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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Rudolph Besier (play)
Ernest Vajda (screenplay) ...
more
Release Date:
21 September 1934 (USA) more
Tagline:
When poets love, Heaven and Earth fall back to watch!
Plot:
Elizabeth Barrett's tyrannical father has forbidden any of his family to marry. Nevertheless, Elizabeth falls in love with the poet Robert Browning. more | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win more
User Comments:
From Wimpole Street Comes True Love... more (15 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Norma Shearer | ... | Elizabeth Barrett | |
| Fredric March | ... | Robert Browning | |
| Charles Laughton | ... | Edward Moulton-Barrett | |
| Maureen O'Sullivan | ... | Henrietta Barrett | |
| Katharine Alexander | ... | Arabel Barrett | |
| Ralph Forbes | ... | Captain Surtees Cook | |
| Marion Clayton Anderson | ... | Bella Hedley (as Marion Clayton) | |
| Ian Wolfe | ... | Harry Bevan | |
| Ferdinand Munier | ... | Dr. Chambers | |
| Una O'Connor | ... | Wilson | |
| Leo G. Carroll | ... | Dr. Ford-Waterlow (as Leo Carroll) | |
| Vernon Downing | ... | Octavius Barrett | |
| Neville Clark | ... | Charles Barrett | |
| Matthew Smith | ... | George Barrett | |
| Robert Carleton | ... | Alfred Barrett |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
Forbidden Alliance (USA) (TV title)
more
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
109 min (Turner library print)
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Certification:
USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:Passed (PCA #146) | USA:TV-G (TV rating)
Filming Locations:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
When producer Irving Thalberg cast his wife, Norma Shearer, in the role of Elizabeth Barrett, William Randolph Hearst was enraged that his protégé, Marion Davies, was not given the role. So Hearst pulled Davies out of MGM and placed her with Warner Brothers for the remainder of her career, and for over a year the name "Norma Shearer" did not appear in any Hearst newspapers. more
Quotes:
[repeated line]
Harry Bevan:
Oh, come come, my pet!
more
Movie Connections:
Version of The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1982) (TV) more
Soundtrack:
Little Brown Jug more
FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (15 total)
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I had seen the 1957 version of "The Barretts of Wimpole Street" so I wasn't going to take time for this one. My scheduling changed, I ended up with time and decided to watch the 1934 film. In it were Norma Shearer and Fredric March. I was surprised to note that they were superb. They played off of each other's characters. That spark of emotions were there.
Edward Barrett's (Charles Laughton) lustful feelings for his eldest daughter, Elizabeth, become obvious right away. You know he's intentions are not honorable. The fact that he forbade any and all of his children to marry and have a life and family of their own shows that he is mean and self-centered. He isn't above belittling and tearing them down until they give up any idea of breaking away from the family. Edward Barrett wants total control over his complete family. This becomes obvious in the treatment of his own niece in front of her intended husband. How would you like to have the old monster sucking face with you? Ugh!
Then comes Robert Browning who reads several of Elizabeth's poems. He falls in love, decides to meet her and convinces her to leave her father, family and marry him. Elizabeth agrees. They leave together with Wilson her maid. (Una O'Connor has that role.) They, also, want to take Elizabeth's beloved spaniel, Flush.
Barrett is furious when he discovers their leaving. His cruelty quickly becomes definite. He is going to do away with Flush to get even with Elizabeth for leaving her father for Robert. Will his attempt succeed? Will he ever see his daughter again? What happens with the rest of the family once he loses his hold on Elizabeth?
Will Flush make it to the wedding?
There's one way to find out, see the movie.