In the seventeenth century, in Massachusetts, a young woman is forced to wear a scarlet "A" on her dress for bearing a child out of wedlock.In the seventeenth century, in Massachusetts, a young woman is forced to wear a scarlet "A" on her dress for bearing a child out of wedlock.In the seventeenth century, in Massachusetts, a young woman is forced to wear a scarlet "A" on her dress for bearing a child out of wedlock.
William Kent
- Sampson Goodfellow
- (as William T. Kent)
Al O. Henderson
- Master Wilson
- (as Al C. Henderson)
Mickey Rentschler
- Digerie Crakstone
- (as Mickey Rentchler)
Tommy Bupp
- Marching Boy
- (uncredited)
Iron Eyes Cody
- Indian
- (uncredited)
Dorothea Wolbert
- Mistress Allerton
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaHenry B. Walthall played Chillingworth in both this and the silent version (The Scarlet Letter (1926) ).
- GoofsIn the scene where Chillingworth visits Hester in her home, the letter 'A' on Hester's garment changes position. It starts out just below the border of Hester's shawl collar, and soon after is seen to be nearer her waist.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Easy A (2010)
Featured review
Oddly faithful little relic
I was struck by how faithful this film is to the original novel, comparatively speaking anyway (I've seen versions of Jane Eyre with a beautiful Jane, and versions of Moby Dick where Ahab wins!). The three main characters - Hester, Chillingworth, and the tortured Reverend, are all sensitively and accurately portrayed. The story is compacted, of course, but the essential elements are there.
The only real let-down is the inclusion of strange, slapstick comic characters who show up every ten minutes, like clockwork, to perform some unfunny bit of business. A perverse part of me kinda liked them, maybe because they were so crass, and such an obvious attempt to lighten the mood. I also got a strange joy out of seeing some totally inappropriate costumes among the villagers, including what appeared to be a group of Conquistadors (!) loitering in the background.
It's amazing that, despite these horribly incongruous elements, the film works pretty well.
The only real let-down is the inclusion of strange, slapstick comic characters who show up every ten minutes, like clockwork, to perform some unfunny bit of business. A perverse part of me kinda liked them, maybe because they were so crass, and such an obvious attempt to lighten the mood. I also got a strange joy out of seeing some totally inappropriate costumes among the villagers, including what appeared to be a group of Conquistadors (!) loitering in the background.
It's amazing that, despite these horribly incongruous elements, the film works pretty well.
helpful•250
- dr_foreman
- Jan 22, 2004
- How long is The Scarlet Letter?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Runtime1 hour 9 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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