Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre

Director: Robert Stevenson Cast: Joan Fontaine
Joan Fontaine
, Orson Welles
Orson Welles
, Peggy Ann Garner
Peggy Ann Garner
, Margaret O'Brien
Margaret O'Brien
, Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre

Director: Robert Stevenson Cast: Joan Fontaine
Joan Fontaine
, Orson Welles
Orson Welles
, Peggy Ann Garner
Peggy Ann Garner
, Margaret O'Brien
Margaret O'Brien
, Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor

DVD (Restored / Subtitled / B&W / Full Frame / Dubbed)

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Overview

Director Robert Stevenson collaborated with novelist Aldous Huxley and theatrical-producer John Houseman on the screenplay for this 1944 adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's gothic romance Jane Eyre. After several harrowing years in an orphanage, where she was placed by a supercilious relative for exhibiting the forbidden trait of "willfulness," Jane Eyre (Joan Fontaine) secures work as a governess. Her little charge, French-accented Adele (Margaret O'Brien), is pleasant enough. But Jane's employer, the brooding, tormented Edward Rochester (Orson Welles), terrifies the prim young governess. Under Jane's gentle influence, Rochester drops his forbidding veneer, going so far as to propose marriage to Jane. But they are forbidden connubial happiness when it is revealed that Rochester is still married to a gibbering lunatic whom he is forced to keep locked in his attic. Rochester reluctantly sends Jane away, but she returns, only to find that the insane wife has burned down the mansion and rendered Rochester sightless. In the tradition of Victorian romances, this purges Rochester of any previous sins, making him a worthy mate for the loving Jane. The presence of Orson Welles in the cast (he receives top billing), coupled with the dark, Germanic style of the direction and photography, has led some impressionable cineasts to conclude that Welles, and not Stevenson, was the director. To be sure, Welles contributed ideas throughout the filming; also, the script was heavily influenced by the Mercury Theater on the Air radio version of Jane Eyre, on which Welles, John Houseman and musical director Bernard Herrmann all collaborated. But Jane Eyre was made at 20th Century-Fox, a studio disinclined to promote the auteur theory; like most Fox productions, this is a work by committee rather than the product of one man. This in no way detracts from the overall excellence of the film; of all adaptations of Jane Eyre (it had previously been filmed in 1913, 1915 and 1921, and has been remade several times since), this 1943 version is one of the best. Keep an eye out for an uncredited Elizabeth Taylor as the consumptive orphanage friend of young Jane Eyre (played as child by Peggy Ann Gardner).

Product Details

Release Date: 04/24/2007
UPC: 0024543425748
Original Release: 1944
Rating: NR
Source: 20th Century Fox
Region Code: 1
Presentation: [B&W]
Sound: [Dolby Digital Mono, Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language: English
Time: 1:36:00
Sales rank: 9,952

Special Features

Audio commentary by Orson Welles biographer Joseph McBride and actress Margaret O'Brien; Audio commentary with film historians Nick Redman, Steven Smith and Julie Kirgo; Isolated score & f/x track; Locked in the Tower: The Men Behind Jane Eyre featurette; Know Your Ally Britian: United States War Department film directed by Robert Stevenson; Restoration comparison; Original theatrical trailer; Production, storyboard and poster galleries

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits
Joan Fontaine Jane Eyre
Orson Welles Edward Rochester
Peggy Ann Garner Young Jane
Margaret O'Brien Adele
Elizabeth Taylor Helen
John Sutton Dr. Rivers
Sara Allgood Bessie
Henry Daniell Brocklehurst
Agnes Moorehead Mrs. Reed
Aubrey Mather Col. Dent
Edith Barrett Mrs. Fairfax
Barbara Everest Lady Ingraham
Hillary Brooke Blanche
Ethel Griffies Grace Poole
Eily Malyon Mrs. Sketcher
Ivan Simpson Mr. Woods
Erskine Sanford Mr. Braggs
John Abbott Mason
Mae Marsh Leah
Mary Forbes Mrs. Eshton
Thomas Louden Sir George Lynn
Gerald Oliver Smith Footman at Gateshead
Billie Seward Girls at Party
Colin Campbell Proprietor
Tempe Pigott Fortune Teller
Billy Bevan Bookie
Brandon Hurst Trustee
Barry Macollum Trustee
Charles Coleman Guard
Harry Allen Guard
David Clyde Guard
Yorke Sherwood Beadle
Ronald Harris John
Charles Irwin Auctioneer
Gwendolyn Logan Dowager
Moyna MacGill Dowager
Jean Fenwick Guest
Bud Lawler Guest
John Meredith Guest
Leslie Vincent Guest
Roseanne Murray Guest
Marion Rosamond Guest
Dan Wallace Guest
Eustace Wyatt Dr. Carter
Alec Craig Footman
Frederic Worlock Waiter
George Kirby Old Gentleman
Arthur Gould-Porter Young Man
Alan Edmiston Dealer
Nancy June Robinson Girl
Adele Jergens Woman at Party
Ruth Brady Woman at Party
Ted Billings Townsman
Thomas Lockyear Sir George Lynn
Tempe Piggott Fortune Teller
Simon Callow Actor
Bernard Herrmann Composer

Technical Credits
William Goetz Producer
Fred Sersen Special Effects
Ketti Frings Screenwriter
Aldous Huxley Screenwriter
John Houseman Screenwriter
Kenneth MacGowan Producer
Robert Stevenson Screenwriter
Roger Heman Sound/Sound Designer
W.D. Flick Sound/Sound Designer

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- Jane Eyre
1. Main Titles [1:25]
2. My Name is Jane Eyre [5:08]
3. Lowood [3:51]
4. A Friend [10:34]
5. A Governess [10:10]
6. Mr. Rochester [8:03]
7. A Difference of Opinion [5:41]
8. Madness in the Night [7:36]
9. House Guests [9:33]
10. Behind Closed Doors [7:31]
11. Jane's Request [5:30]
12. Love [3:09]
13. An Impediment [5:49]
14. Jane Says Goodbye [1:14]
15. A Visit to Bessie [5:34]
16. Return to Thornfield [5:19]
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