1838. She continued to write and publish poetry, some of which was very highly acclaimed and brought her to the attention of the poet Robert Browning (1812-1889), six years her junior. Highly emotional, his first telegram to her in January of 1845 went straight to the point: "I love your verses with all of my heart, dear Miss Barrett. I do, as I say, love these books with all my heart--and I love you too." He visited her and they fell passionately in love, finally marrying on September 12, 1846. Elizabeth continued living at her father's home for another week before escaping to Florence, Italy, with Browning. (Her father, who really was a wicked old sinner, never forgave her. He finally died in 1856.) Elizabeth's health improved in Italy, and she gave birth to her only child, Robert Wiedmann Browning, in 1849. Her love poems to her husband were published in 1850. Entitled Sonnets from the Portuguese, they became her most famous work. Elizabeth's last years were spent busily involved in the anti-slavery movement, spiritualism & Italian politics. Her health relapsed and she died in her husband's arms in 1861.

A very passionate romance!

[kevvportela · 7/10 · 1 April 2021]

Sidney Franklin joins the 3 Oscar winners in this Romantic Drama.

The story is told of a young poet (Norma Shearer) who has a serious health problem which prevents her from having a normal life, this young woman falls in love with Mr. Browning (Fredric March) another poet which corresponds to the young woman, but What is the impediment? Her father (Charles Laugthon), a frivolous, cruel and manipulative man who imposes her interests over the wishes of his children.

It is a story full of drama, very well done. The script has no distractions and is enhanced every time.

A good costume and general production, setting the 1800s very well.

The impeccable performances, brought together 3 titans who did a great performance.

Charles Laughton made us hate him, Fredric March believe in love, Maureen O'Sullivan who I did not mention at the beginning but who achieves a tremendous freshness with a very strong character despite being secondary, and finally we have Norma Shearer who earned her fourth Oscar nomination with this role that most evolved and managed to make us empathize.

The image of an abusive Dad.

[alexandra-25 · 10/10 · 28 August 2008]

The Barrets Of Wimpole Street is a film based on rumours of poet Elizabeth Barrett's relationship with her father who allegedly abused her. As such the film makes for an interesting 'gossip column' type of story found in celebrity magazines. This of course does not trivialise the serious nature of abuse.

What is most interesting in The Barretts Of Wimpole Street is that the nature of abuse -which takes on an incestuous form, - and the fact that it is conveyed through the image of the great Charles Laughton who is far from abundant in classic film star good looks. Therefore, in this instance abusive parents are depicted with a certain image which lacks favourable features. If a more glamorous cinema idol had played the part of Edward Moulton-Browing, perceptions of abuse could become distorted even though looks are irrelevant to abusive behaviour.

It is also ironic that the abused Elizabeth Barrett's only opportunity to escape (at least it would appear that way) is via another controlling man. The difference is that Robert Browning wants (not totally motivated by altruistic reasons because he needs to fulfil his own emotional needs) the best for Elizabeth, whereas her completely selfish father only wants what's best for himself.

The acting in this version of the Barretts Of Wimpole Street is of the highest calibre. This is especially for the three leads. While Laughton conveys his character Edward Moulton-Barret's abuse with a malicious menace that is extremely frightening, Norma Sheara is amazing as the abused Elizabeth Barret. Her face conveys such helplessness of a woman trapped, not only by her physical condition and environment, but by the psychological anguish of a woman torn between her abusive father and the importance of her own well being. Indeed Edward Moulton-Barrett's children have learnt to receive their Father's approval via abuse.

In addition to conveying her anguish, Shearer illustrates that she is adept at illustrating the poetic Elizabeth when she interacts with Fredric March through her delivery of lines. This is reciprocated by March's efforts who is equally poetic in his highly animated delivery of lines.

The supporting cast all give tremendous performances, especially that of Maureen O'Sullivan. She plays the naive, younger sister Henrietta to her stolid older sibling Elizabeth. Comic relief comes from Una O'Conner as Elizabeth's loyal maid Wilson, and Marion Clayton Anderson as the scatty cousin Bella. Also good is canine acting from Flush the dog, who slinks into his basket right on cue at the mere sight of Charles Laughton's character Edward Moulton-Barrett.

This film adaptation of The Barrets Of Wimpole Street is cleverly adapted from the stage, and is one of the best of its era.

Lovers and Sickies

[evanston_dad · 7/10 · 1 February 2018]

A handsome costume drama given the famous MGM polish that stars Norma Shearer as sickly Elizabeth Barrett and Fredric March as famous poet Robert Browning whose wooing of Elizabeth gets her out of her sick bed and out from under the thumb of her domineering father (Charles Laughton).

This is a pretty static film; almost the entire thing takes place in one room. But it's got good actors who know how to sell this kind of inconsequential romantic fluff, and Shearer in particular makes any movie more interesting just by being on the screen. She was one of the best actresses of the early sound period in my opinion, and though she's never mentioned with the likes of Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn, Marlon Brando, and others who revolutionized screen acting, I think she deserves to be in her own way. She brought a naturalistic style to her acting that bridged the gap between the exaggerated mannerisms of the silents and the method acting that would hit the screen many years later.

Margaret O'Sullivan is also a lot of fun as Shearer's feisty sister.

"The Barretts of Wimpole Street" received two Academy Award nominations in 1934: Outstanding Production and Best Actress for Shearer, her third of five ultimate career nominations and a record at the time.

Grade: B+

Edward Moulton Barrett's Devils

[theowinthrop · 9/10 · 13 March 2005]

There are few films regarding the lives of great poets or poets at all. I can think of "Shakespeare in Love" (Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe), "The Bad Lord Byron", "Tom and Viv" (T.S.Eliot and his first wife), "The Great MacGonigal", and the two versions of "The Barretts of Wimpole Street". Although the second version of the film is considered better by some viewers (who think John Guilgud's performance as Edward Barrett is more subtle than Charles Laughton's), most film lovers thing the 1934 version is better. It certainly showed that Norma Shearer could act more than competently (her 1931 Oscar for "The Divorcée" seems justifiable due to the number of character changes she undergoes in the film, but the film was weak to begin with). Here she had a great script, and "The Barretts" remains one of her top three performances with "The Women" and "Marie Antoinette". Her jousting with Laughton as her tyrannical father is worthy of attention, and look at their eyes in their last confrontation scene. Laughton could not be too explicit about his character's incestuous motives, but his eyes tell the story - and Shearer's frightening reaction tells the revulsion and fear she feels.

Fredric March's Robert Browning is optimistic and caring - which is what the character calls for (it is also what Browning apparently was like - he seems to have been ever the optimist). His willingness to admit his less than perfect side is admirable - witness how he realizes that a passage in one of his poems that Shearer cannot understand is one that does not make sense to him either (the lines concluding that sequence are quoted on this board). He is not weak reed, but a firm support for Barrett's need to flee her father. One cheers him on through the film.

It was not the first film he made with Laughton. In fact, one can make a case that March and Laughton almost made a dramatic "Laurel & Hardy" pair: "Sign of the Cross", "The Barretts of Wimpole Street", "Les Miserables". To be fair Laughton got the juicier parts ("Nero", Edward Barrett", "Javert"), but March held his own in their scenes together. No small acting here, given that Laughton can steal the thunder of the picture each time by his characters and their personalities.

For most of the film Laughton's character is detestable by his combination of selfishness, self-righteousness, and control-freakishness. Check out the brief scene where he is with a niece and her weak husband (Ian Wolf), which ends when he gives an overwhelmingly passionate kiss to the niece. He is a monster just barely in control of his "id". But there is one scene stands out for another reason. It is nearly comic.

Edward's second oldest daughter Henrietta (Maureen O'Sullivan) has also found a boyfriend, Captain Surtees Cook (Ralph Forbes). They have been stealing away every now and then for some time together, and Forbes has even ventured into the Barrett home. They have not been caught by Edward, but he comes in early one day and finds them together. Barrett of course is surprised, and quickly realizes that Cook is a local barracks soldier who has latched onto his daughter. Barrett is also a tax payer (and a wealthy one) and he knows his tax money is spent on the upkeep of those barracks, and the training of the soldiers there to defend his country. The scene is dramatic in that it will lead to one where Edward will browbeat poor Henrietta into emotional surrender (although also eternal hatred), but for a moment the situation becomes comic. Edward stands at the door listening to first Henrietta and then Cook explain their love and devotion. He is not really impressed by this, and pulls out his watch, which he looks over. Gradually Cook realizes that his explanations are not helping him and Henrietta, and that Mr. Barrett is getting tired of his presence in his home. Eventually poor Cook leaves with some vague promise to contact Henrietta at some later date with her father's permission. As he leaves a bored and stern Edward just remains looking at his watch. In the context of the movie it is just one more reason to detest Edward Barrett, but it is a hint of Laughton's later performance as Henry Hobson in "Hobson's Choice". One wonders if it was in the original play or screenplay. It certainly helps enliven the darkness and gloom surrounding Edward Barrett.

Old chestnut of famed poets' romance, still manages to entertain

[Turfseer · 7/10 · 24 August 2018]

The Barretts of Wimpole Street is based on the 1930 play of the same name. It stars the excellent Norma Shearer as Elizabeth Barrett, the invalid poet who falls in love with the even more famous poet of the time, Robert Browning (Frederic March), after they have been corresponding with one another by mail.

If you're looking for a detailed analysis of the poetry of these prominent 19th century poets, you will not find it here. Snippets of verses are uttered during the proceedings, but "The Barretts" is chiefly an Oedipal drama (more specifically one that illustrates The Electra Complex).

It's Elizabeth's father, Edward, a dour curmudgeon, who's invested his time in ensuring that his daughter remain a hopeless invalid (she spends all her time ensconced in bed, never even getting up to join the rest of the family for a meal). Edward is played by the iconic thespian, Charles Laughton, who delights in playing the obsessed, villainous parent and hams up the part for the maximum benefit of us, the bemused audience.

When Browning suddenly makes an appearance live and in person at the Barrett residence, Elizabeth's demeanor suddenly transforms into what might be termed as "life affirming." Before you know it, she lifts herself out of bed and is walking about!. Frederic March captures Browning's joie de vivre perfectly, casting his optimistic countenance toward his beloved Elizabeth, eventually convincing her to flee the accursed house where her father has been intimidating and even terrorizing her and her siblings since childhood.

The drama comes down to will she or won't she? That is, does Elizabeth have enough gumption to stand up to her father and make a run for it? Meanwhile the wily father will do anything to ensure that his daughter never escapes his clutches by announcing that he has sold the house in London and plans to move everyone to an isolated residence in the suburbs.

The film I believe was "pre-code" and Laughton suggests (through some over-the-top machinations) that Edward Barrett had incestuous feelings toward his daughter (in the climactic scene, he's all over her and one step away from committing an act of molestation!).

There is also a subplot here involving Elizabeth's sister Henrietta, who is smitten with a man (a young Army officer) and attempts to overcome her father's debilitating resistance.

Good melodramas usually have good villains, and Laughton keeps the narrative afloat through his over-the-top performance. You can't get more villainous than when the father threatens to take the family dog to a vet and have it euthanized, as an of vengeance, against the daughter who has left the father's home, and eloped).

But it's also Shearer's performance as Elizabeth that made this film successful at the box office as well as a darling among the critics. Elizabeth fits in perfectly with Shearer's image as an independent woman of her time (Shearer was one of the few actresses in Hollywood to make the difficult transition from silent screen star to the "talkies").

The Barretts of Wimpole Street is often slow-moving as it was originally a stage play. Despite being released in 1934, due to the excellent performances, the film doesn't feel as dated as some of the creakier melodramas of that era.

On a side note, for those interested in hearing Browning recite his poetry (and end up flubbing his lines), one can listen (on Youtube) to the first recording of a celebrity made on an early Edison wax cylinder, in 1889, one month before the noted poet passed away!

Even if you hate this kind of stuff....

[1930s_Time_Machine · 4/10 · 26 December 2023]

Charles Laughton is magnificent and mesmeric. This is definitely his film, even if you don't like Victorian period pieces, where people speak "Hollywood Victorian" it's almost worth seeing just for his performance.

Neither Laughton nor Shearer were particularly synonymous with a 'natural' style of acting but their sometimes exaggerated method could be brilliant - especially infused with subtle subversive humour the pre-code era allowed. That time had just passed and so "Mr Shearer" finally had the excuse he'd been waiting for to turn his wife into his studio's top serious actress. Looking at moon faced "Mrs Thalberg" in this, it's hard to believe just how truly sensually erotic she could be when she put her mind to it but since such roles had suddenly become off limits, stuffy serious "proper" drama was sadly her destiny.

A lot of people love a period drama and those who also like 1930s cinema might love this but if you like your 1930s movies to be set in the 1930s this is not for you. Shearer and March are playing poets so maybe that's their excuse for their flowery, over-exaggerated theatrical gesturing. The other excuse is that familiar old trope that Victorian English folk all spoke in a very specific and very annoying manner. This serves to make our poetic pair feel archaic, difficult to relate to and unsympathetic. Were it not for Charles Laughton's excellent malevolent performance, you probably wouldn't care about Rob and Liz at all.

As I've already said though - Laughton's performance is so magnetic that you can't help but reluctantly glue yourself to this. Interestingly he's only 34 years old here, just two years older than Norma Shearer, who's playing his daughter. Even though Shearer reverted to her theatrical style, she and that chubby lad from Yorkshire are both such convincing and talented actors that you don't doubt for one minute that they're father and daughter.....albeit of course in a decidedly unsavoury relationship. Although it's still a twee period drama, I have to concede to MGM, Sidney Franklin and Charles Laughton that they've handled this complicated father-daughter relationship brilliantly; it both sensitively satisfies the faux decency requirement of the Catholic League + Hays Code whilst still conveying the vile and disgusting character of the sadly real-life Mr Barrett.

Shearer's finest hour

[Jamie-58 · 26 May 1999]

This was a prestige effort in every way in 1934, gathering together the Academy Award winners of the past three years to appear together in the film version of a highly respected play. That the play no longer holds the stage, and that it is old fashioned melodrama, is hardly the point. The script may lean towards the treacly, but both Charles Laughton and in particular Norma Shearer give it s real lift.

Laughton is somewhat hammy, playing Mr. Barrett as a slightly toned down Dr. Moreau. But I defy anyone to look away; and towards the end of the film he does give a fine impression of a man in torment. But it is Shearer who really carries the film; absolutely lovely performance, restrained and wisely underplaying with Laughton. Observe their final confrontation and note how Shearer's performance rises in intensity as Laughton's grows more subdued. This is a high class of ensemble acting.

Only Fredric March lets the film down by being far too energetic as Robert Browning; meant to be cockily eccentric, he succeeds in putting your teeth on edge. Still, Norma loves him convincingly enough.

A highly recommended film for a rainy afternoon.

Does not hold up well

[JohnHowardReid · 6/10 · 8 November 2014]

I'm not surprised that Warners took a long time to put this one on DVD, even though the movie was extremely popular in its day. Alas, it's now mainly of curiosity value as it comes across as a filmed stage play, an impression reinforced by the fact that there is only ONE reverse shot in the entire movie! With this single exception, it's like a filmed stage play except for the fact that it is a very, very wide stage, large enough to accommodate some non-dialog scenes such as the tracking shots in the park. As for the dialog itself, it is generally put across in long, static takes. Despite all, Charles Laughton does deliver a performance of some depth and subtlety, while Maureen O'Sullivan makes her Henrietta a spirited foil. Unfortunately, March's endeavors as Browning are facile and superficial. Norma Shearer, alas, is equally inadequate, while a simpering Katherine Alexander provides some extremely wearisome and dated comic relief.

I wonder how did this thing connect with English families so well? This is more like our Indian problem.

[SAMTHEBESTEST · 6/10 · 9 July 2023]

The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934) : Brief Review -

I wonder how did this thing connect with English families so well? This is more like our Indian problem. The Barretts of Wimpole Street is based on a successful English play of the same name. I am curious to know how this thing connected with those people, who have been known for their open-minded thinking over the years. I have seen hundreds of films that have English or American people having multiple relationships or extramarital affairs, and some of them were even biopics. Now this film made me believe that not all people were the same. It isn't set in the ancient era but quite modern and yet holds so much purity about love and Romance. So basically, this isn't an extraordinary story or something, but rather a simple one. A story of an ill girl who thinks she will be dead soon. Her miserable life is given a second chance by the arrival of a charming poet. However, her tyrannical father opposes her happiness. She had to choose between her father and her lover, and she also had to know the truth. Her sister and brothers are also under the same threat, so her decision also matters for their freedom. You see, there isn't anything out of the world or intellectual here, but a plain, simple romance with a shade of family drama. This is more of a big concern here in my country, India. It still happens in our society that fathers don't allow their daughters to live freely and are against love marriage. We have made many dramatic soaps on the same, so it certainly catches my attention that even many British families too had the same issue (if this film is somewhat true to reality). Norma Shearer is lovely as Ba, Fredric March is charming, and Charles Laughton will get on your nerves with his vocabulary and stern attitude (that's what he is supposed to do). Sidney Franklin's romantic flick lacks something extraordinary, but it is indeed a very adorable ordinary flick.

RATING - 6.5/10*

By - #samthebestest.

Basically a filmed play, but in a good way

[xan-the-crawford-fan · 7/10 · 6 October 2021]

Not quite as good as Smilin' Through, The Barrets Of Wimpole Street is saved from sinking ship with good set design and costumes (bar the ones for Frederic March, but we'll get to those later 😅), as well as one of Norma Shearer's most Oscar-worthy performances.

Elizabeth Barrett (Shearer) is the oldest of nine children, and the most sickly- and a poet. She's the only one who can't get out of bed, but all of her siblings are kept in a sort of prison-like situation by their domineering father (Charles Laughton). The father does not know that Elizabeth has been writing to another poet, Robert Browning (Frederic March). Elizabeth and Robert fall in love and start dating behind her father's back, but Elizabeth is still unnerved by her father's shadow looming over her (it's implied that he has designs on her, but ther Hays code had just recently come into effect)- as is her sister, who also has a secret boyfriend. This is a story of triumph, as Elizabeth both gets well and is also able to stand up to her father.

Norma Shearer gives one of the best performances of her career (she wasn't playing a "spunky, sexually liberated upper-class woman", so that helped her broaden her acting horizons) as Elizabeth Barrett, and she makes you believe that she wrote the poems that were once penned by the real Elizabeth Barrett Browning. True, she could have been made to look more sickly, but she acts sickly, and you feel sympathy for her, especially in the scene where she pictures herself walking down the stairs, and it feels like she's really doing it, but it turns out that she hasn't moved at all.

Frederic March is rather unremarkable and not believable as Robert Browning- I believe he was just there because he was willing to wear pants that tight. Boy, are they ever tight- you can see the entire outline of his balls! He must have been in A LOT of pain filming- unless he really liked to wear pants that make the costumes of the male ABBA members look like baggy rapper jeans. 😑 He's more palatable than usual, though (I don't like him).

Charles Laughton was also disappointing as the father- he was only nine years older than Norma, but he looked like he could be her father. However, he overacts quite a bit in his role, and while if does look like he does have designs on Norma (he famously said regarding this role, "They can't censor the gleam in my eye"), that's the only convincing part of his performance- sadly. I wished he could have been better, but you can't have everything.

The rest of the actors who play the family are good, an exception being a VERY ANNOYING actress who plays an equally annoying character (a cousin of the Barretts). Costumes are good, not wacky or über-glamorous, but effective. Set design of the house is exceptional.

Overall, recommended, but watch Smilin' Through first. If you don't like that one, you definitely won't like this one.

What Beautiful Poetry They Made

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 29 June 2006]

The Barretts of Wimpole Street was the most successful play written by Rudolph Besier and ran almost an entire year on Broadway in 1931. It starred Katherine Cornell as Elizabeth Barrett and featured Brian Aherne as Robert Browning and Charles Waldron as Edward Moulton Barrett. Though Norma Shearer gives one of her best performances as Elizabeth Barrett it might have been nice to see Kit Cornell do this. But as we well know, she like the Lunts disdained film for the legitimate stage.

Elizabeth Barrett was indeed a woman of poor health though it surely did not impair her literary output. In 1845 Robert Browning after corresponding with her for some time did on impulse come to meet her and eventually they did run off to Italy and marry. Much to the considerable objection of her father.

Whether Edward Moulton Barrett was as tyrannical and lascivious as Charles Laughton portrays him is open to debate and interpretation. Laughton plays him in much the same way he played Inspector Javert a year later in Les Miserables. Firm and unbending and inhuman with only a book of rules to guide his conduct. It may have been the author's dramatic license, but it surely does explain his opposition.

On the other hand, he might have thought Robert Browning a deadbeat who couldn't make a living at the poetry gig. But the former makes a more interesting story.

Fredric March is fine as the dashing literate Victorian gentleman that was Robert Browning. In the rest of the cast I did particularly like Marie Clayton as Laughton's dizzy niece with a lisp who Elizabeth for all her literary accomplishments envies.

The Barretts of Wimpole Street is one classic piece of cinema from MGM during the height of their Tiffany period.

Magnificent Monster

[trimmerb1234 · 8/10 · 12 August 2017]

Charles Laughton was unmatched in larger-than-life monster roles, physical or emotional grotesques. Surrounded by stars, he outshone and certainly upstaged them all. And what a range too? The soft-hearted sentimental Hunchback of Notre Dame, the ultimate aloof aristocratic villain Squire Trelawney in Daphne DuMauriers tale of Cornish smugglers, the overbearing, over-drinking Lancashire patriarch in the comic Hobsons Choice.Nobody matched Laughton, nobody played them half as well.

Here,what would otherwise have been a nice family of happy siblings is instead daily terrorised by a bullying obsessive jealous widower.What might have been a pleasant life is made one of stress as their reasonable expectations of a happy life are thwarted by the strange exactions of one man: their father.Lives that could have been pleasant and in the main unexceptional are dominated by him. But it is the eldest daughter who receives most of her father's attention who rather than lose her, instead insists that she is an invalid and must remain bed-ridden.

Dramatically, the entire world of this family of 10 is dominated - and animated - by the single figure of this domineering monster played by Laughton. It is, after this, a fairly simple tale of the unalloyed good and brave daughter (played by Hollyood darling Norma Shearer) who rebels and against this tyrant and is able to go on to have a distinguished life with nice young suitor, poet Robert Browning (Frederic March in this for him an unchallenging role. March had elsewhere played one of cinema's most memorable monsters: Mr Hyde).

Norma Shearer rebels not only on her own behalf but also for her siblings too so that they can all live normal fulfilled lives. Not just for her own domestic happiness but also for her artistic freedom, against the the tyranny of this lone monster who would crush them all.

It was Laughton who admitted that the look that he gave his daughter (Shearer) should have earned the film an X certificate - it conveyed the very mixed and complicated emotions of this very odd Victorian disciplinarian pater familias.

Wonderful acting throughout

[einheri-662-736814 · 9/10 · 20 November 2015]

The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934). Fine performances in this film adaptation of the play. Poet Elizabeth Browning (Norma Shearer), sick and shut in, corresponds with, and later meets the younger poet Robert Browning (Fredric March), who helps give her strength to live life, and gives physical form to a love between them already established through reading each other's poems. Wonderful performance by Charles Laughton as Elizabeth's strict, menacing, religious father, who delivers as much incestulous-glint into his eyes and creepy closeness as 1930's sensibilities would allow. Also, a very nice job by a young Maureen O'Sullivan, although her very voice draws me out of the film and leaves me expecting Tarzan to burst in at any moment. Finally, Uma O'Connor is my most favorite supporting character actress of all time.

Forgettable

[pittzepmets · 5/10 · 29 January 2018]

Ho-hum. 1934 wasn't exactly a stellar year for Best Picture nominees. After It Happened One Night - considered a classic by many - and perhaps the even better The Thin Man, there is nothing much worthy of the honor and The Barretts of Wimpole Street is among them.

The biggest problem with this film from the outset is it's just not a interesting story. In fact, it's extremely uninteresting. If the real romance between Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning generated sparks, it fails to flicker here despite the marquee cast, which includes Norma Shearer, Frederic March. Maureen O'Sullivan and the late, great Charles Laughton. Simply put, the story just never clicks and the film never develops any kind of credible depth to the characters or the relationships between them.

The performances by Shearer, O'Sullivan and Laughton are generally fine, though by no means their best work. Laughton is a little over the top in the role of the overbearing, controlling father. March's performance as Robert Browning comes across as hackneyed and even a bit forced. Worse, there is no semblance of chemistry between him and Shearer's Elizabeth. The relationship between Browning's sister Henrietta (played by O'Sullivan) and the captain is not persuasive either.

So, what are we left with? A typical, early era Hollywood film that just doesn't hold up if it ever did in the first place. Unless you have a bucket list like I do to watch every BP nominee, this is one you can comfortably pass up.

Shearer shines as sickly sonnetist

[johno-21 · 8/10 · 17 May 2006]

This film is adapted from the 1931 Rudolf Besier Broadway play that starred Katherine Cornell and Brian Aherne in the roles of poets Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning. For the MGM film version Norma shearer and Fredrick March take over the roles. No one from the stage version that briefly returned to Broadway in a revival after this film's success, was cast for the film. Charles Laughton plays the tyrannical, repressive, domineering and possessive father of Elizabeth Edward Moulton-Barrett, Maureen O'Sullivan is Elizabeth's sister Henrietta. Una O'Conner provides comic relief as the maid Wilson in a role where she glides into each room feet unseen under her long Victorian skirts which show not a ruffle or indication of movement of legs or feet to stir the skirts material so the film makers must have had her on some type of platform on wheels to achieve the effect. Leo g. Carroll is also among the cast. Flush the dog is here to and it's possible it may have been the same dog used in the Broadway play. Veteran cinematographer William H. Daniels photographed the film. His career would take him into the 1970's and he did several Frank Sinatra films like Von Ryan's Express and Ocean's Eleven in the 1960's. Daniels was also Greta Garbo's cinematographer and he photographed 20 of her films. He also photographed 10 films in the career of Norma Shearer and is with her again here in the Barretts of Wimpole Street, the story of two poets falling in love and their fight to break the chains of her father's suppression and her own invalidism. Norma Shearer is always great to watch on screen. She came out of the silent film era and uses such facial expression and hand movements that were necessary in silents. Many actors couldn't drop their stage theatrics in the transition to talking pictures and they faded from overacting. Shearer keeps her theatrics and pulls it off. She's also one of my favorite screen beauties. Another of my favorites is Maureen O'Sullivan and she is beautiful here and handles her comedic moments with skill. The part where she's secretly meeting her boyfriend across the street from her house and she keeps telling not to look at the house is a riot. Sidney Franklin who had directed Shearer in a couple of her previous films is the film's director. Shearer received her fourth Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for 1934 and the movie was nominated for the Best Picture Oscar in a field that had 11 pictures nominated for Best Picture that year. Claudet Colbert appeared in three of those nominated Best Picture films including It Happened One Night which won Best Picture and gave Colbert Best Actress. The Barrets of Wimpole Street is a little too stagy but it has a lot going for it and I would give it an 8.0 out of 10.

MGM Puts Poetry in Motion for Norma Shearer

[wes-connors · 8/10 · 28 June 2010]

In 1845 London, invalid poetess Norma Shearer (as Elizabeth Barrett) finds reasons to live, after meeting fellow writer Fredric March (as Robert Browning). "The Barretts of Wimpole Street" focuses on one particular Barrett; not surprisingly, it is the one played by Ms. Shearer. At the time, she was considered one of the best actresses of all-time, and this MGM production captures Shearer's appeal perfectly. Unlike many of her contemporaries, Shearer approached most of her later roles from a movie star perspective, and stayed there. So, rather than trying to inhabit Elizabeth Barrett, she brings the character to Shearer. Herein, it works. This was the last time Shearer had the use of her greatest behind-the-scenes collaborators, director Sidney Franklin and husband Irving Thalberg. The latter assembles the usual top talent, and Franklin expertly presents his star.

With William Daniels' loving camera, Shearer is given numerous close-ups and medium shots, made to showcase her acting.

So, you will see the litany of Shearer looks. Much of it is unnecessary, but it certainly makes the picture fun to watch. And, Shearer's performance is one of her best. The "Academy Awards" took notice, and Shearer finished #2 behind Claudette Colbert in the annual "Best Actress" race, ahead of Bette Davis. Many people think Ms. Davis was "robbed" that year; but, Shearer was even more slighted. The film was "Best Picture" according to "Film Daily" and "Photoplay" while Oscar placed it second. There were no "Supporting Actor" awards yet, or Charles Laughton would surely have been noticed; if only for the way he practically commands Shearer to fall on their home's imposing staircase. Franklin is also award-worthy; when maid Una O'Connor glides into the screen, you know he intends to lift a stagy story about a mostly immobile woman up off its heels.

******** The Barretts of Wimpole Street (9/14/34) Sidney Franklin ~ Norma Shearer, Frederic March, Charles Laughton, Una O'Connor

much better than I anticipated

[e_imdb-64 · 8/10 · 30 May 2006]

I thought this would be a talky bore with bland characters and unimaginative cinematic techniques, but I was delightfully surprised! It's very nicely photographed and lavishly mounted, with vivid characters, dramatic coloring and dollops of humor. And the script even takes time to discuss actual poetry. Two representative elements that leap out at you: the sensitive performance of Una O'Connor as Elizabeth Barrett's devoted maid who appears to float across a room in her full-length dress and totally avoids hamming it up as she did (to hilarious effect) in THE INVISIBLE MAN the previous year. And the second is a superbly trained dog who takes his own walks around the neighborhood and scratches at the door when he comes home, to be let in by the servants. On the downside, although the viewer is led to view Norma Shearer's character as a homely recluse who hasn't left her chamber for years and can barely walk, Norma looks from moment one as if she just emerged from the Metro beauty salon (which of course is the case!). You'd think they might have tried a bit to make her look the part, even if only lightening the lipstick a shade or two, or perhaps a touch of shadow under the cheekbones, but no - she is as radiant, glamorous and robust as she ever was in anything. But histrionically this is one of her best efforts. She manages to convey exhaustion and weakness, and only very occasionally lapses into her wheezing, semi-coherent upper register when emotionally overwrought. (Helen Hayes would have been ideal casting for this part.) Charles Laughton as the old grouch of a father is in real life about Shearer's age but his jowly countenance - with the help of a powdered wig and sideburns - help him to look older. He is always riveting, as other viewers have commented, but he (or the script?) fail to convincingly knit the two sides of his personality together. Fredric March as Robert Browning is adequate, not particularly poetic, but dashingly attractive. Interestingly, he resembles Shearer so strongly (especially in profile) that HE could have played her father if his hair had been powdered. And in real life he is two years older than Laughton! But why quibble - this is one of the more entertaining and literate of MGM's Depression-era extravaganzas. At the very least it's delicious eye candy.