User Reviews

In 1931 the noted Scots Criminologist, William Roughead, published a volume of his great essays on famous crimes entitled BAD COMPANIONS. One of the essays was called "The Great Drumshleugh Case". Set in Edinburgh in 1811 it told the story of two women running a school for society girls in the Scots capital, and how a malicious little girl spread a rumor that ruined them and the school. The little brat told everyone that the two women were secret lovers. The book was read by Lillian Hellman, who took the story and fashioned the story of her play, THE CHILDREN'S HOUR from it, only changing it to America and putting a man (a doctor) into the picture as the third part of the "triangle" in the child's lie.

There have been two film versions of the story: this 1936 version (with Merle Oberon, Miriam Hopkins, and Joel McCrae) where the two women are made into heterosexuals, and a 1962 version (with Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine, and James Garner) where MacLaine admits that she did love Hepburn but commits suicide. The later version is closer to the Hellman play. In the play there is no "comeuppence scene", where the little brat gets hers. However, the scene where Margaret Hamilton slaps Bonita Granville is justifiably among the most satisfying "comeuppence scenes" in Hollywood film (ranking up there with George Sanders tearing into the lies of Anne Baxter in ALL ABOUT EVE). Indeed, the slap Ms Hamilton administers to Ms Granville makes up for anything the wicked Witch of the West tried to do to Dorothy Gail in THE WIZARD OF OZ.

Although Mr. Roughead's essay is a good place to start one's study into the background of the incident (which, in 1811 was a possibly deadly one to be involved in - that same year, in England, two male homosexuals were executed for sodomy), a full length study was published in 1983 - SCOTCH VERDICT by Lillian Faderman. Ms Faderman does not excuse the young girl from her malicious attack, but she does produce some evidence that the two ladies may have been having an affair, and she shows that the young girl herself would end up being victimized by the publicity. The girl, Jane Cumming, was an illegitimate granddaughter to Lady Cumming Gordon, and her birth did not endear her to the grandmother or her family. Despised for that reason her attitude of defiance and dislike (leading to lashing out against her teachers) is partly understandable. But Jane Pirrie, one of the two teachers, brought a series of expensive legal actions against the grandmother, which ended in displaying ALL the dirty linen (including Jane Cumming's birth). As a result, when Lady Cumming Gordon finished paying the expenses (she lost the final case) Jane was even more disliked than before, and banished from contact with the family. Not a happy result at all.

I knew nothing about this movie until it came on at 5:00 am the other morning. I had no idea that it was a William Wyler film. It seemed a little slow in starting and usually if I'm not intrigued in the first 30 minutes, I'll change the channel. But then I became intrigued. Things started happening and all the charters seemed to jell. The screaming and yelling of the children was like chalk on a blackboard at first. Then I understood the brilliance of it, you were supposed to react that way (as we do in real life.) No one likes to hear a child cry. But they do, and that's one of the things that makes this film real. Great acting by the two main child actors (Bonita Granville as the loathed Mary Tilford and Marcia Mae Jones with a breathtaking role as the troubled Rosalie Wells.) ***Possible Spoiler*** It wasn't until bratty Mary was slapped by Mrs. Tilford's maid, (in a small roll, who would soon become an icon as the "Wicked Witch of the West") the fabulous Margaret Hamilton. At that moment I knew I had indeed seen this film as a child, and remember people cheering that slap. Quite a powerful moment that must have made an impression on me. If you're a William Wyler fan, this is a film you should see.

The power of a girl's lie is at the heart of the story involving two school teachers and one man.

Lillian Hellman's THE CHILDREN'S HOUR was a play about lesbianism, reportedly based on an occurrence in a Scotland school in the 1800s in which two teachers were the focus of a rumor in which they were involved in a too-close-for-comfort affair, a scandal for the times. The fact that William Wyler in 1936 decided -- because of the Code's policies of the time -- to drop the lesbianism and instead opt for emphasizing the issue of gossip (regardless of what kind of gossip) as per one of the more malicious girls only emphasizes the themes of the movie version. And the fact that Oscar nominated Bonita Granville plays her sheer nastiness with so much relish only makes it the more disturbing when she resorts to blackmail to force Marcia Mae Jones (equally brilliant) to keep up with her lie, because even in the face of truth she will not let up, until of course she is humiliated by Agatha (played by the future Wicked Witch of the West, Margaret Hamilton) and will have to face the consequences of her actions.

A great story that only vaguely hints at lesbian overtones, THESE THREE is very moving and for once Miriam Hopkins plays a truly likable character, as she was mainly known for having a rather icy presence. Her character thankfully does not kill herself as the play would have it, and her final scene as she walks out in triumph makes for a strong exit in the face of slander. Merle Oberon and Joel McCrea both acquit themselves in their roles though would be more known for future films, and overall, an intense movie-viewing experience.

Best friends Karen Wright and Martha Dobie graduates from college. They decide to turn Karen's late grandmother's farm into a girls' boarding school. They are shocked to find the rundown farmhouse and they work to fix it up. Karen is dating amiable local doctor Joe Cardin although Martha does have a crush on him. Martha is confronted by her flighty aunt about her crush and one night with Joe in her room. After Karen punishes troublesome student Mary Tilford, she brings it all to a boil after running back to her grandma and spreading some ugly gossip.

Lillian Hellman reworks her 1934 play The Children's Hour into something just as juicy. The lesbian rumor could never be brought to the big screen at the time. While it's not quite the same, it still packs a punch in this emotional drama. Mary's cruelty is as devastating as ever. The last act gets reworked and it struggles to find the happy ending. There are a few stumbles in that last act as it rushes to wrap up. It should have ended with the three leaving the home behind without getting their vindication. That would have been a solid eight.

In 1934, Lillian Hellman wrote "The Children's Hour" as a stage play. Two years later it was decided to make the story into a film...but there were 2 problems in doing so, both related to the moral standards allowed in film at that time -- lesbianism and suicide.

And so, today, one has 2 great choices -- this film or "The Children's' Hour".

In this film, the 2 most controversial topics are sanitized. There is no suicide...the character just goes away. There is no lesbianism, instead, that theme is replaced by a heterosexual triangle.

In "The Children's' Hour", the lesbianism is central to the plot, and one main character does commit suicide.

In both films, the leading players are excellent. Here, the 2 female leads are superb -- Miriam Hopkins and Merle Oberon. In fact, their performances here are among the best, if not the best, of their respective careers. The male lead here is Joel McCrea, before his switch to almost all Westerns, and he is excellent, as well, although there are other films where he is even better. In "The Children's Hour" the female leads are Shirley MacLaine and Audrey Hepburn, and they are just as superb, thought it's over 2 decades later. The male lead in "The Children's' Hour" is James Garner, in one of his better roles.

If one film is better than the other, my vote would go to "The Children's' Hour", and I would say because of the strength of the supporting players. In this film, Alma Kruger is really fine as the grandmother of the girl brat who spreads evil rumors. But, her performance is eclipsed by a stunning performance by Fay Bainter. Similarly, the brat here is played by Bonita Granville, while a better performance is turned in by Karen Balkin.

One of the most interesting factors in comparing this film and "The Children's' Hour" is that where Miriam Hopkins is one of the female leads in this film, in the latter film she plays the part of the aunt and aging actress (which in this film is played by Catherine Doucet. Miriam Hopkins's film career suffered greatly in later years, but in this film she was in full tilt.

I really encourage every lover of film to view both versions of the story. Both are excellent and worth a spot on your DVD shelf.

The girls' performances were so over the top that they were just annoying and hardly believable. And Merle Oberon's character, as well as Audrey Hepburn's in the later version lacked the strength and the ability to trust their male partners. On the other hand, Miriam Hopkins was terrific in this one.

This version of Lillian Hellman's play ("passed by the Board of National Review") is full of anguish, malice, self torture, heartbreak, stupidity, unrequited love, economic ruin, utter misery, and has a happy ending.

It's filled with stereotypes. There are the two young ladies, eager to establish a boarding school for girls, though they must start with virtually nothing. There is the doctor who is also handy around the house and lends them his aid. The zymic, lying brat who dominates everyone around her through falsehoods and manipulation. The bubble-headed, hystrionic auntie who lives in the school, never stops talking, and gets everyone in trouble, only to disappear when she has a chance to rectify matters. The haughty aristocrat who is the catalyst of doom.

The best role is that of the spoiled brat, Bonita Granville. Boy, is she mean. Of course she overacts, but then everyone overacts except maybe Joel McCrea as the doctor, who is his usual pleasant but earnest self throughout.

I was interested in seeing how a movie made in 1936 would handle the lesbian subtext of the play. It does so rather neatly. Instead of two dykes making out, Bonita Granville claims she peeked through a key hole and saw Miriam Hopkins getting it on with McCrea, the fiancé of Merle Oberon. Shocking enough, I suppose, at the time.

But Hellman's story is almost as manipulative and goal-oriented as Bonita Granville's brat. The stupidity runs riot throughout the script. A story that could avoid a calamity with a frank five-minute conversation, avoids the conversation instead. A remorseful old lady who begs forgiveness from the offended trio, is repulsed with a sneer and a curse. Everyone deserts everyone else for reasons that it would take second sight to discern.

Still, the story was a shocker in its time and I can enjoy seeing these formulaic elements unreeled. There's something reassuring about a vision of life that sees nothing in it but rot -- and yet ends with two lovers in a clinch while triumphant music swells in the background.

(Semi-spoiler below)

There is one reason why this "sham" is better than the more literal 1962 remake of "The Children's Hour": Lillian Hellman. At least producer Sam Goldwyn had the taste and foresight to hire her to bowdlerize her own story!

Perhaps sensing a potential disaster, Hellman reached deep inside for a do-over that would preserve the integrity of her play.

She succeeded in part by playing up the romantic tension to the hilt against the morals of the day. Although "These Three" is as heterosexual as it gets, its details are quite sordid according to its dated upper-middle-class standards.

The adult performances are fine; Miriam Hopkins is indeed the best, but director William Wyler even makes a solid performance of Merle Oberon's haughty reserve. Here, it only reinforces the taboo proceedings.

Hellman really shines in her reconception of the evil child, one of the most disturbing, if infrequent characters in the history of storytelling. She does so more unflinchingly than Hollywood would again attempt until the (inferior) "The Bad Seed" (1956).

Hellman makes the bargain foolproof by way of a unique pathology: the worse things get for Bonita Granville's character, the smoother and more damaging are her lies. This is her unforgettable talent.

"These Three" is not quite a great movie; it's an excellent filming of a stage play. Still, as played by Bonita Granville, Hellman presents one of the most brilliant characters I've ever seen on the silver screen. Can you imagine how much better so many movies would have been with such simple yet ingenious insurance against plot holes?

Of course, extraordinary directing and acting are needed to make such a gambit pay off. Wyler and young Bonita deliver, as others have stated.