Jane Eyre

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Cast & Crew

Joan Fontaine
Jane Eyre

Orson Welles
Edward Rochester

Margaret O'Brien
Adele Varens

Peggy Ann Garner
Young Jane Eyre

John Sutton
Dr. Rivers

Sara Allgood
Bessie

Henry Daniell
Henry Brocklehurst

Agnes Moorehead
Mrs. Reed

Aubrey Mather
Colonel Dent

Edith Barrett
Mrs. Fairfax

Robert Stevenson
Director

William Goetz
Producer

Aldous Huxley
Screenwriter

Robert Stevenson
Screenwriter

John Houseman
Screenwriter

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Critic Reviews for Jane Eyre

Audience Reviews for Jane Eyre

• Mar 22, 2015

  It guts the novel of a crucial plot element (unnecessarily so, as it's a rather short film), but the grand Gothic style is rather entertaining. Also, while Fontaine is solid as Eyre its Welles, who is absolutely perfect as Rochester, that steals the show.
  

  Alec B Super Reviewer
• Apr 17, 2012

  Hardly the classic I was expecting this film looks great (there is some dispute over whether Welles or Stevenson actually directed most of the film. Certainly some shots are reminisient of Kane) and the score by Herrmann is strong but Fontaine is stuck playing exactly the same role as in 'Rebecca' and Welles seems too distant and stiff most of the time. When he is more relaxed and natural the film works brilliantly but at other times he looks out of his depth and you can't help but smile at his false nose. The film is still enjoyable and the set design and direction is more imaginative than most films today but it left me slightly cold.
  

  David S Super Reviewer
• Apr 09, 2012

  Jane Eyre is a widely filmed adaptation from the Charlotte Bronte book of the same name. It has a story that I can only describe as a meshing of Beauty and the Beast and Rebecca. Maybe I see these parallels because Joan Fontaine is in the principle role, as she was in Rebecca, and similarly she is the stranger in a mysterious home with a gregarious and yet handsome master of the house. The story follows the always unloved and plain Jane Eyre, who is an intelligent woman with a biting wit. Finally able to leave the awful home she was raised in as a girl and ready to make a new life for herself, she becomes a governess to a French girl at Thornfield, owned by the contemptuous Edward Rochester. The film was beautifully shot, dark and foreboding. The newest adaptation from last year had amazing art direction and some vivid and disturbing scenes, but this is far more mystifying, and grandiose in comparison. This film was made to be in black and white, made to be a Victorian romance and a deep comparison to other tragic romance stories from every era. The book itself is not timeless, but the sentiment and appeal is in every person's heart, and Jane is just as reasonably loved by her audience as ever. This adaptation does not take from the literature at all times, instead choosing the story as one of devotion from Jane, who is shown as a piteous soul who has very little in the way of gull, which contemporary films have changed. Though I didn't like Jane as such a lowly creature, in contrast Orson Welles is so brooding and such a rogue, they almost balance each other out. It's gothic and heart wrenching, mostly because many of the details are not shown, especially towards the end when the unpleasantness starts. There is so much sacrifice and inherit romance to this story so it never wanders away from being over the top or unrealistic. Yes, the ending is far too feel good and wraps itself up in too neat a bow, but that was what Hollywood called upon in its romances at that time, and I cannot fault it for that. I only took issue with the booming voice of Welles, who almost seems to be compensating for his lack of knowledge towards the character. Still, he is lively, and his presence didn't take anything away from my pleasure. One of the best adaptations I have ever seen of this source material, and certainly the darkest.
  Spencer S Super Reviewer
• Sep 05, 2010

  I haven't read the book, but seeing this movie makes me want to read it. Not only is the story fantastic, the acting is great too: Orson welles and Joan Fontaine. I highly recommend this movie weather or not you have read the book.
  Aj V Super Reviewer

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