Infamous (film)

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Movie
German title Infamous
Original title The Children's Hour
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1961
length 107 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director William Wyler
script Lillian Hellman
John Michael Hayes
production William Wyler
Robert Wyler
music Alex North
camera Franz Planner
cut Robert Swink
occupation

Infam is an American film directed by William Wyler based on the play Kinderstunde (The Children's Hour) by Lillian Hellman , which was shot in black and white in 1961.

action

The two young teachers Karen Wright and Martha Dobie have set up a small, exclusive private school for girls in New England that is just beginning to pay off. The two have been friends since their youth and have also studied together. Karen Wright has been engaged to Joe Cardin for two years, a young resident and obstetrician at a nearby hospital. Martha's aunt Lilian Mortar also lives in school, a former actress who mainly gives the girls civilian lessons, but otherwise is of little use, which is why she was given the nickname “the Duchess” behind her back.

Among the twenty or so students is Mary Tilford, who was sent to school by her grandmother. Mary harasses the other students and causes constant disturbance. It comes to a scandal when Mary brings up the rumor by deliberately used hints that there is a love affair between Karen Wright and Martha Dobie. At first the grandmother thinks this is absurd, but then she believes the accusation. The old lady then informs all parents; they take their children from school on the same day. Karen and Martha are left with nothing. One of the fathers gave Karen the reason for their parents' behavior.

The two women visit old Mrs. Tilford and are supported by her nephew Joe Cardin. In the conversation, Mary first appears as a liar; but when she forces another child to confirm her claims, the story actually seems believable. A defamation process ensues, which Wright and Dobie promptly lose, also because Dobie's aunt Lily, who has since turned back to acting, has not appeared in court despite a summons to exonerate her niece. On a remark by Mortar thrown over in the dispute that she considers the relationship between the two to be "completely unnatural", the slander went back among other things.

As a result of the now well-known scandal, Karen and Martha no longer dare to show themselves in public, but live alone in the abandoned school. Only Joe still stands by the two women, although the clinic board advises him to either give up his relationship with Karen Wright or the job at the hospital. He wants to continue to marry Karen and leave town with her and Martha. However, Karen now doubts whether he really believes that the story of the love affair is not true and whether she could live with him against this background. As a result of these doubts, she breaks the engagement. When Karen shares this with Martha, Martha confesses to her that she actually loves Karen and that Mary's lie only brought out the grain of truth in the story. The knowledge of it seems unbearable to her.

The morning after this conversation, Mrs. Tilford appears, who has meanwhile found out how it actually was. She asks the two women for forgiveness, which she is not granted. When Karen, who has meanwhile decided to leave the area with Martha in order to start all over again, leaves the house for a short walk, she takes her own life in her room.

At Martha's funeral, Karen is alone at the coffin with Aunt Lily and speaks the 121st Psalm . Joe, Mrs. Tilford and other residents of the village are waiting in the cemetery some distance away. After Karen said goodbye to Martha's coffin, she leaves the cemetery and walks past everyone else without looking at them - not even Joe, who is apparently waiting for a reaction - and walks, appearing calm and serene, into her uncertain future inside.

background

The play The Children's Hour by Lillian Hellman premiered on Broadway in 1934 and was the young writer's first major success. The play is based and set on an event in Scotland in 1809, but has been relocated to the United States for the film. William Wyler had already filmed the material in 1936 under the title These Three and Lillian Hellman wrote the screenplay. However, at the urging of the United Artists film studio , which feared a ban due to the subject of lesbian love, Wyler had to make so many changes to the script that he claimed in 1961 that this film was the first version of The Children's Hour . Miriam Hopkins played in both versions: in 1936 she was seen as Martha Dobie and in 1961 as her aunt Lily Mortar. Other roles played in 1936 were Merle Oberon (Karen Wright), Joel McCrea (Joe Cardin) and Alma Kruger as Mrs. Tilford.

Reviews

“A ten-year-old girl accuses her two young college teachers of lesbian love with a mixture of naivety and malice. Wyler shows how the interaction of individual conflicts with social prejudices can have a devastating effect. "

“Thanks to the brilliant performance of Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine, Wyler's pointedly staged film turns into an exciting and complex debate about social prejudice - even if the word lesbian does not appear here. In contrast to the first film version, this work ends without a forced happy ending. "

- Prism-Online

Awards

Shirley MacLaine was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in 1962 for her portrayal . The film also received a total of five Academy Award nominations in the categories of “Best Supporting Role” ( Fay Bainter ), “Best Camera” (black and white), “Best Equipment” (black and white), “Best Costumes” (black and white) and "Best sound". In 1962 Shirley MacLaine received the Laurel Award .

literature

  • Lillian Hellman : Children's Lesson. Piece in 3 acts. Original title: The Children's Hour. German by Bernd Samland . Jussenhoven & Fischer, Cologne undated [stage manuscript]
  • Renate Möhrmann : Bad to the Bone. The Machiavellian girl in Lillian Hellman's play “The Children's Hour” and its film adaptations by William Wyler (USA 1936/1961) . In: rebellious - desperate - infamous. The bad girl as an aesthetic figure , edited by Renate Möhrmann, Aisthesis Verlag, Bielfeld 2012, ISBN 978-3-89528-875-3 , pp. 331–348.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Infam. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed October 24, 2016 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used