Amazon.com: Jane Austen's wonderful novel has been adapted to the screen many times, with this 1940 version representing the golden age of the Hollywood studio era. Greer Garson, then just on the cusp of her stardom, plays the headstrong Elizabeth Bennet, smartest of five daughters who must be married off. Laurence Olivier is that difficult fellow Mr. Darcy, whose mulishness about the Bennet girls begins to thaw when he gets a dose of Elizabeth's sense and sensibility. The film is done up in the glamorous MGM house style, which means we're stuck with the less-than-inspired direction of Robert Z. Leonard (The Great Ziegfeld), redeemed somewhat by a collection of handsome sets (Cedric Gibbons and Paul Groesse won the Oscar for Interior Decoration) and the dandy photography by Karl Freund, one of the greats. Anyone accustomed to the 1995 miniseries version of Pride and Prejudice will need to adjust to the swifter demands of a two-hour movie, and to be sure this version, like the 2005 Keira Knightley remake, simplifies some of Austen's scenes. It's one of the few films, by the way, with Aldous Huxley as a credited screenwriter. Edmund Gwenn is lovely as Mr. Bennet, and Mary Boland brash as Mrs. Bennet; Garson, although MGM liked to corset her in fine-lady roles, manages to let Elizabeth's sauciness come through. Actually, the movie's weak spot is Laurence Olivier's elaborate performance as Darcy, which feels too theatrical. Not that it matters; Austen's story is so good, the film sails through to its delicious finish with all flags flying. --Robert Horton
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Sorry, I just don't like this film
Having read the book (one of my favorites), I just can't stomach this film. What really turned me off was the depiction of Lady Catherine. In the book, that character is never reconciled to the marriage ... Read More
Rating: - Pride & Prejudice
This is the perfect addition to my library. Watching the old movies is so much fun and sometimes they add a little different slant on things, but this was great! The actresses were not as young as in subsequent ... Read More
Rating: - The original version of Pride and Prejudice ...
I have the Colin Firth and the Matthew Macfadyen versions of the film, so it seemed only fit that I get the original version. I enjoyed the nostalgia of the Sir Laurence Olivier version, but my favorite is the Colin ... Read More
Rating: - Not as True to the Book, but So What? A Great Version!
I had read on IMDB that this version was not true to the book. I bought it anyway, because I love Pride and Prejudice and have seen several versions.
Having read the book many many times over the years, ... Read More
Rating: - I wanted to like this
I am an avid reader and admirer of Jane Austen and I also love classic hollywood films, so I was really hoping to like this film. With such a cast as Laurence Olivier and Greer Garson, it is a shame they were not offered ... Read More
- Sorry, I just don't like this film
- Pride & Prejudice
- I wanted to like this