The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934)
1h 49m | PG-13
Remarkable poet Elizabeth Barrett is slowly recovering from a crippling illness with the help of her siblings, especially her youngest sister, Henrietta, but feels stifled by the domestic tyranny of her wealthy widowed father. When she meets fellow poet Robert Browning in a romantic first encounter, her heart belongs to him. However, her controlling father has no intention of allowing her out of his sight.
Director: Sidney Franklin
Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Genre: Drama, Romance
Video: 720p
Cast
Norma Shearer
as Elizabeth Barrett
Fredric March
as Robert Browning
Charles Laughton
as Edward Moulton-Barrett
Maureen O'Sullivan
as Henrietta Barrett
Katharine Alexander
as Arabel Barrett
Ralph Forbes
as Captain Surtees Cook
Reviews
I'm sorry, but the scenes with Norma Shearer and Fredric March simply fall flat. Shearer's "fey" acting style is contemptible at the best of times, but her overacting in every single scene simply destroys the fabric of this otherwise well written melodrama. Who saves the day? Charles Laughton of course! His is truly the only performance which shines in this movie. Uno O'Connor and a ravishingly beautiful Maureen O'Sullivan try their best to keep the project afloat, but Norma Shearer absolutely ruins the movie. There is some welcome comic relief given by Mary Clayton Anderson, an actress who really should have been given more screen roles in Hollywood. Frederic March is wooden and over-the-top at the same time. I never believed for one second that he was in love with the main character.