Jane Eyre (1944)

Director:

Robert Stevenson

Writers:

Charlotte Brontë (novel) and
John Houseman (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

7 April 1944 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

A Love Story Every Woman Would Die a Thousand Deaths to Live!

Plot:

After a harsh childhood, orphan Jane Eyre is hired by Edward Rochester, the brooding lord of a mysterious manor house to care for his young daughter.

Plot Keywords:

Secret | Governess | Orphan | Ward | Servant

Cast

Orson Welles	...	Edward Rochester
Joan Fontaine	...	Jane Eyre
Margaret O'Brien	...	Adele Varens
Peggy Ann Garner	...	Jane Eyre (younger)
John Sutton	...	Dr. Rivers
Sara Allgood	...	Bessie
Henry Daniell	...	Henry Brocklehurst
Agnes Moorehead	...	Mrs. Reed
Aubrey Mather	...	Colonel Dent
Edith Barrett	...	Mrs. Fairfax
Barbara Everest	...	Lady Ingram
Hillary Brooke	...	Blanche Ingram
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Abbott	...	Mason (uncredited)
Harry Allen	...	Guard (uncredited)
Billy Bevan	...	Bookie (uncredited)
Ted Billings	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Ruth Brady	...	Girl at Party (uncredited)
Colin Campbell	...	Proprietor (uncredited)
David Clyde	...	Guard on Coach from Lowood (uncredited)
Charles Coleman	...	Guard on Coach to Lowood (uncredited)
Alec Craig	...	Footman (uncredited)
Alan Edmiston	...	Dealer (uncredited)
Jean Fenwick	...	Guest (uncredited)
Mary Forbes	...	Mrs. Eshtor (uncredited)
Arthur Gould-Porter	...	Young Man (uncredited)
Ethel Griffies	...	Grace Poole (uncredited)
Ronald Harris	...	John (uncredited)
Brandon Hurst	...	Trustee (uncredited)
Charles Irwin	...	Auctioneer (uncredited)
Adele Jergens	...	Girl at Party (uncredited)
George Kirby	...	Old Gentleman (uncredited)
Bud Lawler	...	Guest (uncredited)
Gwendolyn Logan	...	Dowager (uncredited)
Thomas Louden	...	Sir George Lynn (uncredited)
Moyna MacGill	...	Dowager (uncredited)
Barry Macollum	...	Trustee (uncredited)
Eily Malyon	...	Mrs. Scatcherd (uncredited)
Mae Marsh	...	Leah (uncredited)
John Meredith	...	Guest (uncredited)
Roseanne Murray	...	Guest (uncredited)
Tempe Pigott	...	Fortune Teller (uncredited)
Nancy June Robinson	...	Girl (uncredited)
Marion Rosamond	...	Guest (uncredited)
Erskine Sanford	...	Mr. Briggs (uncredited)
Billie Seward	...	Girl at Party (uncredited)
Yorke Sherwood	...	Beadle (uncredited)
Ivan F. Simpson	...	Mr. Woods, the Minister (uncredited)
Gerald Oliver Smith	...	Footman of Gateshead (uncredited)
Betta St. John	...	Orphan (uncredited)
Elizabeth Taylor	...	Helen Burns (uncredited)
Leslie Vincent	...	Guest (uncredited)
Dan Wallace	...	Guest (uncredited)
Frederick Worlock	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Eustace Wyatt	...	Dr. Carter (uncredited)

Directed by
Robert Stevenson

Writing credits
Charlotte Brontë		(novel)
John Houseman		screenplay
Aldous Huxley		screenplay
Henry Koster		uncredited
Robert Stevenson		screenplay

Produced by
William Goetz	....	producer (uncredited)
Kenneth Macgowan	....	producer (uncredited)
Orson Welles	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Bernard Herrmann

Cinematography by
George Barnes		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Walter Thompson

Production Design by
William L. Pereira		(as William Pereira)

Art Direction by
James Basevi
Wiard Ihnen		(as Wiard B. Ihnen)

Set Decoration by
Thomas Little

Costume Design by
René Hubert		(as Rene Hubert)

Makeup Department
Guy Pearce	....	makeup artist

Production Management
William Goetz	....	executive in charge of production

Art Department
Ross Dowd	....	associate set decorator

Sound Department
W.D. Flick	....	sound
Roger Heman Sr.	....	sound (as Roger Heman)

Special Effects by
Fred Sersen	....	special photographic effects

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Sam Benson	....	wardrobe supervisor (uncredited)

Music Department
Bernard Herrmann	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Barbara Keon	....	scenario assistant

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1944) (USA) (theatrical)
• Fox Video (1993) (USA) (VHS)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• M.P.E.A. (1947) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Státní Pujcovna Filmu (194?) (Czechoslovakia) (theatrical)
• ClassicLine (????) (Brazil) (DVD)

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Australia:G (cable rating) | Australia:PG (video rating) | Finland:S | Sweden:15 | UK:PG (video rating)

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Orson Welles did enough work behind the scenes that the production company offered him a producer credit, which he turned down. Welles's official reason for this is a belief that a person who is not directing the film shouldn't be "just" a producer.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The text of the "book" that appears on-screen - which appears not to overlap with the text of the classic novel Jane Eyre on which the film is based for even a single sentence - repeats itself.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Jane Eyre: [narrating] My name is Jane Eyre... I was born in 1820, a harsh time of change in England. Money and position seemed all that mattered. Charity was a cold and disagreeable word. Religion too often wore a mask of bigotry and cruelty. There was no proper place for the poor or the unfortunate. I had no father or mother, brother or sister. As a child I lived with my aunt, Mrs. Reed of Gateshead Hall. I do not remember that she ever spoke one kind word to me.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Silence Becomes You (2005)

Fine Cast in a Pretty Good Adaptation

This version of the classic novel is most distinguished by its fine cast. The adaptation itself is pretty good, although the first part (Jane's childhood) comes across better than the main part of the film. The original novel is a complex story and character study, and it would be quite a job to squeeze everything into a film of under two hours - all things considered, this version does a pretty good job despite eliminating some significant parts of the book.

There are a lot of fine actors in the cast, and Orson Welles is ideal for the role of Rochester. Joan Fontaine is good too as (the adult) Jane, although the character in this version is somewhat less interesting than in the novel, so she has less to work with than Welles does. There are some fine performances in the early part of the movie, and some excellent casting, including Agnes Moorehead as Jane's mean-spirited aunt, the icy Henry Daniell as Brocklehurst, and a young Elizabeth Taylor as Jane's school friend Helen. That part of the film works perfectly.

Although the last part is not quite as effective, overall the movie still offers several good reasons to watch it. You get to see a fine cast in action, and if the film is not the masterpiece that the novel was, it's a good picture and certainly worth seeing.