IMDb RATING
7.4/10
9.4K
YOUR RATING
The arrival of wealthy bachelors in town causes an uproar when families with single daughters aggressively seek engagements, including the Bennet family, with five eligible daughters.The arrival of wealthy bachelors in town causes an uproar when families with single daughters aggressively seek engagements, including the Bennet family, with five eligible daughters.The arrival of wealthy bachelors in town causes an uproar when families with single daughters aggressively seek engagements, including the Bennet family, with five eligible daughters.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 2 wins total
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAccording to Ann Rutherford, although the filmmakers were committed to begin shooting on a particular date, they discovered that producer David O. Selznick had used every available reel of Technicolor film in existence to make Gone with the Wind (1939). Therefore, despite the lavish sets and opulent costumes, this movie had to be shot in black-and-white.
- GoofsMrs. Bennet is seen steaming open the letter to Jane from Caroline Bingley. The envelope is a modern-day, gummed envelope fit for stationery letters. In 1815, the year the film takes place, letters would have been folded in and sealed with a wax seal. Gummed envelopes would not be invented for another 100 years.
- Quotes
Mr. Bennet: An unhappy alternative is before you, Elizabeth. Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins. And I will never see you again if you do.
- Crazy creditsOpening credits prologue: It happened in OLD ENGLAND . . . . in the village of Meryton . . . .
- Alternate versionsThere is an Italian edition of this film on DVD, distributed by DNA Srl: "CIME TEMPESTOSE (1939) + ORGOGLIO E PREGIUDIZIO (1940)" (2 Films on a single DVD), re-edited with the contribution of film historian Riccardo Cusin. This version is also available for streaming on some platforms.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Hollywood: Style Center of the World (1940)
- SoundtracksFlow Gently Sweet Afton
(1786) (uncredited)
Music by Alexander Hume
Lyrics by Robert Burns (1786)
Performed by Marsha Hunt
Featured review
Jane Austen's novel 'Pride and Prejudice' was probably ripe for MGM adaptation during WWII, even with the inevitable changes and rewrites from what she intended (for example, there are hints of romance for all the Bennet daughters by the end, even Mary).
What's good about it? Mainly the casting - Greer Garson is a feisty and cheeky Elizabeth (and this was more than 50 years before Jennifer Ehle played her in a similar way for BBC TV); Laurence Olivier never looked more attractive or brooded with greater effect than here as Darcy; Edna May Oliver is a memorable and prickly Catherine de Bourgh; Edmund Gwenn and Mary Boland are the Bennet parents; and the other Bennet girls are eye-catching and fun (Maureen O'Sullivan as Jane, Ann Rutherford as flighty Lydia, Heather Angel as Kitty, and Marsha Hunt as Mary).
Austen's barbs and fangs are removed from this adaptation, making it a romantic sugar gloop like many other films of the period. Still, providing you expect this, enjoy what's on the screen. MGM did this kind of thing better than other studios of the time, after all.
What's good about it? Mainly the casting - Greer Garson is a feisty and cheeky Elizabeth (and this was more than 50 years before Jennifer Ehle played her in a similar way for BBC TV); Laurence Olivier never looked more attractive or brooded with greater effect than here as Darcy; Edna May Oliver is a memorable and prickly Catherine de Bourgh; Edmund Gwenn and Mary Boland are the Bennet parents; and the other Bennet girls are eye-catching and fun (Maureen O'Sullivan as Jane, Ann Rutherford as flighty Lydia, Heather Angel as Kitty, and Marsha Hunt as Mary).
Austen's barbs and fangs are removed from this adaptation, making it a romantic sugar gloop like many other films of the period. Still, providing you expect this, enjoy what's on the screen. MGM did this kind of thing better than other studios of the time, after all.
Details
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $4,030,820
- Runtime1 hour 58 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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