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Cast

Audrey Hepburn
as Karen Wright

Shirley MacLaine
as Martha Dobie

James Garner
as Dr. Joe Cardin

Miriam Hopkins
as Mrs. Lily Mortar

Fay Bainter
as Mrs. Amelia Tilford

Karen Balkin
as Mary Tilford

Veronica Cartwright
as Rosalie

Jered Barclay
as Grocery Boy

Mimi Gibson
as Evelyn

William Mims
as Mr. Burton

Hope Summers
as Agatha (Tilford's maid)

Florence MacMichael
as Bit Part (uncredited)

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Critic Reviews for The Children's Hour

Audience Reviews for The Children's Hour

• Aug 30, 2017

  Lillian Hellman, when she mounted the New York play of her work, noted that the piece was more about the damning power of gossip, and the undercurrent of that idea can certainly be seen here, but thanks to a bravura performance by Shirley MacLaine the main topic at hand is never quite off the table or forgotten. Audrey Hepburn shines as well (as does Garner), but then they have little else to do but to pick and play from the handbook of those unrighteously condemned, whereas MacLaine has self-loathing to contend with in spades. The child actress has a mountain to cross as well, convincing the audience of her latent evil intent, and often borrows too heavily from the Nicolas Cage handbook of overdoing it, but all in all the production makes it point, and is resonant.
  Kevin M. W Super Reviewer
• Sep 05, 2015

  From a moral point of view, this is a terribly outdated drama (even if daring for then) that serves as a portrait of an ugly time when it would be considered a danger for children to be "exposed" to lesbian teachers - which the film sometimes also seems to agree as being "unnatural."
  Carlos M Super Reviewer
• Nov 19, 2011

  Martha: But why this lie? She found the lie with the ounce of truth. Don't you see?  "What Made These Women Different?" The Children's Hour was a risky film to make when it was released. The subject matter was extremely controversial for that time period. Today, the only people who care about a person's sexual orientation is ironically the same people that meet every week to preach how God loves everyone. So watching this movie 50 years later, it is hard to see how this could ever be seen as controversial. It does, however, hold up as a well made film on intolerance and a pretty powerful one at that. William Wyler made a risky choice to direct this movie and he did a really good job with making a movie with a theme of lesbianism under the strict guidelines of the time. The movie is about two teachers running an all girl school. There is a girl named Mary who is constantly in trouble and decides to tell he grandma a lie about the two teachers, in an attempt to not have to go back. When her grandma believes her, the rumor flies and soon all the girls are taken out of the school and the two women lives are totally destroyed.  Never have I watched a movie and have hated and been more annoyed by a character as I was with this little Mary bitch. The child actress was perfect who played her too. She had an annoying little voice and was ugly as all he'll and when you add those things to an obnoxious and downright despicable little girl, you get a character that is really easy to hate. There's many wise casting decisions in this one though. The three leads are amazing. Audrey Hepburn and Shirley McClain as the two teachers and James Garner as one of the teachers fiancé. All three excel with the subject matter and are really good at getting the emotions of the characters across.  The movie overall was really powerful, but the ending just cemented how powerful it was. For the time period, with how subtle they had to be with this subject; the movie was astonishingly well made.
  Melvin W Super Reviewer
• Aug 08, 2010

  Thrillers like this, with this amount of tension and political incorrectness, don't get made anymore. Maybe it's because the subject matter is so intense, polarizing, and prejudicial, but sadly, this film still has impact and social significance even fifty years later. Even though it's dealing with homosexuality in a negative light, it is the closest thing to an iconic gay film up to that point. The story deals with a school, run by former college friends, who are working towards the goal of taking on more girls and having a flourishing business. They are very close, and Martha (MacLaine) becomes jealous when Karen (Hepburn) finally sets a date for her wedding to Joe (Garner). A comment, a look, and a shadow lead to a lie, perpetrated by an arrogant child, and leads to both the women being singled out as gay. They lose a libel trial and every one of their students. It's not a story about two women overcoming the lies of a small child, but the destruction that gossip and lies have on the lives of the innocent. Though there are hints that Martha actually is gay, the story deals far more with their descent into bankruptcy, ruin, and depression. It's definitely an actor's film. Hepburn is cool and collected throughout the ordeal, which you can believe because she is the first lady of austere resoluteness. MacLaine acts her younger age, by being emotionally uninhibited at all times. Martha doesn't think through her words before speaking them, and nearly has temper tantrums when the news breaks that she and Karen have been accused of being lesbians. Garner gives his regular stone stiff performance, which works for the film. The real joy to watch in this film is child actor Karen Balkin as Mary, the one who tells the lie. The cunning maneuvers she pulls in blackmailing another little girl to keep perpetuating the lie, can be linked to Salieri bringing down Mozart in the third act of "Amadeus". Though lesbianism isn't given any positive light in this film, it's still a terse thriller that holds up even now.
  Spencer S Super Reviewer

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